My Perfect Library

Branding Tip # 1 – Set Goals

dmjstudio — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 17:06:47 +0000

What goals and objectives would you like to accomplish with your branding initiative? Most brand initiatives are created to increase customer awareness of the organization and what the organization provides. Brands are also used to create a visual and a verbal consistency that helps customers develop a mental connection between your library and the visual components that are part of your brand. These are generic goals that all brands try to fulfill. But what goals, specific to your library and customer needs do you want to accomplish with your brand?

Here are some sample goals:

To create visual familiarity by developing 100% consistency in printed promotional materials and on your web and other online environments.
To develop a mark or logo that embodies the current and future direction of the public library system.
To increase the number of teens that use the library by 20% through the development and implementation of a brand campaign that targets teen services and teen needs.
To create consistency in the experience of the library with standard visual layout and signage within all library locations.

Your goals should be in line with the mission and vision of your library and should be measurable so that success and progression of the brand can be documented. Most importantly, your goals should be attainable. There is nothing that can wreck an initiative faster than lofty or unobtainable goals.

Goals can be set before you begin your brand audit (see definition below), but should be reevaluated after you’ve completed your audit.

(A brand audit is the an analysis of your current brand and communication process. It includes reviewing strategic plans, marketing plans and materials, competitors, surveying users and staff members and reviewing strenghts, weaknesses, opportunities and threats)

See you next week with Branding Tip #2 Honesty

Brand Consultant? Do I Need One?

dmjstudio — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 23:15:47 +0000

What is a brand consultant and do you need one? The job of a brand consultant is to help you create a focused, creative message that connects with customers emotionally and visually. Consultants help you create a relationship with your customers while at the same time grow your brand as your organization and customers change and grow. No matter what size your library may be or what organization you are leading, brand consultants are a good thing to have.

When customers approach me about their brand, the first items they want to discuss are logo, marketing collateral, web site, social media sites. These are wonderful but they are not everything.

Logos, collateral and web sites are tools that support your identity. A brand consultant not only helps you develop the best visual components of your brand but through research and discussions, a brand consultant can help you find where you are needed in the community and build your message, product, or service around that need. Consultants can bring focus to your message and find the right combination of tools to get your message to your customers. A brand consultant will help you connect everything to your mission, even when your outer appearance and other components of your identity changes – and they will – your core stays strong and familiar. That familiarity is what keeps customers loyal and that creates a good brand or identity.

So if what you want is a logo, marketing collateral, or a web site; a professional graphic and/or web designer may be what you need. If you are looking for these visual components plus the creative strategy to use them in a way that will build a loyal customer base, you need a brand consultant.

One of my favorite books about branding is What is Branding, by Matthew Healy. If you want to learn more about brand and how consultants can help you, pick it up.

If you are in need of a brand consultant, contact me and schedule your free first consultation.

Brand Fitness: Change Your Brand Routine

dmjstudio — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 22:43:57 +0000

Last December, I decided to change my exercise routine. For the past five or six years, if not more, I have been an avid gym goer. It felt good to go and it felt good to say to others that I went to the gym regularly.

You would think going to the gym religiously would give you an awesome body. That wasn’t happening for me. I was going to the gym, doing the same routine I always did and I was actually gaining weight. GAINING WEIGHT! I chalked this anomaly up to getting older and accepted that this would be the way it would be.

Back to last December. One of my favorite shirts that I wore for years was earmarked for the thrift store. I couldn’t fit it anymore. That was it. I decided that maybe it wasn’t age that was causing this weight gain, but the fact that my body wasn’t really being challenged. Maybe the exercise that I had been doing for six years is no longer enough to keep me in shape. I needed to shake up the routine.

That is exactly what I did and I have been getting some awesome results. My favorite shirt is now back in my wardrobe. I have so much energy and just loving life more.

What does this have to do with brand? The thing is, sometimes we treat our brand like I was treating exercise. We do the processes of brand and, if someone ask, we can proudly say, “Yes, we have a brand initiative and blah blah blah.” But what is the outcome of having a brand if you aren’t going to strengthen it and challenge it?

When you don’t flex your brand muscles, you end up with a tired and flabby body, or in brand terms, an unsuccessful identity that no one cares about or believe in what so ever. An unchallenged brand leaves an organization weak. If this sounds like you or your organization, stop wasting time.

Evaluate what you or your organization’s brand workout is achieving. If you do not see results, it is time to shake it up and make some changes. We tend to want to make visual or superficial changes first, you know – a new logo or a new web site. These changes may be needed, but in most cases change is needed closer to the core. How do you do this? How do you strengthen the core of your brand?

Remember your purpose and make sure you are filling it. Sounds simple, but how many times have we caught ourselves dabbling in things that do not benefit us or our customers?
Know your audience. Is your audience growing? Is it changing? Are you fulfilling the needs of your audience?
Where are your resources going? Are you putting resources into things based on audience needs and your goals or are you putting resources into things out of habit or tradition?
Is your message clear to your customers and other stakeholders? How often do you communicate with your customers, staff? Is the the communication being accepted well or at all?

Change and strengthening your brand can hurt sometimes, but you have to keep going and tweaking and revising until you find the right mix of brand processes that will bring you the results you want.

All of us want to look great when we pass the mirror. In case of your brand, your mirror is your audience. Look at the mirror. Do you need to change your brand routine?

Brand Diary – My Niece Checks Out Her First Book

dmjstudio — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 03:48:55 +0000

I spoke to one of my nieces today. She will be six years old in a few weeks. I asked her about her day at school. After telling me what her teachers taught her, she excitedly exclaimed that she went to the library.

She’s been to the library before (of course she has – I am her aunt). This time was different because she checked out books. She checked out a couple of books from her favorite book series – the Froggy Series.

She was very excited about her library experience and that made me smile from ear to ear. Library users are cultivated at a young age with experiences like the one my niece had today.

My niece will become a parent one day and she will remember this library experience and want a great library experience for her children. Experiences like these are the beginning stages of the development of a loyal customer-base.

To keep my niece and others like her excited about libraries, we have to keep delivering great experiences that she and others will connect to. How?

Evaluation. Evaluate what your organization does well and where you can improve. Evaluate your audience; who are they? Review your goals and objectives. Are they in line with your resources? Are they in line with your customer’s needs?

After you evaluate – ACT. Libraries are great about collecting information and stats and such, but not as good about taking that collected information and acting on it. Take action to make the changes that will keep your library progressive and intriguing to new comers like my niece.

A true brand initiative includes scheduled evaluations. Make sure evaluations are part of your brand process. This is how brands grow and become successful and productive.

I can’t wait to hear about my nieces next adventure in the library. I hope that is it a good as this one.

Bookstores vs. Libraries: When to Use One or the Other

dmjstudio — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 02:45:06 +0000

When to use a library and when to use a bookstore:
I am sure that library lovers and library professionals purchase materials from bookstores. Libraries and bookstores can, at times, be each other’s competition. There are times when libraries are the best option and times when bookstores are the best option for your book and material needs. How do you know?

Reading the newest novel? – Borrow from the library.
In most cases after you read a novel once, or twice, you won’t pick up the book again. Borrow it from the library and feel good that instead of the book collecting dust on your shelf, it is being read by another novel lover. EXCEPTIONS: Some people collect novels from particular authors (J.K. Rowlings, Walter Mosely, the Bronte sisters, etc). Since you cannot keep books from a public library, a collector should use a bookstore.

You saw a new book that you think you are interested in, but are not sure ? – Go to the library.
The library is an awesome place to get a taste of a book before making an investment in it. It saves time, money , and it is just smart.

How many times have you seen a book at a bookstore or online and you just like the cover or it is just so different from what you usually read, yet you didn’t pick it up because you had to buy it? Who wants to pay for something they are unsure of, especially in the economic environment we are currently in? The library is a fabulous place to try something new.

You have a diverse taste and need a large variety of books, movies and music to enjoy without going broke – Go to the library.
I am a indie film lover. I’ve found some treasures in the film department of my library. One of my favorite movies to this day is “Run Lola Run,” and the first place I was able to rent it was my neighborhood library. The DVD collections in most public libraries are up to date and very diverse.

Libraries have a large range of materials and where I think they differ from bookstores is the time frames in which the materials were published. You can find books and other materials that were written and published 20, 30, 40 years ago as well as last year on many diverse subjects. Libraries absolutely feed the need of variety.

Need a book on the latest software – Go to the bookstore.
As a graphic designer, I lived the frustration of looking for books on the latest graphic design and web design software in the library. Most times, if I was lucky to find a book on the software at all, it would be for an earlier version of the software. Not helpful at all.

Technology changes so quickly and so often, I do understand that it is difficult to keep a library collection current with this ever changing subject. Where libraries make up for lack of technology -based materials is with the librarians and the electronic resources. I’ve at times been able to find information that I needed through databases or by getting help from a librarian who has given me other sources to learn the latest and greatest about a software without investing $75 for a book.

Another plus for libraries is purchasing suggestions. The library that I work for has a form on the site that gives customers the opportunity to suggest books. This isn’t an instantaneous thing, but it gives customers a chance to mold the collection. In most cases though, I find that the bookstore has been an answer to my software manual and book needs.

It’s 10:00 PM and you are a book addict and you are craving for a new book. Or maybe a less harmful scenario is its 10:00 PM and you got a presentation due at 8 am You need a book and you need it tonight! – Go to a bookstore.
Public libraries do not have late hours (beyond 9 PM). So, if you have a book emergency or book addiction, the bookstore will have to do. There are many bookstores open until 11 PM or even midnight. EXCEPTIONS: Don’t count libraries out too soon in this area. Libraries do have e-books that you can download anytime. Maybe the book you need to finish that presentation is in e-book format and available at your fingertips with a couple of clicks. Maybe your addiction can be coaxed by an available and free e-book. Check out what your library has to offer in ebooks.

You need help doing research and you don’t know where to begin? – Go to the library.
You can find books and movies and music and coffee and chocolate and, and, and more at the bookstore, but what you will not find is a professional research guru who can help navigate you through all of the information on the web or to the best books for your research needs. You are not gonna find that in a bookstore and especially not for free. Even more advantageous is most libraries have online research support AND in many cases it is available 24 hours a day. ALL DAY! Bookstores are awesome when it comes to getting books, music, film and having a place to just chill and socialize. Libraries have these components too, but bookstores and libraries veer off into different worlds when it comes to research and community support.

Are you looking for workshops on job searches, genealogy support, gaming competitions, computer access, technology training, help with homework, language classes and all for free? – GO TO THE LIBRARY.
This is what I mean about research and community support. All of these services are to enhance customers in one way or another. They have the potential to change the minds of the users and expand the opportunities of all users. Libraries don’t want you to just read about things, libraries want to show you how to use what you are reading, hearing, and seeing. Libraries want you to be the next creator of a book or film or musical piece.

Bookstores have their place and so do libraries. I believe that they can live, be used harmoniously and have their own individual success. What libraries need to do, that bookstores do well, is focus itself, its message and its services. Be clear about your purpose and stay dedicated to it.

Libraries have been denying what they are and trying to make themselves something else for the past fifteen years. It has made the public library brand murky. Let’s clean this up so that the question about when to use a library and when to use a bookstore doesn’t need to be ask.

Brand Diary – Remembering and Igniting

dmjstudio — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:17:55 +0000

This week I worked on an entry for the Texas Library Association Iron Awards. It was invigorating to work on the entry for this prestigious award. It gave us the opportunity to go back and remember the work and the frame of mind that our library team members were in when developing our identity. To see how the brand has transformed who we are over the past years was amazing.

I smiled while I remembered the brainstorming sessions and the weeks and weeks of redesigning that we struggled through. Seven different logo designs were reviewed, broke apart and examined. I remember the fear that our library system and team members felt when changing our look so dramatically. For a long time we carried the icon of a book proudly within our logo mark .It was of course a part of us, but in reality, it was no longer who we were.

That was over two years ago. So far, it has been a wonderful ride. This award entry experience has put a new fire to my creativity. It is time to move our brand even further and to give it more life. What is next?

Share Your Branding Stories and Experiences and WIN!

dmjstudio — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 04:04:55 +0000

Any public library system within the United States or Canada is eligible to win. NOTE: If you have supporting documentation that you would like to share, please email those materials to: dmjstudio@msn.com – SUBJECT: Share Your Branding Stories and Experiences.

Good luck and thank you for participating.

Share Your Branding Experience

Your Name

Your Email Address

Library Name

Branding Experience

Image Verification
	Please enter the text from the image: [ Refresh Image ] [ What's This? ]

Brand Diary – Parent Brand and Sub brands

dmjstudio — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 22:10:27 +0000

This past week my team and I were developing a brochure for our annual African American Heritage Month events. It brought to mind the subject of master brand and sub brands. Before our organization’s massive brand initiative some of our events and programs (summer reading program, city book read initiative), stood as individual identities with no obvious connection to the parent brand.

There are some successful cases of the sub-brand being stronger than the parent brand. A great example is ipod and iphone, sub-brands of Apple. In the case of my library, the parent brand was non-existent until this current brand initiative and we had to make the decision to change all of our program and event brands in order to strengthen the new parent brand.

Now, if I was the brand manager for ipod and iphone, I would not have made that decision. Our library programs didn’t have the cult following that the iphone and ipod do (that Apple does). I felt safe taking our sub brands and changing them. I actually feel that the end result has been stronger brands, both parent and sub-brands alike.

To transition our sub-brands so that they were in-line with the new parent brand we incorporated the new color palette, fonts and language while still keeping some of the core components of the old sub-brands. This solution kept some of the old familiarity of the sub-brand while connecting back to the new. This is the philosophy we used with all of our sub-brands and it has worked well. You can view our African American Heritage Month Brochure here.

We have used similar visuals for the past three years. I did have a library staff member ask why we use similar visuals every year. Before I came aboard to the library, artwork would change drastically from year to year. No consistency whatsoever. There is still validity in the question because consistency can easily become stagnation. A brand consultant has to know the difference between the two. Consistency creates loyalty while stagnation kills brands and loses customers.

I look forward to seeing where our parent brand goes next year and how the sub brands will support it.

Mission and Message

dmjstudio — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 05:54:56 +0000

Message and mission are two important components of brand. Let’s define them and then learn why they are important.

Mission is your reason for being. It is what your organization strives to achieve through its services.

Message is the communication of the mission and vision of your organization. The message becomes tangible through the mission statement and through your communication tools and plans.

The mission statement is a succinct statement embodying your organization’s reason to be. It is a verbal and concrete embodiment of the mission. Here are some sample links to mission statements.

Here are some standard communication tools for communicating your organization’s message:

Signage and layout of your library
print collateral
web site
social media (blogs, twitter, Facebook, Youtube, etc)
traditional media (TV and print ads, press releases, etc)

So why are missions and messages important to the success of a brand?

When it comes to the mission, it is important to know your reason for being. You cannot have a clear understanding of who you are and neither can your customers without knowing why you exist.

Without a message, you cannot communicate clearly with your customers. Unclear communication and messages blurs identity and makes a brand a failure.

A strong mission and message are important parts of the core of any brand. If you are beginning your brand initiative, mission and message should be on top of your list.

Brand Diary – Our Services Make Us Special

dmjstudio — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 02:50:57 +0000

This week , my home library launched a new publication called “the Link”. I have worked within public libraries for the past decade and it seems to be common place that we (libraries) put a lot of our marketing resources (print promotions, web promotions, ads, other media) into our events and less marketing resources into promoting our services. When it comes to branding and identity, part of a successful identity is knowing your niche. What makes libraries different from places like bookstores and what makes us different from the Internet and other organizations is our services. Who else gives customers free access to books, DVDs, music, ebooks, audio books? What other places give access to hundreds of databases or provide online support and expert research advice, again, for free? No one but libraries.

We should play up our uniqueness when promoting; in our printed materials, in our environment displays, online, in our social media and in our day-to-day communications. This publication is one of many ways we will promote our services and by doing so, strengthen our brand.