Reacing out to early adopters using geocaches, QR codes, partnering with prominent bloggers, and why we should do it.

1. CHEAP AND FUN WAYS TO
REACH GEN X AND Y
The most fun you’ve ever had marketing to
early adopters

2. “U.S. public libraries face similar marketing and
advocacy challenges to those endured by other
super brands. Lessons learned and successes
achieved can be applied to increase library
funding. Utilizing marketing and advocacy
techniques targeted to the right community
segments with the right messages and
community programs, we can improve the state
of public library funding.”
- Geek the Library

3. What is the Library’s Brand?
What the general public first thinks of when they
think of libraries:
Books
75% IN 2010
up from 69% IN 2005
- Perceptions of Libraries, 2010

4. What Should We Consider?
 How does material capture someone’s attention?
 How do people acquire information once a
subject has become interesting to them?
 How do people assess information that they
gather?
 How do people act on that information once they
need to make a decision or solve a problem?
- Lee Rainie, How Libraries Can Survive in the
New Media Ecosystem

5. Examples of inexpensive but
effective ways to interact with
patrons and get their attention
 Geocaching
 QR Codes
 Photoshop contests

6. What do these have in common?
 They are cheap
 They are games that market the
library’s services in an engaging
way
 They help broaden user
perceptions of what a library is
and can do

7. Geocaching: Meet Aaron

8. What is Geocaching?
Geocaching is a high-tech treasure
hunting game played throughout the
world by adventure seekers equipped
with GPS devices. The basic idea is to
locate hidden containers, called
geocaches, outdoors and then share
your experiences online.
- from geocaching.com

9. Making it accessible to the widest
audience!
 Combination of letterboxing* and geocaching
 No device necessary
 Child friendly theme with many easy clues!
* Letterboxing is 19th century geocaching – a
massive paper clue based scavenger hunt

10. The Clues
 The physical scavenger hunt leads the user on
a tour of the physical library building
 QR codes lead to additional virtual content that
might interest the user – videos of programs,
our North Carolina Archive site, downloadable
audiobooks, etc.

12. Some of the Entries:

13. What we’re trying next:

14. Unexpected Results
Geocaching and Photoshop contest attracted
many people outside of our constituents and
created good will for libraries in general.

15. Works Cited:
 De, Rosa C, Jenny Johnson, Linn H. Edvardsen, Patricia Harris, Brad Gauder,
Matthew Carlson, and Rick Limes. Geek the Library: A Community Awareness
Campaign : a Report to the Oclc Membership. Dublin, Ohio, USA: OCLC, 2011.
Internet resource. Accessed March 19th, 2011.
http://www.oclc.org/reports/geekthelibrary.htm
 De, Rosa C, Joanne Cantrell, Matthew Carlson, Margaret Gallagher, Janet Hawk,
Charlotte Sturtz, Brad Gauder, Diane Cellentani, Tam Dalrymple, and Lawrence J.
Olszewski. Perceptions of Libraries, 2010: Context and Community : a Report to the
Oclc Membership. Dublin, Ohio: OCLC, 2011. Internet resource. Retrieved March
19, 2011. http://www.oclc.org/reports/2010perceptions.htm
 Rainie, Lee, How Libraries Can Survive in the New Media Ecosystem, Pew Internet
& American Life Project, May 19, 2010,
http://www.pewinternet.org/Presentations/2010/May/Spain.aspx, accessed on March
19, 2010. Slide 28 and Slide 29

16. What the Librarian Gave Away
Links
Contest:
http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/index.p
hp/weblog/comments/what-the-librarian-won-a-
photoshop-contest-in-honor-of-jennifer-lohmann/
Entries:
http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/index.p
hp/weblog/comments/what-the-librarian-won-the-
entries/

17. Geocaching Links
Video explaining geocaching:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FxrMY91jJU
Aaron’s listing on our site:
http://www.durhamcountylibrary.org/geocache.ph
p
Aaron’s listing at geocache.com:
http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.a
spx?guid=94ff47cb-7880-47d1-91ee-
c8732a1721be

18. Peep Show
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-
srv/artsandliving/magazine/peeps2010/index.ht
ml