Texas Hill Country marquee camp T Bar M partnered with Waldo Photos in the summer of 2017 to use facial recognition to find camper photos and then deliver them to parents via text message alert. Read the camp software case study below to see how the product added value to their camp experience for both administration and camp families.
The camp
T Bar M Camps, New Braunfels, Texas
Number of campers
10,000+
Why use Waldo
T Bar M Camps was interested in Waldo for two reasons:
- To give families a better way to receive all their camper’s photos; and
- To help raise additional funds for scholarship programs at the camp.
The pricing model
Here’s how T Bar M chose to price their scholarship model with Waldo:
Scholarship model
- $14.99* per camper per week optional service where parents pay for photo service, with 25% of revenue going directly back to camp.
- If the camp chooses to point Waldo revenues at a charity or scholarship fund, Waldo matches the 25% and provides a 50% revenue share.
*Numbers reflect 2017 pricing
The fundraiser
T Bar M Bless a Coach fund
“Fundraising was a big part of why we wanted to work with Waldo,” said Alice Myer, director of marketing at T Bar M Camps.
Through the initial pilot summer partnership with Waldo Photos, the camp was able to reach their goal of $75,000 for their Bless a Coach scholarship program, which provides a gift of $500 to each camp counselor for college expenses.
Pre-camp implementation
Waldo Photos provided T Bar M with turn-key marketing materials that required minimal additional effort for the camp.
These marketing materials included:
- Camp-branded pre-designed HTML emails that introduced the product to camp parents
- Cards to hand out at opening day with quick information on how to sign up
- Fliers that went inside camp packets for parents with sign-up instructions
- Camp-branded video that quickly explained the product and how it would add value to camp experience for families
Parent onboarding
One week before camp
Waldo provided T Bar M with an HTML email that went out to parents explaining the new Waldo product, featuring the product video.
Two days before camp session
Waldo provided another email for parents that T Bar M sent out to campers two days before their session started to remind them about the new optional photo service.
Camp drop-off
Waldo provided cards to the camp to hand out as parents dropped off their campers that quickly explained how parents could sign up for the optional service.
The Waldo signup
This is what the typical Waldo onboarding process was like for camp parents:
Implementation
Camp starts, photographers snap, Waldo finds and delivers
As soon as parents dropped their children off at camp, the camp photographers started snapping photos, which were uploaded into Shutterfly and then migrated to the Waldo cloud via a Shutterfly API. This meant no additional upload work was required by staff photographers.
Once the photos appeared in the Waldo cloud, Waldo matched each camper headshot (submitted by parents) to the photos in the album, then delivered the photos via text alert (right).
It didn’t take long to see the benefit of the Waldo admin dashboard, which provided the camp with photo analytics on each Waldo subscriber–for example, how many photos were taken and delivered for each camper.
“We basically wanted to put pressure on our photo process and make sure our current practices were working,” Myer said. “Of course, our photographers don’t just meander around. They have a purpose and know where to get great photos on each day. But this helped them look directly at the numbers and see which campers needed more coverage.”
An example photo dashboard
Waldo Photos customer service
“The Waldo team is responsive, customer-focused, and fun,” said Myer, who worked closely with the Waldo staff during this pilot program.
Waldo provided a specific email helpline for all T Bar M enrollees in case they experienced any issues, with Waldo representatives available for 24-hour coverage.
The results (by the numbers)
- 865 T Bar M campers enrolled in the Waldo Photos service
- 20,000+ photos delivered to camp families
- $75,000 in scholarship funds raised with help from the Waldo Photos revenue share model
“Waldo added a lot of value to our camp this summer,” Myer said. “Any time you can align yourself side by side with something bigger – in this case – innovative new technology, it’s always a good thing. It helps our branding and it gives our customers an optional added value.”
What T Bar M parents had to say
“..A total game changer! My only question is, Why isn’t everyone using Waldo!? This is one app that definitely made my life easier!” Vanessa Brady, camper mom
“LOVED my experience using Waldo! This user-friendly app allowed me to see my daughter in action every day at camp. I couldn’t wait to view the photos every time I got a Waldo notification.” Lisa Childs, camper mom
