Your library brand and the student experience
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Having a consistent and effective library brand is all part of maintaining awareness of, as well as promoting, our services to our users. We will demonstrate this using a mixture of marketing theory along with real life examples, encouraging you to consider how your library brand impacts on the student experience at your institution. As we both work in academic libraries we share similar experiences which have driven us to become passionate about marketing. We realise the importance of marketing and recognise that there are different ways to market academic libraries, and will share some of our ideas in this session. The session will include some participatory elements and group discussion, and we hope that your involvement will enable you to get the most out of this session. We’re both fairly new professionals - Emma is currently working towards chartered membership of CILIP; Jo is working on her MSc dissertation. We are active committee members of our local Career Development Groups and our regional CILIP branches, supporting publicity and marketing. In our day jobs, we support the teaching and research at our respective Universities, and are keen to raise awareness of library services within the university community.
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Your library brand and the student experience
- 1. Your library brand and the student experience Emma Illingworth and Jo Alcock
- 3. What is your message to students?
- 5. Branding is the process of defining a library’s story, distilling that into a short, appealing sentence... then visually conveying the story” Doucett, 2009 http://www.flickr.com/photos/jiscinfonet
- 6. Adapted from Mathews, 2009
- 8. Clear, meaningful, unique message http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcarrero/4568971227
- 10. Commitment from staff http://www.flickr.com/photos/ajburgess/4055354920
- 11. Ongoing effort to deliver http://www.flickr.com/photos/dbaron/2437975928
- 12. Visual elements to complement message http://www.flickr.com/photos/fiatluxe/150714757
- 15. We provide agile services that reflect the changing educational environment and make access possible to the universal collection of knowledge in support of the University's mission.http://www2.hud.ac.uk/cls/aboutus/index.php
- 17. Brand? Information... Support... Community... http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/library/
- 18. The Student Experience Funnel
- 19. Student needs The library should aim to meet needs wherever applicable (individually or collaboratively) Academic Social Entertainment/Recreational Rejuvenation [Library services] must be determined not by what libraries have, but by what users need. Needs taken from Mathews, 2009 and Mi, 2006 http://www.flickr.com/photos/jiscinfonet/2328309559/
- 20. Schools and services The whole student experience – identifying student needs means we can recognise potential partnership opportunities with other university departments and beyond, and strive to deliver services to meet those needs. http://www.flickr.com/photos/jiscinfonet/146799178
- 21. Brand perception The institutional brand (message) needs to be conveyed in the departmental brand (message). Consider the departments as franchises of the Higher Education institution.
- 22. student and staff experience • aim 4 ‘to provide an experience of higher education that is challenging and enjoyable for its students and staff; that embodies equality of treatment; and that equips its students to be socially purposeful professionals and citizens’ University of Brighton, Corporate Plan 2007-2012
- 23. The Student Experience Funnel
- 24. Thank you http://www.slideshare.net/joeyanne Emma Illingworth Jo Alcock e.illingworth@brighton.ac.uk @wigglesweets http://librariansontheloose.wordpress.com jo@joeyanne.co.uk @joeyanne http://www.joeyanne.co.uk http://www.flickr.com/photos/jiscinfonet
Notas del editor
- Welcome and introduction to who we are and why we’re doing this presentation.
- So, let’s cover the marketing theory first.Many people (including myself!) think of logos and slogans when they first think of the term brand. We think of the golden arches from McDonalds, the Nike swoosh, and the iconic Apple logo. But the brand is a wider concept than this. The term brand refers to the concept of the company – its story about who they are, what they offer, and what distinguishes them from other companies. The things we often think of which represent the brand are elements of the branding – the logo, slogan, store design, staff appearance etc.If we think about the Starbucks chain, the brand has three elements; coffee, people, and stores. Their brand is one which supports the community and aims to provide a “third place”, away from home and work but somewhere you can be comfortable. “Authentic brands...emanate from everything the company does, from store design and site selection to training, production, packaging and merchandise buying. In companies with strong brands, every senior manager has to evaluate each decision by asking, “Will it strengthen or dilute the brand?” CEO in a book published in 1998Branding elements such at the layout of the store, aroma, lighting, decor, logo and music all contribute to the ‘Starbucks experience’.
- Let’s think about this in the context of libraries.How many of your libraries see the library brand as leaflets and posters?A brand is a form of shorthand that allows you to tell a potential library user a story about your libraryDoucett, 2008So the visual aspects of the brand (logos/slogans) are just one part of telling the overall story of the library. The other important point to consider is that we don’t own a brand – the brand exists in the mind of the users, but each interaction they have with the library will affect the brand perception.
- In his recent book on marketing academic libraries, Brian Mathews identifies three core layers of brand strategy – visual, value and emotional. This approach can be taken across the overall brand strategy as well as particular products or services – so we might think of this as the overall library brand, or for each of the different things we offer. As an example, here’s the sort of approach we might take to developing the brand strategy of one element of an academic library.
- Taking an academic library example, if we consider an information literacy programme of drop in sessions:The visual layer to the brand is the name of the programme, its accompanying logo and slogan (for example at University of Wolverhampton we call these Infobites and have a logo with a bite taken out of an apple)The value of the brand in this case is the development of information skillsThe emotional layer is the feeling that the library can help you with your studiesSo we can see how each of these elements builds layers towards the overall brand, and of course this brand must also fit into the overall library brand message and that of the institution. Let’s now consider some of the elements of a successful brand. Think about your library’s brand – does it encompass each of these elements? If not, what could be improved to strengthen the brand?
- Firstly, a strong brand must have a clear, meaningful message to encourage its use. Its message must also be unique to make it stand out from its competitors. Even academic libraries must consider this – there may not be another library on the University or College campus, but students and staff may still choose to go elsewhere for their information needs. This is especially important at the moment with many studies showing that students go to Google as their first port of call for information. Academic libraries need to consider this when creating their brand – what makes them stand apart from Google? What can they offer students that no one else can?
- Consistent messageA strong brand gives a consistent message, so that each interaction with the brand reinforces that message. This includes the publicity materials, the message from staff, the online presence, and social media presence if applicable.In the case of an academic library, the message must also be aligned to the University strategic aims to ensure a consistent message about the overall institution is clear.
- Staff buy-in is key to a successful brand.Staff at all levels must be familiar with the brand message and understand the importance of conveying this message throughout everything they do. It’s not just the senior managers or the marketing department that are responsible for this – the brand values must be clear throughout every single interaction anyone has with staff.
- Once you’ve developed a brand, it’s important to continue to work towards that core message and reinforce the brand values.This point was emphasised last week in an interesting conference talk by Mary Ellen Bates at the SLA Annual Conference. One of the points which she mentioned in her presentation was that “saying you're something doesn't make it so! Brand is built through doing” (via @bethanar). This is a continuous process – remember that all interactions will affect the brand, and this can work in a negative way as well as a positive way. One bad experience could ruin someone’s perception of the brand.
- Visual elements – logo, slogan, colour palette, fonts, signage, library layoutThe visual elements of a brand are just one part of building a strong brand. It’s important that they complement the message of the brand by conveying its values in the style of the logo, slogan, fonts, colour palette etc.In the case of a library, the layout of the building and the stock is also important, as is the signage – these help to reinforce brand elements.
- International symbol for information literacyWhat does the brand mean to you?What does the illustration tell you about the brand?According to the IFLA Marketing Manual (available online), logo represents book to represent study, and the head to represent knowledge and information received by us (also some see “i”, symbol for information)
- University of Huddersfield Computing and Library ServicesInitial thoughts about slogan – does it lead you to think about a library?What are the key values in the brand?The information taken from the about us page shows how the brand is aligned to the University strategy
- University of East London – Library & Learning ServicesWhat visual elements convey the brand?What do they tell you about this brand?Use of colourOpen spaceFairly informal – different types of space to address different needs – we’ll come onto addressing different student needs later
- University of Warwick LibraryWhat does this tell you about the brand?What would this mean to students?Does it meet their needs?
- What is my point and why does it matter? So, we’re looking at library brand and the student experience. We’ve looked at the concept of brand = message, so how does this have an effect on the student experience?What is the funnel? The following components come together to help shape the student experience. Look at each one in turn.Student needs Schools and services – this includes librariesBrand perception
- Student needs - students have need information needs beyond their academic fields and use their libraries for their personal information and leisure needs. Insisting that a library is only for academic use ignores other legitimate uses (Mi, 2006 p.413)Students assume the institution should ‘provide information to support both everyday and academic needs.’ – Given, 2002, p23.Entertainment, news, used car prices, sports news, employment, housing, hobbies, student association work, information on other universities and contact with friends via email and chat.Also consider thinking and learning styles.Segmentation of the university community – eg Warwick.AcademicSocialEntertainment/RecreationalRejuvenation, (Matthews 2006)How do we identify student needs?Student Surveys – National Student Survey, National Student Forum, NUS, Staff/Student Consultative committees, informal feedback, sector wide surveys, Government reports Student Experience Strategies – Professor Les Ebdon, University of Bedforshire - one role is as Chair of the Student Experience Policy Committee. (HoC Seminar 21/04/09 – Higher Education and the Student Experience) – 3 factors driving change in HE – student expectation, technology, diversity.Students as partners in learning – they want input, that’s why identifying and responding to student needs is important.Blended learning – blended librarian. Social aspect of learning.Diverse student groups = diverse learning styles.Student representation is very different from student consumerism (Wes Streeting)NUS student experience research report: part 7 Facilities and Resources:Students frequently comment that many of the social spaces provided by universities encourage them to spend money… a desire was expressed for more areas within the university that are comfortable and don’t encourage spending. Further evidence for this comes from students using the library as a social space. What’s the answer?Areas within the library where they are able to talk and use IT resources are often used for socialising as well as learning. This does have a knock on effect of discouraging some students who want to use the library for work purposes, as the environment is seen as too much of a distraction. This has been reflected in the opening session from Steve Smith, the session with Sally Curry – Library? What Library? Ensuring your library service stays relevant to its users. Leo Appleton touched on this too with the Superconvergence session.
- Collaboration and stronger relationships between university departments, both academic and central support services, lead to stronger foundations, more consistent messages, increased awareness of (library) services and a greater brand perception of the library and the institution as a whole. This, we think, leads to a better student experience.Although libraries have been trying to adjust to changing learning styles and adapt their services to meet the needs in some cases rather defining their brand/message/image ‘it has become increasingly difficult to characterize and describe the purpose of and the experience of using libraries.’ De Rosa et al 2006 from Mi, 2006. p415.Rejuvenating the brand depends on reconstructing the experience of using the library. De Rosa et al 2006 from Karle, 2008. p141Academic libraries have been forced to look at the needs of the users. Mi, 2006. p417 Bit strong! I think we always have, but we could do things better, more effectively and be a bit more geared towards changing needs. Libraries should provide seamless and one-stop searching for all the resources in the library. Mi, 2006 p417 Yes, but also working in partnership with other central departments to deliver services enforces the brand (message) of the institution and promotes the brand of the library.The library’s physical space (and its alternative resources) provide its best reply to Google. Mi, 2006. p419Don’t forget the power of the physical space in delivering your brand (message)Examples: Anglia Ruskin – work with student support services department to meet demand for study skills sessions.‘flexible support for our users.’ ‘important building block in the process of drawing four diverse sites into one university library service.’ ‘We know too that we cannot promote our library services in isolation but only in partnership with others’. P37 Sconul Focus, 46 2009. LJM – Superconvergence – IT, Libraries and Student Services Sally Curry session – SHARED SERVICES – both within and outside the HEI. What we need to focus on at UoB?
- Franchise – institutional branding given to each department, department adapts messages for their purposes, like a franchise (think Subway)Now, more than ever, improving an academic library’s ability to actively engage its patrons, while positively shaping their perceptions, is vital to the completion of the library’s mission. Karle, 2008. p141 – which should reflect the institutions mission.UoB – Coroporate plan – 6 aims: curriculum, research, economic and social engagement, student and staff experience, physical environment, governance, management and relationships.Values: engagement, diversity, participation, collaboration, sustainability.
- Franchise – institutional branding given to each department, department adapts messages for their purposes, like a franchise (think Subway)Now, more than ever, improving an academic library’s ability to actively engage its patrons, while positively shaping their perceptions, is vital to the completion of the library’s mission. Karle, 2008. p141 – which should reflect the institutions mission.UoB – Coroporate plan – 6 aims: curriculum, research, economic and social engagement, student and staff experience, physical environment, governance, management and relationships.Values: engagement, diversity, participation, collaboration, sustainability.The institutional brand (message) needs to be conveyed in the departmental brand (message).Consider the departments as franchises of the Higher Education institution.Ref to Leo Appleton and VALUES!! Core values of the HEI and how ours fit into that.UoB – Coroporate plan – 6 aims: curriculum, research, economic and social engagement, student and staff experience, physical environment, governance, management and relationships.Values: engagement, diversity, participation, collaboration, sustainability.