Public Relations Campaign

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Friends and Foundation of the Rochester Public Library Public Relations Campaign

Objectives:

Goal: Increase community engagement in and use of Rochester Public Libraries; and awareness of Friends and Foundation of the Rochester Public Library

                                 I.         Increase number of participants in Friends and Foundation library programs by 15%.

                               II.         Increase number of issued library cards for the 2013-2014 period by 20% in comparison with the 2012-2013 period.

                             III.         Increase in monetary donations to Friends and Foundation.

                             IV.         Increase in in-kind donations such as volunteer hours, and used book donations

Audiences	Desired Action	Research Findings
Adults	Attend library events and programs, sign up for library card, borrow materials, and donate to Friends and Foundation.	Overdue fines prevent adults from borrowing materials. Adults in Monroe County are unaware of library resources.
Youth	Obtain library card, borrow materials, and participate in programs (summer reading).	Youth don’t feel comfortable going to libraries alone.  Overdue fines prevent usage of library.
Schools	Take youth on field trips to libraries, promote library cards, and use Friends and Foundation promotion materials (posters, flyers, bookmarks).	Teachers feel fieldtrips interrupt lessons.  Teachers unaware of library resources.

 Message:

                        I.         User friendly events (e.g. 2012 Book Fair) will engage community.

                      II.         Tag lines: Love your local library.  Check out your local library. Used on posters, flyers, bookmarks, and Video PSA.

Action Plan:  The Friends and Foundation of the Rochester Public library will increase community engagement in local libraries by multifaceted marketing plan (special events, PSAs, bookmarks, flyers, posters). Overdue library fines will be waived for event participants and for people who visit the library in the month of March.

Assessment: 

            We will measure:

                                          I.         Increase in number of active library cards (active meaning at least two transactions per year).

                                        II.         Number of participants at special events

                                      III.         Number of school field trips to libraries

                                      IV.         Volunteer hours

                                        V.         Monetary donations/proceeds from book sales to Friends and Foundation

Course Correction:

            After one year we will evaluate the success of the effort and adapt our strategies as necessary.

           

In addition to the PSA and the Press Release, we created a plan for our public relations campaign.  From this I learned more about the operation of nonprofit organizations.  Additionally, it introduced me to the lingo used by nonprofits and public relations campaigns.