NYT Columnist Stuart Elliott reports on one of the new trends in marketing: engagement. According Elliott's article, engagement was a hot topic at this year's Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) convention. So, what's engagement? In the article, Joseph T. Plummer, ARF's chief research officer, says, "What we need is a way to determine how the targeted prospect connected with, got engaged with, the brand idea," he added. "With engagement, you're on your way to a relationship instead of just a sales transaction." Engagement, then, is a way to get people emotionally involved with a brand. The article offers some good examples of how brands are "engaging" their customers.
Not to get mushy, but I agree that feelings matter and that, in the library world, feelings about the library as an experience matter. Our relationships with patrons are not just transactional, they're emotional and ongoing. These ideas about engagement, or whatever you call it, are useful in planning and implementing services so that they nurture and strengthen the bonds between patron and library.
Categories: new_news | neat_trends
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Ready. Set. Engage!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Libraries are more than just collections of books and other materials. Libraries are dynamic forces in their communities with the power to improve lives. Modern marketing demands that librarians look beyond their traditional roles ("outside the book") to find new ways to connect with people and further their success.
No comments:
Post a Comment