Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly - Long Overdue: The Creative Boom of Library Marketing (Encore)

Episode Date: April 1, 2023

This week, we look at the ways libraries market themselves. If you think libraries are quiet, you’ve got another thing coming. We’ll talk about a library video series that played like a TV cop show - and - we’ll look at library wars - when libraries battle each other on social media. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hi, it's Terry O'Reilly. As you may know, we've been producing a lot of bonus episodes while under the influences on hiatus. They're called the Beatleology Interviews, where I talk to people who knew the Beatles, work with them, love them, and the authors who write about them. Well, the Beatleology Interviews have become a hit, so we are spinning it out to be a standalone podcast series. You've already heard conversations with people like actors Mark Hamill, Malcolm McDowell, and Beatles confidant Astrid Kershaw. But coming up, I talk to May Pang, who dated John Lennon in the mid-70s. I talk to double fantasy guitarist Earl Slick, Apple Records creative director John Kosh. I'll be talking to Jan Hayworth,

who designed the Sgt. Pepper album cover. Very cool. And I'll talk to singer Dion, who is one of only five people still alive who were on the Sgt. Pepper cover. And two of those people were Beatles. The stories they tell are amazing. So thank you for making this series such a success. And please, do me a favor, follow the Beatleology interviews on your podcast app. You don't even have to be a huge Beatles fan, you just have to love storytelling.

Subscribe now, and don't miss a single beat. This is an apostrophe podcast production. You're so king in it. The score's up and it's down. Your teeth look whiter than noon, noon, noon You're not you when you're hungry You're in good hands with all these You're under the influence with Terry O'Reilly.

Back in 2012, a library in Memphis was discarding old books and found one titled Courageous Heart, A Life of Andrew Jackson for Young Readers. The card in the back of the book had been signed out by many students, including a 13-year-old Elvis Presley in 1948. It's the earliest known signature of the king. That library card sold at auction for just under 12,000 U.S. dollars. Another due date slip from a library book titled Death Took a Publisher by Norman Forrest

had another interesting signature on it. Signed out from a New Hampshire library in 1959, one of the 17 signatures on it was reclusive author J.D. Salinger, who wrote Catcher in the Rye. It also sold at auction for a pretty penny. And a librarian in Georgia discovered a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird,

signed by Harper Lee, that had somehow been in circulation at the library since the 1970s. That would be worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $35,000 U.S. today, minimum. I always wish I could stumble upon a valuable book like that somewhere. I am an avid book reader. I usually have at least five books on the go at any one time. While I buy most of my books, my father is an avid library fan. He also has about five books

on the go at any given time. Apple meet tree. When I was young, I would go to the library often. I loved having a library card. At that age, it was the only card I had with my the library often. I loved having a library card. At that age, it was the only card I had with my name on it. I would borrow books and was always keenly aware of when they were due, because overdue fines were one thing I could not afford. Recently, at a branch of the Toronto Public Library, an overdue book was finally returned. It was a copy of Ernest Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls. It was overdue by 32 years and 72 days.

At the Toronto Public Library's 35 cents per day overdue rate, the fine would have been about $4,000. That's probably why the person returned the book anonymously. Little did they know the Toronto Library caps its overdue fines at $14. But that wasn't the most overdue book in library history. In 2019, a library patron in New Brunswick returned a book titled Relax and Live, 63 years after it was first borrowed.

It was due in May 1956. A lot of relaxing went on there. That same year, someone in Manitoba found a children's book in her house that she had originally checked out in 1946. And she was a former librarian. Luckily, even though the book was way overdue, the library doesn't charge overdue on this show, and that is the subject of library marketing.

Like any other organization or business, libraries have to market their services. Because libraries don't have big marketing budgets, they have to rely on creativity. And when I look around at the marketing libraries are creating these days, I can't help but be impressed. You're under the influence. I live in a tiny town of less than a thousand people. It's kind of a one-street village built along a beautiful river. While there are several things you can't find in this cute little village,

it does offer one important thing, a public library. Believe it or not, libraries share a lot in common with for-profit businesses. They need to constantly grow and replenish their customer base. They need communities to know what they offer. They need to give people a unique reason to visit. And they need to get your attention in a very busy world. All of which means they need marketing. Take the Toronto Public Library, for instance.

Did you know it's the biggest and busiest library system in North America? It's the biggest and busiest library system in North America. It's true. The Toronto Public Library is number one in materials borrowed. It's number one for visits in branch and online. It manages 100 branches. During the pandemic, it set a new record with 8 million digital downloads of e-books and audio books. It is the largest consumer of e-content in the world for the eighth year in a row. One in five Torontonians visits a branch weekly

and an astounding 70% of Torontonians use the library. Very impressive stats. And way back in 2019, the Toronto Public Library took advantage of an opportunity. The Raptors had made the NBA Finals and were meeting the California Golden State Warriors for the championship. The city was on fire for the Raptors, and the Toronto Public Library got in on the action. In a series of very funny social media posts, the library taunted the Golden State Warriors

and did it by using the one thing it has a lot of, books. Five days prior to Game 1, the Toronto Public Library posted a Twitter video of two books being scanned at the front desk. One book was titled

Let's Go, and the second book was titled Raptors. And when they were scanned together, they made this sound. Hashtag WeTheNorth. Then on game day, the

Toronto Library tweeted a photo of four carefully chosen books stacked on top of one another. The title of the first book was Tonight. Title of the second book was Raptors. The third was Eat. And the fourth said Curry.

Together they said, Tonight, Raptors Eat Curry. was raptors. The third was eat, and the fourth said curry. Together they said, Tonight, raptors eat curry. A funny taunt to the Golden State Warriors and their star point guard, Steph Curry. Then the San Francisco Public Library responded with a tweet that said, Hey, at Toronto Library,

don't you know that dinosaurs are extinct? Go Warriors! Now there wasn't just a basketball final going on, there was a library trash talk heating up. The Raptors would win Game 1, the Warriors won Game 2. Just before Game 3, the San Francisco Library tweeted a photo of someone reading a book

about the Golden State Warriors with the caption, once upon a time there was a basketball team that won the championship over and over and over again. We know how the story ends. The Toronto library responded with a photo of three books with the titles Prediction Analysis, Raptors, Triumph. Then the Oakland Public Library stepped up and sent a tweet showing two books. One title was What's for Dinner? The other said Velociraptor. For Game 4, the Toronto Library tweeted a photo of six book titles. Together, the Spines read, Then just before the final championship game, the Toronto Library tweeted a photo of three books.

Their titles read, California Dreamin' Becoming Nightmares. The Oakland Library responded with three book titles of the Rome that read, No Chance Dinosaurs. Well, chance. The Raptors defeated the Warriors and won the NBA championship that night. To which the San Francisco Library graciously tweeted, the Raptors defeated the Warriors and won the NBA championship that night.

To which the San Francisco Library graciously tweeted, Congratulations to you Toronto Library and the City of Toronto. Hashtag Basketball and Books. The library trash talk was fun and funny and attracted thousands of followers. It was not just a creative way of supporting the Raptors. It was also smart marketing because it got media attention, generating numerous online stories, and it was talked about on the nightly television news.

And when you get media attention, it's like your marketing budget just quadrupled. When Raptors star Kawhi Leonard was rumored to be leaving the Raptors after the championship, a lot of goodies were dangled in front of Leonard to persuade him to stay, including a contract worth $190 million, a free multi-million dollar condo, free food for life, and the key to the city. You already have the keys to our hearts. I'm not sure exactly when else this key opens, but you should know that every door in this city is open to you and to your teammates.

But in the middle of all those huge offers, the Toronto Library tweeted an amusing proposal. It offered Kawhi Leonard a personalized library card. The offer was so small, it was hilarious, and again, attracted a lot of press attention for the library.

It reminded me of the time Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels offered the Beatles a certain amount of money to get back together. Now here it is, as you can see, verifiably, it is a check made out to you, the Beatles, for $3,000. So funny.

The Toronto Public Library's social media campaign was smart, cheeky, and timely. Placing the library in the middle of a heightened media frenzy, supporting the Raptors, and doing it the library way, attracting attention by simply using book titles and a library card. The Central Rappahannock Regional Library has ten branches in Virginia. And, like so many libraries, they were the victims of budget cuts in the Great Recession. But that didn't stop them from marketing themselves in a fun way. While suffering cutbacks, they wanted to let people know they were going to find a way to keep their services going.

So they chose to create a video. It was a parody of Gloria Gaynor's song, I Will Survive, and featured librarians from eight of the branches dancing to the tune. Listen to the lyrics. When the budget was for Slash, I was petrified. Had to do my job with my new printer denied. Then I ran off a few more, they didn't look too wrong. The streets are long, but we'll just have to get along. approving fewer but better programs without disgrace Should we stop inviting authors? Should we buy condensed books? Pretty sure that the homeschoolers would just give us dirty looks Come on now, walk in our door

Just wander round now, you are welcome to explore Did you think we'd stop reading to your kids? We still want them to learn about the pyramids. And we'll advise, alpha for time. For as long as we have patrons, libraries will stay alive. We've got computers spread throughout and so much to check out. We'll survive. We will survive.

Hey, hey. The video wasn't slick, but the librarians were having a lot of fun. The message was clear. The librarians were committed to keeping the library vital in spite of budget cuts. To date, that video has over 180,000 views. The McKeldin Library at the University of Maryland also produced a video. It featured the hit tune, Gangnam Style, and showed students and library staff all dancing with wild abandon through the halls and book racks of the library.

The video didn't mention any of the library's services, but everybody in the video is so full of joy that it just made you want to go there. To date, that video has had over 236,000 views on YouTube. The Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University in Utah did something very ambitious to get attention. It created a multi-part video series that was well-produced, it had a plot, and best of all, the actors were all librarians. The series was called Research Rescue, and it was handled like a dramatic TV cop show,

featuring librarians with badges swooping in like a SWAT team to help students with their research. The series even had its own theme song. Somebody is on the way, they're gonna help you And everything is gonna stay, they're gonna pull through Listen out another day, you'll never fail Cause they are Research Rescue The first episode in this amusing series begins with an older chief librarian explaining what librarians do.

Well, subject librarians have specialized training in their specific area of expertise. Then she gets interrupted by a code red on her walkie-talkie. And assist them with any of our many databases and other resources. We have a Category 3, Level 5 on the first floor. I'm on it. As she rushes to the scene, she explains what the code red is. A Category 3, Level 5 is a student that's reached such a high level of stress, he or she is reverted to an animal-like state of confusion.

It can be dangerous. There's nothing we can't handle. When she gets to the appropriate floor, she meets her research rescue team and welcomes a new team member named Jason. It is my first day. Feeling the pressure a little bit, but, you know, I've had years of training and schooling

preparing me for this moment. Am I scared? Yeah. The crisis? A student researching an economics paper has his leg caught in the electronic bookshelves. I've seen a lot in my years working here at the library. This is a first for me.

Those electronic shelves are usually pretty safe. They move quite slowly, and they've got sensors all over. So I don't know how this happened. The research rescue team tries to get the manual override on the keypad to work, but no luck. The student is in pain. One of the team offers to go get the building maintenance staff. The chief librarian knows time is of the essence, so she steps up and with a mighty grunt, pries the shelves apart

herself. The student's leg is freed. Crisis averted. Well, that was a tricky situation, let me tell y'all. But we handled it, and now that student is on the road to a full recovery. And it all happens in four really amusing minutes. The Research Rescue series had a number of episodes. It was well done, the acting is terrific, and all performed by librarians. What a fun idea. And it makes you want to be at the Harold B. Lee Library. Don't go away. We'll be right back. The New York Public Library has done some very interesting and fun marketing. As everyone knows, Black Friday is a big shopping day leading up to Christmas.

It happens in late November. Stores open early, stay open late, and are loaded with Black Friday deals. In the world of marketing, Black Friday is a noisy, massive advertising day. Pick up any newspaper, watch any TV commercial, or check your email, and you'll be assaulted by a constellation of starbursts, a forest of exclamation marks, and loud ads yelling about sale prices. Well, in the middle of that one-day blitz, the New York Public Library took out a full-page ad in the New York Times,

paid for by a library patron, and did a spoof on typical Black Friday retail ads. The headline screamed, All books are free, with smaller subheadings saying, Deal of the Season and Free Returns for an unlimited time only. There was a clippable coupon that offered 100% off books,

e-books, audio books, and magazines. The library also created some simple animation videos for social media. The Black Friday spoof was a big success. In the onslaught

of Black Friday retail ads, the New York Public Library ad made people smile. And it wasn't just smiles. There was a measurable result. The library saw double the number of library card sign-ups than they would normally see in a day. Their web page got 30,000 views. And their simple but fun Black Friday videos attracted over 50,000 views on social media.

The New York Public Library managed to do something most advertisers only dream of. They broke through during one of the busiest advertising days of the year. The Johnson County Library in Kansas City wanted to generate attention. It had a small fleet of trucks that delivered books to its many branches. So, they decided to have some fun with them. Here's what they did.

They painted beautiful business logos on the sides of their delivery trucks. One showed a white whale under a logo that said, Captain Ahab's Fine Seafood. Another truck had an ornate logo painted on all sides that said, Dr. Jekyll's Pharmacy. Yet another truck had a graphic of a stork carrying a swaddled baby in its beak under the logo, Benjamin Button's Diaper Service. And every truck carried one additional line that said, Available at the Johnson County Library. It was a very creative idea,

using the themes from classic books and turning them into humorous and fictional business logos. Those eye-catching trucks roamed the streets advertising the library for three years. Then came time for an update, so the library staged a contest inviting the public to contribute the next designs. A list of classic books was provided as inspiration,

including such titles as The Jungle Book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and Sherlock Holmes. Such a big idea, and using trucks as moving billboards gave the library increased exposure all around the county. I often wonder why more companies don't do something creative on their delivery trucks. In the spring of 2019, the Ontario government announced a 50% decrease in funding to public libraries. It was a devastating cut that led to immediate layoffs and drastic cancellations of various programs and services. That's when some concerned citizens got together to do something about it.

They formed a group called Save Our Libraries. They created a radio campaign that told a cautionary tale of what libraries might be like without government funding. In those radio commercials, they read excerpts from classic books, but each story contained a new wrinkle. Like The Wizard of Oz. Like the Wizard of Oz. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Chapter 4. Be it ever so beautiful, there's no place like home.

The Scarecrow sighed deeply. I guess you're right. And there's no place to insure your home like Kilgore Mutual. When it comes to comprehensive liability coverage, those guys are the real wizards. You said it, cried the Tin Man. And the Three Musketeers. The Three Musketeers, Chapter 9. Porthos stretched out his hand and the four friends repeated with one voice the formula dictated by D'Artagnan. All for one. One for all. Except at the Onigi Pizza, added Porthos Where it's always two for one on any large three-topping pizzas

Each of the Save Our Libraries commercials ended with this message If we don't support public libraries, someone else will Sign the petition to restore funding for Ontario libraries at saveourlibraries.ca In the first week alone, the petition earned 50,000 signatures, then shot up to just under 100,000. Save Our Libraries wasn't only an award-winning marketing campaign. It was important. Because our libraries need to be saved.

I listened to a TED talk about libraries recently. The speaker said, Libraries give children the very best foundation in life, a love of reading. She went on to say research shows that developing a love of reading in early age helps build attainment later in life more than any other factor, including parental income. That's quite a statement. And that is just one reason why our libraries need to be saved, and valued, and funded. Libraries are so much more than books.

They offer a multitude of services, and are often the hub of a community in good times and bad. In all our examples today, libraries generated big marketing ideas without having big marketing bucks. They found ways to get as much attention as businesses that had big marketing dollars to spend. And that's quite a feat. If there was one single takeaway from all those marketing ideas today, it was how much passion and commitment librarians bring to their jobs. They could barely contain their joy in the videos,

which made it all so much fun to watch. And that's the secret sauce. If you can infuse marketing with genuine joy, it's impossible to ignore when you're under the influence. I'm Terry O'Reilly. Sound engineer Jeff Devine. Theme music by Ari Posner and Ian Lefevre. If you enjoyed this episode,

you might also like Terry's Bookshelf, Season 3, Episode 15. You'll find it in our archives wherever you download your pods.

Follow me on Twitter and Instagram for some fun behind-the-scenes stuff at Terry O'Influence. See you next week. Fun fact. The U.S you next week. Fun fact. The U.S.-Canada border runs right through the middle

of the Haskell Library between Quebec and Vermont. You don't need a passport to visit, but you must return to your country of origin when you leave.