A Multi Year Marketing Plan for the Rutgers University Libraries

June 29, 2006

Developed by the
Libraries Communications/Marketing Team:
Kayo Denda
Harry Glazer, chair
Francoise Puniello
Roger Smith
Julie Still
Roberta Tipton
Ann Watkins

Introduction

The following marketing plan is a culmination of a full year and a half of education, consultation, and discussion by the Libraries Communications/Marketing Team.

The C/M Team was appointed by then Acting New Brunswick Libraries Director Francoise Puniello early in spring 2005, The C/M Team was charged with the task of analyzing all relevant recent Libraries assessments, reviewing current marketing literature, and then developing a multi-year marketing plan that complemented the Libraries new strategic plan.

The C/M Team began their work by carefully reviewing the Libraries Communications Audit, completed in July 2004, and the accompanying implementation chart with notes by members of the University Librarian's Cabinet. To raise awareness throughout the Libraries system of the imperatives of marketing, the C/M Team held an open invitation "Marketing 101" workshop in May 2005. Peggy Barber and Linda Wallace of Library Communication Strategies (LCS), two of the authors of the Communications Audit, led the workshop.

The C/M Team embarked on a process of self-education on marketing in the summer of 2005. Team members each received two well-regarded books on contemporary marketing trends, with a particular focus on word of mouth marketing, which were recommended by Peggy and Linda of LCS. Communications Coordinator Harry Glazer also periodically distributed to the Team relevant articles on marketing from College & Research Libraries News, daily newspapers, MarketingProfs.com, ALA's AcademicPR list-serv, and other sources.

On the recommendation of the University Librarian's Cabinet, the C/M Team enlisted the services of a student consulting team from the Rutgers Business School, starting in September 2005. The student consulting team met with the C/M Team, and on their own, for seven months and drew upon their experiences both as students and as workers in the business world to develop suggestions for the Libraries marketing plan. The student consulting team issued a report in early April 2006 and many of their suggestions were incorporated into the C/M Team's marketing plan.

The C/M Team held a full day retreat in late April to draw together the different ideas and perspectives they'd gathered over the year and start organizing them into a concise and coherent marketing plan. The retreat was very capably led by Training and Learning Coordinator Marilyn Wilt and concluded with a rough outline of four overarching goals, subsidiary objectives to each goal, and activities to realize each objective. A drafting subcommittee refined the rough outline and produced a draft marketing plan, which was refined further by the C/M Team as a whole. The marketing plan that follows is the final version issued by the full C/M Team.

We are grateful to the many administrators in the Libraries system that supported the work of the C/M team over the past year and a half. Particular thanks go to Associate University Librarian Jeanne Boyle, whose vision, advocacy, and practical suggestions and support established much of the foundation upon which this marketing plan was built.

Harry Glazer, chair
Communications/Marketing Team
July 12, 2006

Purpose of the Marketing Plan

The purpose of the multi-year marketing plan is to organize, prioritize, and advance all activities undertaken to increase the visibility of the services, resources, and scholarly activities of the Rutgers University Libraries among our various user groups at Rutgers. The marketing plan also aims to foster greater recognition for the Libraries initiatives and innovations within our broader external audiences.

The Libraries multi-year marketing plan is intended to advance two of the strategic goals identified in the Libraries Strategic Plan, 2006-2011:

• Improve awareness of the resources, services, and support available to all of the Libraries constituencies
• Continue to develop an organization and human resources to achieve the Libraries strategic goals

Broad goals

The Communications/Marketing Team has identified four broad goals to be addressed in this marketing plan. These goals are:

1. More stakeholders become aware of library resources and services appropriate for them.
2. Libraries personnel will remember who we serve and what they need, and will be in touch with users often
3. Develop publications and activities that directly engage users and explain how they have easy access to library resources, services and facilities
4. More concisely define and convey the values of the Rutgers University Libraries' system, for easier internal and external reference.

The chart below articulates the objectives, audiences, actions, and cost-factors necessary to achieve each goal.

Sequencing

To allow for a graduated approach to the integration of new marketing practices, the Communications/Marketing Team recommends that the Action Steps identified below be introduced over a three year period. Action Steps followed by a (1) would be undertaken in the first year, those with a (2) would be added in the second year, and those with a (3) added in the third year. On the fourth year the Libraries would conduct a wide-ranging assessment of this plan, and its constituent activities, and begin to prepare a new multi-year marketing plan for the next three years.

Marketing plan chart

Marketing Plan Implementation

In order to coordinate and oversee the implementation of this multi-year marketing plan, the Communications/Marketing Team recommends the appointment of a committee/group/unit responsible for marketing and public relations issues in the Libraries (henceforward referred as M/PR Group).

Promoting the Libraries should be a part of the work of all library staff. The M/PR Group must develop opportunities for library faculty and staff to participate in the effort and support initiatives to make the Libraries the center, both physically and intellectually, of the campus community. The M/PR Group will:

• Develop and oversee the marketing plan's specific goals and establish the procedures by which individuals working on advertising, marketing, promotion or public relations might most easily work, to allow all involved to present a united public face for the libraries.

• Focus the Libraries personnel on the public relations, advertising, promotion, and outreach activities identified in the goals and objectives and action steps, to enhance user awareness of library resources and services.

• Develop marketing plan assessment mechanisms and update the plan to reflect feedbacks and priorities and address emerging needs.

• Consult, in an advisory capacity, on the overall design and navigation issues of the University Libraries' website with the WAC and the Webmaster.

• Coordinate the planning, development, and production of promotional products about library services, events, and activities.

• Identify and develop the broad messages and themes to use in marketing to various constituencies of the library.

• Serve as liaison to other RU publicity groups and venues including: University Relations, Admissions Office, online events calendar, and Alumni Relations.

• Monitor developments in marketing.

Incorporating current marketing activities into the multi-year marketing plan

In developing a multi-year marketing plan, the Libraries Communication/Marketing Team did not address the role and priority of existing communications and marketing practices in the context of this plan. In the months ahead the Communications/Marketing Team plans to review and rank the following elements of the Libraries established practices:

• Glossy annual report and twice-yearly newsletter
• Communications coordinator liaison with University Relations
• Public events
• Libraries website News & Events webpages