What Sets Aspen Education Programs Apart from the Rest?

The main thing that sets Aspen Education Programs apart from the rest is a great public relations/damage control plan that is always in effect and always being worked on especially to help out when 'tragedies' strike the industry. In fact, it is this P.R. strategy that Sainer credits for his company's survival as is stated in Robina A. Gangemi's March 1996 Inc. Magazine article.

The example given by Sainer in the above mentioned article is when a teenager died while at a competitor's program in 1994, Aspen beefed up their PR efforts to combat the onslaught of bad press. Initially, they had a 20% drop in their incoming calls, but after Aspen began touting its safety record to those who refer business their way, as well as getting a glowing article written by a US NEWS & WORLD REPORT journalist (whom Sainer allowed to join one group near the end of the program when participants are at their 'happiest') the incoming call volume returned to normal and by 1995 Aspen was 'back on track' with $6million in revenues.

That boy to whom Sainer was referring to was Aaron Bacon. He was 16 years old and became very sick while in a program. As he became more and more ill, the camp counselors told Aaron to quit faking sickness to get out of hiking. Well, Aaron' faked' his illness for 30 days before finally succumbing to his horrible death. While Aaron's death was not the first in the teen 'help' industry, it certainly wasn't the last either. In fact, the death toll for these programs has been steadily increasing as the number of teen "help" companies increase. But Sainer hasn't let little things like children's deaths deter him from continuing to beef up PR efforts. As of June 28^th, 2007 Elliot Sainer was named Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young. In the company's press release they were sure to mention how the Aspen Education Group has been profiled by major news and television organizations around the world, and the syndicated television show Dr. Phil.