Cool! Look at this video produced by the New York Public library in collaboration with one my my favorite blogs Design Sponge.
Essentially, they are going to follow around five different kinds of designers/artists as they cull the NYPL looking for inspiration. In this first video of the series they introduce the designers and their respective mediums. Very neat stuff! Can’t wait to see the other parts of the series.
The New York Public Library holds a wealth of unexpected sources of inspiration for artists and designers—from vintage valentines and textile patterns, to fabric samples and turn-of-the-century menus from around the world. For this online-only miniseries, “Design by the Book,” the Library partnered with the leading design blog Design*Sponge to invite five New York City-based artists to sift through our collections in search of inspiration. Stay tuned for future episodes as the artists, who range from a glassblower to a letterpress printer, create unique works inspired by what they found; special guest Isaac Mizrahi will also join us to share his sources of inspiration. The artists are: Lorena Barrezueta, Rebecca Kutys, Mike Perry, John Pomp and Julia Rothman. Music by Clear Tigers.
I very rarely share blog posts, but I think that anyone who is going any kind of promotion/outreach/marketing or whatever you call it should read this.
I’m absolutely in love with these time traveling travel posters designed by Amy Martin. All the procceds go to 826LA, a non-profit writing and tutoring center.
Rather than simply pandering to a younger demographic Discovery’s new channel, Planet Green, came up with a pretty inspired & humorous promo spot. The acting isn’t oscar caliber but this certainly will connect with their target audience a heck of a lot better than paying them to read a list of reasons why being eco-friendly is the prudent thing to do.
You have to give it to them for pulling this commercial off, it’s extremely hard to successfully use celebrities (Rocker Tommy Lee & Rapper Ludacris) as spokespeople.
Just look at this terrible example from TNT for the 2008 NBA playoffs featuring Terrence Howard as a comparison. EEEKKKK:
Mary and I are so excited!!! We are going to start doing some pro-bono work for the Adams County SPCA in Pennsylvania soon. Which means we get to work with the awesome Lisa Conklin, their director of development.
We will keep you updated on what we come up with. This is really exciting for us since we are both huge animal lovers:
A great day in Texas. Mary and I gave our presentation/workshop to the Amigos folks in Dallas this past week. The workshop, “Can Libraries be Sold Like Soap?,” was similar to our CARL presentation but we did make a few adjustments. What’s great about the way we have structured the workshop is that we can easily tailor it to fit any size group. We’ve worked with groups as small as ten and as large as fifty. We can also easily cut or add activities to accommodate for time constraints. One hour workshops work, but they’re not as effective as the three hour workshops we have given.
“Can Libraries Be Sold Like Soap?” is constantly evolving. At the core is our commitment to offering a workshop that is engaging, practical, entertaining, and of course, educational. Still, we are always updating it with analyses of new social marketing campaigns and new activities that really allow participants to come out of the workshop with the beginnings of a campaign. The folks at Amigos came out of the workshop with some great ideas including the “Take One for You and One for a Friend” school library campaign and the public library campaign “Steal Music for Free at Your Library.”
We got to meet some great folks from the area including Nancy Hill from UTEP and Betty Long from the New Mexico State Library. We hope to see these folks again and develop workshops aimed at their particular staff and needs. Only regret is that we had to leave so early. Mary to Chicago for another workshop and me back to Tucson for work and three-year old play.
Thanks to Eddy and Laura at Amigos for all the help behind the scenes. Presentation and travel went off without a hitch thanks to their support. And again thanks to our guru, Katya Andresen, for continued inspiration via her book and blog.
Can Libraries Be Sold like Soap?
When: Wednesday, May 7 - 1:00 p.m. – 3:10 p.m. (Breakout Session)
Speakers: Mary Evangeliste Director of User Services & Outreach, Gettysburg College and Co-Founder, Fearless Future: Marketing for Things That Matter; Yvonne Mery, Assistant Librarian, Undergraduate Services Team, University of Arizona Library
Audience: Branding and Marketing
Traditionally, many librarians have had little faith in commercial marketing, perceiving it as unnecessary and claiming, in effect, that you can’t sell libraries like you sell soap. This session will present an alternative perspective on commercial marketing: social marketing and its applicability to libraries.
What are the most creative libraries doing to engage current and potential users of the library? Join us as we explore great new ideas for reaching and engaging users and look at some results of users’ involvement in shaping library services, programs, and spaces. This program will go beyond PR, to involving our various communities of users in shaping the libraries of the future. Panelists include an accomplished library social marketer and outreach librarian, a very successful public library director who has integrated her library with other public agencies, a leader in college student engagement programs, and a recent MLS graduate exploring new ideas. This teleconference is 90 minutes–Noon to 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time
