Queen Anne’s County Library
Increasing market penetration with a limited budget
challenge
Queen Anne’s County Library needed to increase county-wide market penetration from 31% to 40% within a year to remain eligible for an annual grant. With a limited budget and extremely tight geo-targeting, increasing the amount of library card holders by 9% would be challenging.
strategy
After taking inventory of the library’s services, we learned they offered free music, movies, e-books and audiobooks to digital card holders through a program called Hoopla. We knew Hoopla would appeal to a target audience of county residents who commute at least 40 minutes a day over the Bay Bridge. These individuals are seeking travel entertainment such as audiobooks and music on their way to and from work. To stretch the limited budget, the media mix needed to leverage paid digital advertising mixed with grass roots efforts:
- Facebook advertising
- January: Audiobooks
- February: Movies
- March: Music
- Posters and takeaway cards distributed to local businesses
- Email campaigns to current card holders
- Activation Campaign: Sent to a card holder immediately after signing up. These emails explain how to get started with digital check outs.
- Approaching Inactive Status Campaign: Sent to card holders who haven’t been active in a year. These emails explain how to keep your card active digitally.
- Referral Campaign: Sent to current card holders. These emails ask to refer a friend to obtain a digital library card for a chance to win a Yeti Cooler!
results
- 89 new card holder registrations (270% year-over-year increase)
- 217 new registrations for Hoopla (139% year-over-year increase)
- 2,752 items checked out from Hoopla (124% year-over-year increase)
- 707 unique patrons borrowing digital items (102% year-over-year increase)