Cruise to Success (Panel Session)

Cruise to Success: How to Steer Your Way through the Murky Waters of Marketing Your Library
Teresa DeLoach, Reference Librarian, University of Texas-Dallas; Loreen Phillips, Head of Information Literacy Services and Outreach, University of Texas-Dallas

· Marketing activities fall under the umbrella of instruction, outreach and reference
· Libraries need to always remind their campus communities of what we do
· Marketing is communication, relationship nurturing
· Two main kinds of marketing:
Covert – simple brand recognition
Overt – want people to remember product and services, not merely logo
· Successful marketing strategies begin by identifying the basic thing we want our users to remember
· No one else will market the library except us
· SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) helpful in understanding environment/culture, but also generates data useful in funding requests
· Use logo, phone number/contact info on anything you distribute to faculty, staff and students
· Pencils, pens and highlighters splash library name all over campus quickly and easily
· Keep statistics for every marketing endeavor (i.e., how many pens were distributed/taken)
· Distribute different bookmarks highlighting different things from general (hours, URL, etc.) to specific (collections, services) to directly applicable (LC,NLM classification)
· Xyron machine (popular in scrapbooking) can be used for making bookmarks, magnets, postcards and business cards in house with less expense
· Catchy phrases, big words grab attention; share details in smaller font (FREE RESEARCH PAPER help)
· Create posters in various styles, advertising various library services, events
· Use table tends within library to advertise new products (databases, journals, bibliographic management software, PDA resource, etc.)
· Use business card-size informational ads at public service desks for distribution alongside bookmarks
· Stock branded pens, pencils, erasers, highlighters at public service desks for distribution to students without expectation of return
· Have different style pens for different user groups: nicer pens for faculty and staff, cheap ones for students
· Try different things; even if they don’t work, at least you tried
· Don’t market only when you have specific marketing events (i.e., info fairs), but on a regular basis; hand out bookmarks, pens, highlighters, etc. to classes you teach