While the general public has basic knowledge regarding the need and importance of public libraries, many community members are not aware of the actual value of the resources, services and programs that the library provides. The San Antonio Public Library took the opportunity to celebrate the library’s value to the community by tying it together with a creative multimedia and interactive campaign on Valentine’s Day week.

Finding a way to portray usage data to stakeholders and the community took a strategic yet creative approach. The library’s marketing team took on the challenge by creating interactive pieces for direct mail and social media. The direct mail piece targeted stakeholders and shared library stats through a Valentine’s Day theme. The social media aspect featured an engaging “tap for more” infographic. This method encouraged digital audiences to interact with the graphic to view our Valentine’s Day greeting and statistical data.

The library received an overwhelming response from library stakeholders as they began receiving the direct mail pieces. Friends groups, city leadership and other key stakeholders contacted the library team in response to the Valentine’s Day greeting cards and their appreciation and acknowledgment of the library’s contributions to the community. The social media interactive piece was shared among 17,000+ library fans and created user-generated content in which library users shared their love for libraries.