When the business plan doesn’t work…but there’s a spark of something else
What we've learned from our marketing community failing to take off, and how we're pivoting
Hi there! You’re reading the Bonfire newsletter from Kevan Lee & Shannon Deep. Each week, we highlight brand, marketing, and creative learnings from our experience as in-house marketers turned agency owners who think a lot about creativity, our relationship to work, and how all of that impacts our identities. We’ll also feature insights from our digital community of super smart folks (which you’re welcome to join).
Wishing you a great week!
A few months ago, we launched Campout, a digital community for creative marketers, because we believed there needed to be a different kind of space for marketing folks who wanted to lean into their creativity on the job.
We created two paid tiers. We wrote 10 different courses about brand marketing topics and prepared dozens of templates for strategies and goal-setting and trackers. We made a job board. We hired a values-aligned part-time community manager. We rounded up some of the smartest people we know and got them to generously agree to be coaches for our members. We hosted two events every month on a range of topics…
And, um…not many people signed up for the paid version. Like, if we had to fit everyone who did into a literal bonfire circle, there’d be plenty of s’mores left over. (And shoutout to those folks who paid—we love you forever!)
Our original vision for Campout simply didn’t work. And we wouldn’t be good marketers if we didn’t look at our offering and re-evaluate. Was it the positioning? The price? The packaging? Or had we just tried to make the wrong thing at the wrong time?
Regardless, in our failure to thrive as Campout V1, we realized the thing we were trying to build wasn’t the thing people were coming for. But something else was sparking, for us and for you.
Clarity in swinging and missing
As we careened toward unsustainability with the amount of resources Campout required vs. the amount of money we were(n’t) making, one thing became clear:
In the current chaotic moment of the rise of a fascist regime in the U.S., an intensifying war-torn Middle East, industry-spanning workforce disruption due to AI everything and economic uncertainty…nobody really cares about getting incrementally better at their marketing job.
People weren’t looking for another educational webinar or an expert curriculum to follow. They were looking for commiseration and connection. For permission to pause and rethink what a “meaningful” career even looks like anymore.
The stuff we talked about in the community chats and live events that got people excited wasn’t about becoming a better marketer. It was about becoming a more grounded, creative, fulfilled person.
So we’re pivoting. Not just for the community, but for ourselves.
Because the truth is that we’re navigating all this, too. We were having the same conversations privately—about burnout and identity and ambition and rest and meaning—and wanted to have them out loud, with more people. We didn’t start Campout to teach from a mountaintop anyway; we started it to walk alongside other smart, creative folks dealing with the same stupid crap we dealt with at our past roles as in-house marketers.
When we looked honestly at what was energizing us (and what wasn’t), the answer was clear: less structure, more casual connections. Less “get better at your job” and more “get better at knowing what you want.” Less trying to win the other guy’s game and more taking your ball and going to play with your real friends.
Follow the energy
So, we’re doing something honest and scary: We’re letting go of the version of Campout we thought should exist. This is a slice of humble pie. But it’s also an opportunity to learn. Now, we’re following the energy toward the version that seems like it actually wants to exist: Support and resources for designing meaningful, personal careers.
We believe in this enough to keep investing in it and see what happens—same high-quality platform, materials, and help—but we’re also being real about sustainability. So while we’ve stripped away a lot of the “expensive” stuff, we’ve also streamlined the pricing to make it way more accessible.
This Substack, as you know, is free. We think of it, too, as a kind of community, just one where we’re broadcasting on a weekly basis vs. leaning into synchronous connection. (You can always comment and email us though! We love that.)
So without further ado…
Here’s what’s changing
What is Campout V2?
Campout is a paid digital community for anyone who wants to reimagine their most meaningful career with creativity and intention alongside other people on the same journey.
If any of the following situations resonate, then Campout is a place for you:
I’m figuring out what I truly value in my work and life.
I want to better understand where I really shine—and to create more opportunities to do so.
I want to home in on the kinds of work that are most meaningful to me.
I’m structuring my work and life so that they’re sustainable and sustaining.
We’re talking about all that in Campout. Because we’re living all that.
Campout is now:
✨ One simple paid membership
✨ €9/month, cancel whenever
✨ Thought-provoking events and workshops with experts and leaders
✨ Exercise templates to help you think through a work life that means something to you
✨ Social support from people walking the same path
✨ Space to be real about your work, your creative challenges, and your career
And we’re stripping out some of the more time-intensive stuff. We’ve removed our brand marketing courses and we’re gradually phasing out the templates that don’t fit this new vision. (Get ’em while they’re there if you want ’em!) And the coaching offering is now a directory of awesome people that anyone can browse rather than a premium perk.
It’s lighter, it’s cheaper, it’s easier to check out, and it’s more focused on what we (and you) seem to really care about.
Thanks for helping us learn
If you joined us for Campout V1, paid or not: thank you. You were part of helping us figure this out. And maybe V2 won’t work either, but we’re super excited to try.
Our whole deal at Bonfire is to do work that lights us up, feels meaningful, and creates space for people to do the same. We think this new Campout is a step in the right direction!
And if you’ve been watching from the sidelines, wondering if this was for you—maybe now’s the time to pull up a (virtual) log and hang out.
Because we’re going through it, too.
Up next in Campout….
Want to get better at tuning in to what’s stressing you out? Join us for an energy mapping how-to with
on Tuesday, July 29, at noon Eastern.You’ll leave with:
✨ A personalized energy map and body awareness toolkit
✨ Your top values, embodied and actionable
✨ A draft of your ideal day, synced with your real-life rhythm
✨ A mindset shift from performance to presence
But wait! There’s more…
Wanna hang out?
There are only 3 spots left for our fall retreat! Come join us in the French countryside from September 27th - October 3rd for a week of creativity and career exploration.
Wanna be friends?
If you love this newsletter and wish it were more interactive, you’re in luck! Join us over in Campout, our digital community for creative marketers and the creative curious.
Wanna work with us?
If you need help with brand strategy and storytelling, fractional brand and marketing leadership, and bringing your brand strategy to life in impactful ways, send us an email at hello@aroundthebonfire.com to get in touch.
As always, you can find us on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Threads.
This makes every nerve cell in my body sing! The candor + the pivot. SO smart, so relevant. You guys are the bee's knees.