Today was a first: I wore sunscreen and shorts to a business meeting.

Tracey at the main entrance

This morning, my colleague Tracey and I went to the Henry Kaufmann Campgrounds on Long Island as part of a project we’re doing on behalf of UJA-Federation. Our task is to help summer day camps rethink how they articulate the Jewish enrichment opportunities they offer. The challenge is their campers come from all different backgrounds; some of them have no Jewish affiliation at all. As this New York Times article points out, the camp marketplace is more competitive than ever.

During our visit, we were able to experience all the engaging activities that make kids come back to camp year after year. My favorite was the Teva Learning Center, where kids have an opportunity to learn about and develop a respect for our natural environment. There’s even an organic farming section that enables campers to enjoy the fruits (and vegetables) of their labor. While not overtly religious, the Teva experience is very much grounded in Jewish values of ecological wisdom.

Now that we’ve spent a day of fun at camp, the real work begins. In our much less exciting — albeit air conditioned — offices.

When it comes to “building buzz,” it’s important to consider that creating a brand people believe in carries as much weight as any marketing strategy you might develop to promote it. Knowing your brand is the first step (definitely easier said than done). Then carrying it through in every single thing you do – not just your communications initiatives – connects you to your customers and builds loyalty.

Every once in a while, we see an example of a brand that totally gets it. At the end of 2008, Rose Communications decided to make its annual contributions through DonorsChoose.org. We learned about the group through the tremendous media coverage it had received. This relatively young non-profit addresses the scarcity and inequitable distribution of learning materials in public schools. That teachers are spending their own money to buy supplies for their students is a well known fact. This concept, the brainchild of a public school teacher in the Bronx, addresses that very real need in a meaningful, accessible way.

Through the organization’s web site, donors can easily search thousands of requests made by individual teachers and support their projects with a contribution of any size. As we searched to fulfill requests in our clients’ cities, we found and selected projects that addressed needs that are truly fundamental to the learning experience: writing implements, dictionaries and books for a lending library, for example. Each project includes the name of the teacher and a description of the class making the request, giving the donor a real sense of the lives they are touching. Not only was the site incredibly easy to use, but the organization continued to communicate with us so we knew the status of the projects as they evolved.

Our exceptional experience culminated this week with the arrival of hand-written thank you notes from the students in the classes we supported. DonorsChoose.org is a perfect example of a stand-out concept married with flawless communication. No publicity stunt, “out of box” idea or “viral” campaign can beat that combination. It’s what inspires passion and turns customers into brand advocates.

thank you note from Eli in Baltimore