“How Ridgemont Helped a Small Campsite 15X It's Inquiries With Smart Storytelling”
- Max Getuba
- 2 days ago
- 7 min read
To bring all these ideas to life, we turn to a real success story. Meet Southfields Campsite, a modest camping site in Kajiado, Kenya. Tucked away from the city’s hustle, this campsite offers beautiful scenery and a peaceful retreat. However, like many small hospitality businesses, Southfields was largely unknown and underutilized. On a typical month, they’d receive maybe 2 or 3 inquiries – barely a trickle. Most of their potential customers in Nairobi or other towns had never heard of them. They had a great “product” (a wonderful camping experience), but almost zero visibility. Marketing was practically nonexistent, aside from the occasional post on their personal Facebook page which got little traction.
Enter Ridgemont Africa, a marketing agency with a fresh approach. Ridgemont believes in the thesis – that marketing is part of the product – and we set out to prove it with Southfields Campsite. Here’s the play-by-play of how we transformed Southfields’ fortunes in a short span, using a smart, integrated strategy that exemplifies great content, distribution, and human connection:
The Marketing Blueprint Generator: First, Ridgemont used our AI marketing blueprint generator tool for Southfields. This is essentially a strategy kick-starter – a guided process (part questionnaire, part AI-driven tool, part expert system) that helps lay out a tailored marketing plan. Through this process, we identified who the target customers are and what stories would resonate. For Southfields, the blueprint highlighted two juicy segments: urban families looking for weekend getaways (including parents who’d love a safe camping experience for their kids), and young adults/adventurers wanting an affordable nature retreat near Nairobi. The tool helped pinpoint that Southfields shouldn’t just market “a campsite” but “an experience of bonding, adventure, and escape”. It’s the difference between saying “We have tents” and saying “Come make memories under the stars with your family.” This strategic clarity set the stage for the content to come. (As a reader, note that tools like this blueprint generator are available for you too – we’ll mention how you can try a free one later.)
Story-Based Content Production: With a clear blueprint, Ridgemont moved to content creation. We didn’t start with “Let’s make an ad.” We started with “Let’s tell Southfields’ story in a way that people care.” The content strategy had several pieces:
A Cinematic Video: We produced a short, cinematic video showcasing the campsite. Picture sweeping drone shots of the camp at sunrise, close-ups of a campfire at night with friends laughing, a family hiking nearby hills, kids playing football on the open grounds, and a shot of a starry sky above the tents. No voiceover saying “Visit Southfields!” – instead, it was captioned with a simple storyline: “Sometimes, the best classroom is nature. Sometimes, the best family memories are made off the grid. Discover what’s waiting just an hour from Nairobi…”. The video showed the magic of the place. It gave viewers a taste of the experience – the crackle of the fire, the smiles, the tranquility.
Highlights of Amenities: We also created a series of attractive photos and mini-clips focusing on amenities. One photo carousel post, for example, showcased the clean bathrooms and hot shower facilities (important for family comfort), the cozy tents and bedding, and the dining area with local cuisine. Each image had a caption telling a snippet: “Yes, we have hot showers – because even adventure can have its comforts,” and “Farm-to-table meals – our chef James cooks up Kajiado’s finest for you.” This tackled a key barrier: many people hesitate to go camping worrying about comfort; the content preemptively assured them.
Kids Camps and Family Day Story: Ridgemont leaned into the family angle by organizing (and filming) a Kids Camp Day at Southfields. We invited a few families for a free day of camping-related activities – think nature walks, storytelling sessions for kids, learning to pitch a tent, etc. They captured these moments into a heartwarming 2-minute video story titled “A Day at Camp: Through a Child’s Eyes”. It followed a 10-year-old, Amina, as she experiences camping for the first time with her dad – from curiosity, to a little fear of bugs, to roasting marshmallows, to saying it was the “best day ever” by sunset. This story content was gold: any parent watching would think, “Wow, my kids would love this, and it’s right here in Kenya.”
Community and Trust Signals: Additionally, Ridgemont gathered a couple of testimonials from previous campers who had quietly visited in the past. One Nairobi couple spoke on camera: “We expected basic camping, but Southfields felt like home – we even extended our stay. We’ll definitely be back with friends.” These were edited into short clips that could be sprinkled in marketing.
By focusing on story-based content, Ridgemont turned the campsite into a narrative: it wasn’t just a place to sleep outdoors; it was where families bond, where kids learn confidence, where friends escape city stress. The product and the marketing became one – the stories of enjoyment were the product being sold.
Smart Social Media Ads Distribution: With awesome content in hand, the next step was getting it in front of the right eyes. Ridgemont crafted a social media ad campaign primarily on Facebook and Instagram (given that these were the platforms with many Nairobi and Kenyan family audiences). Here’s how we executed smart distribution:
We targeted specific demographics: people aged 25-45 living in Nairobi and surrounding towns, with interests in travel, hiking, parenting (for those with kids), or outdoor activities. This ensured that the video about the kids camp, for instance, showed up mostly to parents or young couples likely to consider a camping trip.
We used engagement ads and video view campaigns rather than pure “conversion” ads. This meant the goal was to get people to watch, like, share, or comment – to build awareness and buzz – rather than immediately asking them “Book now!”. This aligns with the idea of marketing as part of the product: first, get people emotionally invested in the idea.
The cinematic video and the “A Day at Camp” kid story were the flagship pieces. They were posted and then boosted as ads. The result? Over 20,000 views in the first couple of weeks, with hundreds of reactions and dozens of positive comments. For a small campsite that previously was virtually unknown, 20k people now virtually “visited” through that video – a huge awareness boost.
Engagement was indeed high. People tagged their friends in the comments (“We should go here next!” one comment read), and others asked questions like “How much for a family of 4 for a weekend?” – which the Southfields team (with Ridgemont’s guidance) answered promptly. This organic engagement meant the content’s reach spread beyond just paid impressions; it was getting shared and commented into new circles.
Here’s a striking metric: the campaign’s performance data showed that it was outperforming 80% of Facebook ads globally. What does that mean? Essentially, Facebook’s algorithms measure how ads perform (click-through rates, view duration, engagement, etc.) and this campaign scored in the top 20th percentile compared to worldwide benchmarks. Considering that many ads globally are run by big brands with huge budgets, this is a testament to how compelling content + good targeting can beat even bigger players. It’s not about spending the most; it’s about connecting the best. (One can compare this to typical Facebook CTRs of ~1%; clearly, Southfields’ content was far exceeding that average, a rare feat for a small business.)
Finally, we did include a call-to-action in the campaigns, but softly. After viewers watched the video or engaged with a post, some retargeted ads were shown to them saying “Ready to experience Southfields? We’d love to host you – click to inquire or book.” This led to a simple landing page where people could send a message or call to book a stay or ask questions. Because the audience had been warmed up by the content, they were much more receptive to this CTA.
The Results – 15x Growth in Inquiries: The outcome of this concentrated effort was astounding. In the month following the campaign, Southfields Campsite saw 34 inquiries from interested customers, up from the usual 2–3 per month. That’s about a 15-fold increase! To put it in perspective, they went from almost idle weekends to being almost fully booked for the next several weekends. The inquiries turned into actual bookings for family camping trips, a couple of small corporate team-building outings, and a children’s holiday camp event. The campsite that once wondered if investing in marketing was worth it suddenly had a new “problem” – managing the influx of interest!The qualitative results were great too. Many customers explicitly said they found Southfields via Facebook and that the videos/posts attracted them. Essentially, the marketing content was part of their decision to buy. One customer said, “When I saw that video of the kids at the campsite, I immediately imagined my children there – and that’s why I called.” This is precisely what we mean by marketing being part of the product: the story sold the experience. Check out our portfolio to see all this first hand.
Conversion into a Sustainable Plan: Impressed by the results, Southfields Campsite decided to sustain their marketing. They converted into a Ksh 8,000/month plan with Ridgemont for ongoing marketing services. To a small campsite, Ksh 8,000 (about $50) per month for marketing might have previously sounded like an unnecessary expense. But now they saw it as an investment that pays for itself many times over (just one additional booking covers that cost). In this monthly plan, Ridgemont continues to create content (e.g. follow-up stories like campers sharing their weekend experience, or announcing special packages for holidays) and manage targeted ads, as well as maintain the community by responding to comments and messages. Essentially, Southfields has fully integrated marketing into their business model – it’s a monthly line item, just like utilities or salaries, and a core part of how they deliver their service (because the storytelling and engagement continue to enhance the customer experience).
This case study underscores several big lessons:
Marketing can dramatically amplify a good product: Southfields always had a lovely campsite (good product). But marketing took it from a hidden gem to a spotlighted destination. Marketing didn’t change the tents or the landscape – it changed people’s awareness and perception, which in turn brought the people to experience the product.
Storytelling and value-driven content work wonders: Instead of hard-selling, Ridgemont showed the value and joy of the campsite. That emotional connection is what drove people to take action. Many African businesses have similarly great stories latent within them – it pays to find and share those stories.
Even a small budget can have huge impact with the right strategy: The campaign wasn’t exorbitantly expensive. It was the intelligent approach that made it successful, not a blank check. This is encouraging for SMEs: you don’t need millions of shillings; you need the right approach (creativity, strategy, consistency).
Follow-through is key: Once marketing does its job (generating interest), the business must follow through in delivering great service (which Southfields did) and in continuing the conversation. By signing on for ongoing marketing, Southfields ensured this wasn’t a one-hit wonder but rather the new normal for their business. They now treat marketing as essential upkeep, just like cleaning the campsite or maintaining equipment.
Ridgemont Africa’s work with Southfields Campsite exemplifies the new playbook: marketing woven into the fabric of the business.
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