Final Project Public Relations Campaign for Trumbull History
Month Events
Southern Connecticut State University
ILS 568 S 70 Library Public Relations
Celebrate TrumbullŐs
History Month
Public Relations Campaign
Table of Contents
I Public relations campaign timeline
Poster, flyer, bookmark, and bus placard
II Conclusion
From the September and October event calendar, I chose to
create a public relations campaign for the series of programs in October,
Celebrate TrumbullŐs History month, commemorating the anniversary of TrumbullŐs
incorporation as a town in October 1797. By collaborating on bus tours of the
Historic Nichols section of Trumbull, the Trumbull Historical Society and the
Trumbull Library System (ŇTLSÓ) seek to educate the general public, residents,
and out-of-towners of the richness of TrumbullŐs History. As October is
designated in United States as Family History Month, TLS augmented the tours
with a series of history-themed events Ancestry.com: Library Edition, a Family History Writing workshop, and an author talk
of the book It Happened in Connecticut.
The Trumbull Library System has an
established promotional schedule for events as outlined in the Press Coverage
Checklist. During my tenure as Program Coordinator, I created this checklist to
facilitate the marketing of an event with the un-shaded cells acting as visual
cues for what action is taken at what point prior to the event in order to meet
press deadlines and to target the appropriate audience. For instance, the first
entry on page one under Press Releases, ŇThe ReviewÓ, is a small, local
magazine that features Trumbull, Monroe, Shelton, and Easton news. During a
conversation with its Editor-in-Chief, I learned that it is possible to have a
pre-coverage article in the magazine as long as the editor is notified a
minimum two months prior. Therefore, as soon as OctoberŐs events are confirmed,
I submit a Press Release in Plain Text format through the magazineŐs web site to
request coverage. At the same time, I contact Greater Bridgeport Transit
AuthorityŐs Bus and On Board Advertising Department to determine the
appropriate timing for placing the bus placard on buses and on which bus
routes. In the weeks leading up to the events, I proceed down the press release
section of the checklist and submit press releases or requests for coverage to
the each publication as indicated.
To continue TLSŐ goal to have a
consistent brand for all correspondence that is produced by the Library, each
of the campaignŐs marketing tools, Poster, Flyer, Bookmark(PDF file), and Bus Placard,
include the TLS logo, the Town of Trumbull seal, and the Trumbull Historical
SocietyŐs logo. Although posters are typically 16 X 20 inches, my experience in
placing posters in town business windows or foyers has met resistance as this
size is much too large and blocks sight lines. Therefore, I chose to make the
poster 13 X 19 inches, which makes this marketing material slightly larger than
a 8 1/2 X 14 inch flyer and fits in most establishmentsŐ windows and on
Community Boards. Each promotional item provides the minimum information to
entice the reader to attend the event and how to do so. Maintaining verbiage to
a minimum increases the white space, the surface of the paper on which one
chooses not to print, and promotes readability.
The colored posters, flyers, and
bookmarks are placed two-weeks prior to the event and are designed for specific
marketing placement. Posters are placed on business windows or bulletin boards,
public kiosks or mass transit poster areas near the doors on buses or commuter
rail, as permitted. Framed posters are displayed on an easel in high-trafficked
areas, such as the TLSŐ reading area across from the Circulation Desk and in
Fairchild-NicholsŐ foyer, along with flyers and bookmarks. In addition to all
the places outlined under the Press Coverage ChecklistŐsŐs heading, Flyers or
Posters, flyers are found in the Main LibraryŐs sponsored events flyer rack, on
ChildrenŐs ServicesŐ bulletin board, and on Fairchild-NicholsŐ bulletin board.
Bookmarks are positioned at the Main, ChildrenŐs, and BranchŐs Circulation
Desks as Ňpoint-of-purchaseÓ takeaways for all who use the library. They can
also be put in any other business that permits placement of not-for-profit
information, but does not have space for posting larger materials.
Each event listed on Trumbull
LibraryŐs web site calendar, LibraryInsight, as its own calendar page with a graphic such as a photograph from the
performerŐs web site, the dust jacket of the book or press photo of the
performer. If appropriate, the eventŐs main page links to a sign-up page that
reiterates the program description as illustrated here
The public can access events from
the web siteŐs Main Page from the top navigational bar under Events/Programs or from the right navigational bar under I
Want To then select Register for
an event. Both links bring the user to the Events
& Programs page on which the user
selects the events category, Children, Young Adult or Adult and All ages, that
they wish to attend. In addition, events are listed on the libraryŐs bi-monthly
newsletter which is placed on the web site under About Us then Library E-Newsletter and the user selects Trumbull Library
Newsletter. The newsletter is distributed a
minimum of two weeks prior to the promoted months within the Library, Town
Hall, and other not-for-profit organizations. The last marketing step is the
reminder email to TLSŐ GMail
age-appropriate, Adult, Family, Children, Seniors or Teens, subscriber list
approximately fourteen calendar days prior to the event. As the event draws
near, the Program Coordinator works with TLSŐ Webmaster to highlight the event
on TLSŐ Home Page. At approximately ten to fourteen calendar days prior to the
event, the Webmaster will place an eventŐs hyperlinked title in the upper,
right-hand corner of the Main Page at the Special Events header under the Programs & Events header. This area showcases three to four upcoming
events. Within seven calendar days prior to the event, the Program Coordinator
instructs the Webmaster to move an up-coming event to the left-center of the page
under the New! header. This entry
includes the eventŐs title, date, time, graphic, and a short blurb with a
hyperlink to the eventŐs calendar page. The goal of the Program Coordinator and
Webmaster is to keep all information on the top third of TLSŐ Main Page,
current with events appearing and disappearing as they occur, and only
two-clicks away for the user.
Currently TLS is conducting a
feasibility study to determine the viability of subscribing to a social
networking service. If the study supports connecting through one of these
services, the social networking links would appear at the bottom of the About
Us header and have direct feeds from TLSŐ
web site calendar thereby providing Fans or Followers the most up-to-date
information.
As the Trumbull Library Director is
a Rotarian and Rotary InternationalŐs Trumbull Chapter has their weekly
breakfast meeting on Friday mornings at 7:30 a.m. in the LibraryŐs Community
Room, I elected to present TrumbullŐs History month events at the Rotary ClubŐs
meeting on September 25. The Director can request my placement on the
announcement docket to speak for a maximum five minutes after the Rotary
concludes their weekly agenda. Prior to the meeting, I would place six to eight
flyers on each table as well as have a posters, flyers, and bookmarks at the
door for the members to take with them when they leave.
Presentation:
Good morning. Thank you for allowing me to present this
morning. I am Nicole Cignoli, Program Coordinator for Adult and All Ages programming
at the Trumbull Library. Did you know that October is TrumbullŐs birthday
month?
To celebrate,
the library is partnering with the Trumbull Historical Society on a series of
activities throughout October and we
invite you to celebrate.
The events that will be happening are:
First –
Become Your FamilyŐs History Detective! Dig up the dirt on your past with Ancestry.com:
Library Edition Workshop. Wednesday, October 7 from 9:30 to 11:00AM,
here in Trumbull Library's Community Room. It is a lecture-demonstration
introducing the genealogy database Ancestry.com: Library Edition.
Second – I Remember WhenÉFamily History Writing Workshop. Saturday, October 24 at 2:00PM here in the Community Room. Workshop director, Carla Achebe, has been helping others to prepare their memoirs for over 20 years. Learn the process of how to document your life.
Third –
How did Connecticut become the ŇNutmeg StateÓ? Find out with author Diana Ross
McCain, It Happened in Connecticut.
Sunday, October 25 at 2:00PM here in the Community Room. Ms. McCain, a
historian from Durham, Connecticut, will present her
book of twenty true stories from the Nutmeg State—including how it got
its nickname. Copies of the books will be available for purchase.
Seating is
limited for all of these events so please contact the library to reserve your
seat.
Lastly –
Join the ŇHistorical Mystery TourÓ and Grand Re-Opening of Trumbull Historical SocietyŐs Museum,
Sunday, October 18 from 1:00 to 4:00PM. The Historical Society will be open and
will present a new exhibit about life in Colonial New England! There will be
crafts for kids! The Town of Trumbull generously donated a Senior Center bus
for us to use for the bus tours. The bus tours are 45 minutes long so the
Historical Society is requesting advance registration with them at 377-6620.
The bus tours and the whole day is free.
The Trumbull Historical Society and the
Trumbull Library invite you to join in the birthday celebrations! If you are
unable to attend, we ask if you would please help us advertise the events by
taking one of these flyers (hold one up as I speak) on your table to post in
your business for us. Or, if you have a larger space for posting, please feel
free to take one of the posters (hold one up as I speak) or if you donŐt have the
space some bookmarks (hold several up as I speak) from the table in the back.
Also, I have additional flyers in the back if you are able to place them in
your business. Thank you again for your time and support. I hope to see you
here at the library or at the tours. I will be available after the meeting to
answer any additional questions. Thank you again.
In addition to these campaign
materials, there are other tools to attract the public that does not use or
consider the library. TLS uses their large signs in front of both the Main and
Branch library buildings to advertise that weekŐs events. If a library does not
have such a sign, the library could consider placing lawn signs on the
libraryŐs lawn, if town ordinances permit it, to serve the same purpose. Once
the lawn sign frame is purchased, creating a two-sided, laminated sign to fit
over the frame is not expensive. An expensive alternative is hanging banners on
the outside of the building or from light or signposts. Another idea is to
install a flat screen television in the libraryŐs lobby for announcements. As
TLSŐ Community Room is in the front of the building off the Main Lobby,
attendees do not have to enter the library to attend a meeting. Therefore, TLS
recently installed a flat screen television as another way to inform and
attract the public who may not typically use the library, but are attending an
event in the Community Room, of the LibraryŐs events and services. The split
screen changes every seven to ten seconds from a weekly event listing to a
single event with the eventŐs title, date, time, and graphic either from the
eventŐs flyer or web site calendar page.
Most importantly, once an event
concludes, the library could consider using short evaluation forms not only to
obtain attendeesŐ opinion about the program but also to include a question on
how they heard of the event. By documenting the results over time, the library
will develop empirical data to determine which communication vehicle reaches
the largest, targeted or unintentional audience.
