MINUTES
Statewide Marketing Project
Monday 5 December, 9.30am – 12noon
Conference Centre Lounge, State Library of Victoria, 328 Swanston St. Melbourne
Attendance:
Statewide Marketing Project Advisory Committee
Margherita Barbante / (MB) / Product Manager (Children's & Teenage), Darebin LibrariesChristine Denis / (ChD) / Service Librarian, Hume Global Learning Village Library Service
Caitlin Derham / (CaD) / Online Service Librarian, City of Boroondara Library Service
Helen Diggerson / (HD) / Marketing Co-ordinator, Frankston Library Service
Pru Menzies / (PM) / Customer Service Manager, Casey-Cardinia Library Corp.
Wendy O’Hara / (WO) / Customer Services Librarian, Campaspe Regional Library
Annie Opray / (AO) / Marketing Coordinator, Bayside Library Service
Dianne Panjari / (DP) / Community Liaison, Yarra Plenty Regional Library Service
Public Library Representatives
Karen Batiste / Kingston Library & Information Service
Michael Hogan / Mildura Rural City Council Library Service
Matthew Hunter / Darebin Libraries
Ane-Marie Otley / Yarra-Melbourne Regional Library Corporation
Su Tayler / Goldfields Library Corporation
Public Libraries Unit
Debra Rosenfeldt / (DR) / Statewide Projects Manager, Public Libraries Unit, SLVNicole Lowndes / (NL) / Project Officer, Public Libraries Unit, SLV
JMM Communications
Julie Morgan / (JM) / Managing Director, JMM Communications
Apologies
Janelle Vise / (JV) / Information Services Co-ordinator, Geelong Regional Library Corp.
Lesley Fell / (LF) / Marketing & Program Librarian, Monash Public Library
Shirley Prescott / (SP) / Co-ord. Adult Services & Carlton Lib., Yarra-Melbourne Reg. Lib. Corp.
Lorraine Seeger / (LS) / Community Liaison Manager, Eastern Regional Libraries Corporation
Michelle Wallace / (MW) / Corporate Programs Manager, Whitehorse Manningham Reg. Lib. Corp
Agenda:
1) Transition Strategy
2) Progress Report: JMM Communications (11.30am)
3) Minutes and Business Arising
4) Councillor Newsletter
5) Finance Report: NL
6) @ your library campaign
7) Visual Merchandising Handbook
8) First Impressions Strategy
9) Other Business
/ AGENDA ITEMS / ACTION /1 / Transition Strategy
AO chaired a discussion on the future of collaborative marketing activities between Victorian public libraries after June 2005, when funding support from Statewide Development Projects will end. She highlighted a number of passages relevant to marketing from the Viclink Constitution and current Business Plan.
AO invited those present to list the benefits of the Marketing Project to their library service, and asked them to identify priority activities. Responses were:
§ @ your library has created a successful focus for promotional activities
§ the project and committee legitimises marketing as a discipline, which otherwise would not be considered a priority activity
§ many libraries don’t have dedicated marketing staff or budgets, so centrally coordinated planning and material really help, especially the @ your library themes
§ a collective approach achieves buying power and other efficiencies
§ libraries are now hitting their stride with the @ your library campaigns after a learning curve, and it would be a shame to lose the momentum and skills learned
§ libraries will really notice the absence of central promotional material if not continued
§ the ongoing committee is able to build on past successes like the wall height charts
§ the project has helped small branches, including one-person branches, to achieve promotional activities (displays, media releases, etc) that would never happen otherwise
§ the @ your library campaign has encouraged branches within services to work together on promotions where they hadn’t before
§ the central approach offers increased opportunities for sponsorship
§ the Marketing Project has granted opportunities to network and exchange ideas
§ a state-wide approach to media increases the impact
§ the project and especially the @ your library campaign permits libraries to benchmark their promotions and marketing activities against other libraries
§ Visual Merchandising activities have had a dramatic impact in some libraries, encouraging staff to revitalise their branches and significantly increasing loans
§ Marketing activities offer libraries a way to raise their profiles to Council, increase credibility, and identify Council departments that can provide assistance
§ The project has also produced tangible products used by libraries- posters, A-frame display boards, etc, has increased local and state-wide media coverage, and produced TV commercials, market research, and strategic marketing planning advice
Karen Batiste pointed out that library staff are not aware of what projects are planned to replace the current Statewide Project and whether there is a marketing component of those.
Anne-Marie Otley noted that the Summer Reading Club provided one example of a previous Statewide project that had been continued by public library staff. DR added Gulliver as a second example of this.
There was a subsequent discussion on what priorities the committee should have, from a list including promotional @ your library activities, market research, continuation of the First Impressions customer service strategy, and professional development workshops and seminars.
Those present, including a number of public library representatives as well as the current Committee, agreed to prepare a proposal for Viclink’s February meeting. This would request that a Marketing Committee be adopted as a formal subcommittee of Viclink. It will outline 5 main activities that the group believes should continue, including a costed plan for a self-funded continuation of the @ your library campaign for 1 year.
Helen Diggerson, Su Tayler, Pru Menzies, Anne-Marie Otley, and Annie Opray agreed to prepare the proposal, at a meeting scheduled for 10 January at the State Library of Victoria.
2 / Progress Report: JMM Communications
JM spoke to the November progress report circulated by email prior to the meeting:
§ Champions Kit material finalised and circulated, including template media releases and advice on working with the media and Council media units
§ Treasures campaign achieved coverage in Herald Sun (2 page story in the Learn section on 16/11), and Heritage Victoria’s Inherit magazine
§ Reading Rulz media release prepared and sent out
§ Photo shoot scheduled at Diamond Valley 24/11
§ Champions workshop prepared and delivered; follow up notes forwarded
§ Media call for Reading Rulz held on 2 December at State Library with Phil Kettle and CARP Productions
§ Herald Sun ran photo of CARP actors on 3/12 (p28), and 4/12 (p11)
§ What’s On and website listings organised for Reading Rulz
§ Currently working on proposal for Read campaign with The Age
§ Stephanie Alexander organised to appear on the Read promotional material
JM requested ideas for program content for the next Champions workshop. The committee suggested:
§ guest ‘personality’ to enthuse and inspire Champions
§ 8-10 five minute presentations by Champions on their best successes
§ interactive exercise encouraging ideas sharing on a particular aspect of the campaign, eg more promotional activities for Read and Connect
§ speaker on Reader in Residence programs in libraries
§ possibly a speaker on promoting online services in libraries
WO suggested the Gulliver group be invited to present the last session, and encouraged to produce a state-wide flyer promoting online databases. / PM to forward details on Reader in Residence programs
NL to ask Gulliver group to participate or recommend speaker
3 / Minutes and Business Arising
Actions from last minutes:
§ Holiday Fun stamps ordered
§ Other celebrities requested to participate in Read campaign
§ Visual Merchandising walking tour details circulated
§ Designer re-briefed on campaign designs
§ Invitation to Transition Strategy meeting prepared and forwarded / NL to request Jennifer Byrne participate in Read photo shoot via ABC
4 / Councillor-Library Introductions
NL tabled draft content for the newsletter to Councillors. This will be presented to the Libraries Building Communities (LBC) group also, and then typeset prior to distribution. The committee suggested a few changes.
NL reported the Delivering the Message seminar has been scheduled for Monday 13 December, and currently has 35 library managers enrolled. The program will include Dr Charles Lane, from the Dept. for Victorian Communities, the communications team from the State Library who will be working on the media campaign for the LBC project, the report author, and members of the LBC project committee.
5 / Finance Report
NL circulated a finance report for the project. The major allocations have been to Holiday Fun material, including rubber stamps, engaging a designer/ typesetter for the Image Handbook, and costs for the Delivering the Message Seminar.
6 / @ your library Campaign
Life is Learning results
NL circulated a summary of results from the Life is Learning Champions survey. Only 17 of 41 libraries responded, the lowest response rate to date. Usage of material was similar to other campaigns, despite several comments saying that the posters image and message were not popular with library staff, and too specific to Internet classes- which are not offered in every library. Few Champions heard the radio promotion on 3AW, so did not feel able to comment on its effectiveness. As the campaign measurement relies on Champions feedback, this approach cannot properly be assessed, however it can be assumed that the lack of comments does not support future paid radio advertising. Champions appreciated the opportunity to promote existing lifelong learning activities using the @ your library campaign.
From the feedback, NL recommended:
§ Champions will appreciate the revised look and wording style of campaign material, as long as we ensure it is appropriate to all libraries
§ The broader themes for new campaigns will also be well received
§ Minimal paid advertising for future campaigns, in targeted print media only
§ Champions should be encouraged to adapt existing activities and circulate ideas on the email list
Reading Rulz
Reading Rulz was launched at the State Library on December 4, with about 90 people attending.
Connex sponsorship
Connex are enthusiastic about the proposed sponsorship arrangement, but are currently reviewing their policy for 2005 and may discontinue the practice of having changing printing on metcards. The sponsorship coordinator will let us know as soon as this has been decided.
Champions Workshop feedback
39 people attended at the Conference Centre on 19 November. NL circulated a summary of evaluation responses. 91% of these rated it very good or excellent, with most comments regarding the need to stick to times, and a few requests for water. Most respondents thought the workshop was too short, very useful highly relevant to them, and all would recommend it to peers. 14 people came on the walking tour following the workshop, and expressed thanks for the opportunity to see display systems and products in person.
Comments:
§ An informative and sharing workshop
§ Some of this was repetitive to last year's
§ Needs to be a whole day- 10-4 at least
§ Need water, and coffee pre 10am
§ Need better time management
§ Good day- sharing ideas was great!
§ Great opportunity to develop ideas, collaborate on projects
§ Maybe some of the libraries could present a strategy that has been successful including how the campaign came about, implementation, evaluation, etc
§ @ your library Champions presentations- 5-10 mins - their perspective
§ I'd love to attend training sessions on reader development/ reading services
§ Speakers from big companies to give ideas on promotions and displays, or the people behind new businesses that have made it big- like Boost Juice, Body Shop
§ More training on putting together press releases
§ More time to talk to others about what they've done
§ I really enjoyed being able to network with peers
Promotional material
NL reported the Holiday Fun material has been redesigned, and is now being printed. NL tabled an example of the Holiday Fun rubber stamps, which have been ordered for each library.
NL tabled logo ideas by Dianna Wells for the Read and Connect campaigns, noting that she had requested changes to the Connect logos already. The committee selected one of the Read logos, and will comment on the new Connect concepts by email when available.
NL recommended 3 Read poster and Bookmark design be printed, each featuring one celebrity, under the heading Read @ your library, rather than a collage. This would be subject to availability of funds. The committee supported this idea.
Feedback on the Connect poster design was passed on from the last meeting, and the designer has requested a more detailed design brief from the campaign team. NL requested the committee consider ideas for the Connect IT theme poster, beyond those floated at the planning day.
Champions Kit Update
New sections were completed and circulated to all Champions at the Workshop and by mail. These are also available, along with many other @ your library files, on the Marketing Project web page on the Victoria’s Virtual Library Infonet. / Committee to forward ideas for Connect IT poster
6 / Visual Merchandising Tool Kit
Kevin’s content has been edited and finalised. Fathom Creative have been selected to design and typeset the publication, and print quotes have been requested.
7 / First Impressions Strategy
NL reported that consultant trainers Tess McGuigan and Jan Bryant have prepared a script, workbook, scenario exercises, and training course, and are delivering the first three pilot courses during December.
The training program is due for completion in April next year, and will be followed up by further Mystery Shopping research.
Other Business
None raised.
Next Meeting
Monday 10 January, 9.30am – noon, B3.23 Dome Meeting Room, State Library of Victoria
Note: Agenda item one will be the planning meeting for the proposal to Viclink.
The following meeting will be:
Monday 7 February, 9.30am – noon, B3.23 Dome Meeting Room, State Library of Victoria