Library marketing guru Terry Kendrick describes the modern world as everyone rushing from A to B with their head down, and marketers having the near impossible task of trying to divert them over to come and talk about product X for a while. So for us as libraries to market successfully, we have to show these busy people how we, as a library, can get them to B faster or better - and we have to do it without slowing them down in the meantime.
I'd extend the analogy to a marathon runner running past the refreshment area - at the moment libraries are standing behind (metaphorical) tables shouting about what orange juices they have and what vitamins these contain; what we should be doing is running alongside people with a tray, telling them that our orange juice will help them reach the finish line quicker. (This encapsulates marketing rules 1, 2 and 3 from the previous post: market the service, not the content; no one cares about the how; and and market what THEY value, continue to do what WE value.)
- thewikiman