Scouts Canada is tapping the nostalgia parents have for the outdoors in a recruitment drive aimed at getting their kids to embrace creativity and imagination.

The latest campaign illustrates how Scouts inspires young minds to transform their creative ideas into tangible ones, like constructing a pirate ship. It is timed to coincide with the nonprofit’s 2024 membership drive.

Rohnny Kosan, group creative head at longstanding agency partner Church+State, tells strategy the messaging is about inspiring excitement and curiosity.

The visual aesthetic of summery, sun-kissed flares, Kosan explains, are to conjure up reminiscences in parents who are looking to give their kids the same experience of childlike awe that they remember.

Kosan says there is also a unique, chalk-like font designed by the agency to evoke the idea of brainstorming, which is being deployed across other Scouts assets too.

The challenge with respect to membership drives, Kosan notes, is that there are lots of activities competing for kids’ time these days, whether it’s screen time, sports or other groups kids could be a part of, and the creative has to break through to parents.

In the organization’s 2022 annual report, Scout Canada, which currently has 45,782 members, says it managed to grow membership by over 53% “despite continued uncertainty regarding the pandemic.”

A former Scout himself, Kosan says Scouts programming builds character, leadership and cooperation, which are increasingly important to parents. It has also been updating its programming with the times: in July, Scouts Canada created the Drone Academy, “where the outdoors, adventure and technology meet.” The program is designed to empower youth with the skills and knowledge to operate drones safely and responsibly.

However, he points out that, especially coming out of a pandemic, there is still some anxiety about joining activities, and people are generally less involved in outdoor pursuits. That’s backed up by a 2021 Maru Voice Canada survey commissioned by Scouts Canada and Hydro One, which found that 28% of Canadians engage in outdoor recreational activity once a month and 52% engage once a week or less.

The Scouts Canada campaign will run through August. It will feature online videos and social assets distributed through a wide variety of platforms, though Kosan concedes there is not a big media buy behind it. A Pinterest activation is meant to encourage collaborative activities that can be done at home, like a papier-mâché volcano, and which links to the Scouts website.