Akron-Summit County Public Library Brand Awareness
Overview: Development of a public awareness campaign that emphasizes the organization’s importance and is inclusive of the expansive range of programs/services provided by the library. The main overall message had to be short, memorable, and applicable in a variety of different situations.

The tag line “Your Library Value in Every Character” was created highlighting the bridging characteristic language provides throughout the diverse nature of programs and services. Whether it’s a how-to class on e-books or a book on classic literature, language, words, and letters are essential. “Character” was chosen to represent this language aspect and to better reflect an organization that embraces the flow of modern technology. Character also allows for multiple meanings within the message itself in referring to the characters of a language or the characters within a book, movie, music, or on a computer screen. These are all integral topics at the public library.

Brand Applications: Many different formats and applications were utilized as the campaign progressed. The overall look was developed to be simple and modern, and evocative of the diversity of library users. The Library expressed desire to strategically narrow the focus to emphasize e-content and its extensive digital resources. Design elements were incorporated in a way that communicated this focus, while not limiting the future scope of the campaign itself.

Results:

·The overall campaign introduced highly visible messages that helped to raise awareness of the value of the Akron-Summit County Public Library.

·The heightened public awareness helped the Library's 1.9 mill property tax levy pass with a nearly 70 percent approval.

·e-content use and downloads of the Library's mobile app increased significantly.