Inspired! Award‐winning library marketing

Following restructuring at Oxford Brookes University Library, several functional groups – including a marketing group – were established. The marketing group’s successes include a highly effective outreach programme at Freshers’ Fair. Learning from its first stall in 2000, the group’s 2001 campaign focused on promoting the newly re‐launched Library Web site. The Inspiration Campaign used striking images of Newton’s apple, Rodin’s The Thinker, a penny dropping and a light bulb plus the message “inspiration … available now from the library” to promote the library’s Web address. This message was reinforced by library staff giving out apples and stickers at Freshers’ Fair. The campaign proved highly successful with the number of hits on the site tripling in a year. The Inspiration Campaign was entered in the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP)/Emerald Public Relations and Publicity Awards for a “promotional campaign with a budget under £500”. The Inspiration Campaign won.