Cultural Research

Branding Massey University: A TV Commercial

Massey University Television Commercial 2009

Librarian and blogger Alison Wallbutton posted the above tv ad for her homebase, New Zealand's Massey University, requesting comments and feedbacks.

Though I hate to negatively criticize such a feel good ad, I do have to wonder who this ad is attempting to reach. If Massey U has conducted a survey of its students and/or potential students and has found that they are strongly motivated to go to college by a spirit of discovery and exploration then I'd like to hear more about such information gathering as it would provide a strong rationale for this commercial.

Here's what they have to say at Massey University's YouTube channel:

"The TV advertisement encapsulates the idea of Forever Discovering the underlying theme of Massey Universitys brand. It demonstrates the emotions of discovery, exploration, liberation, expression, and opportunity all of which are key components of the brand. The message in the advertisement is our lives are shaped by the discoveries we make. Massey University provides the environment to push the boundaries and make a range of both personal and professional discoveries."

I guess the effects of the recession have been so drastic in my life that I have severe difficulties relating to such a commercial. I understand the beauty of discovery but I feel like an effective campaign might better emphasize the "opportunity" aspect, as in, improving one's life by making discoveries that support one's achievements in the world. Nevertheless, if MU has evidence that such branding is beneficial and worth spending big bucks on a tv commercial for, then all power to them for finding the connection between the pleasure of learning and the institution's bottom line.

Using The Smoking Gun as Bait for Public Records Workshops

In today's social landscape, it behooves librarians to find ways to draw in an audience without becoming outright entertainers. I have to admit, I'm still torn on the library coffee house concept, especially for academic settings, but I understand how it fits a "library as community gathering place" approach.

That said, two of my core interests, reference and marketing, will probably move me more in such directions as I dig deeper into how libraries must change given the many new players in information services and the emergence of information as entertainment facilitated by the Web.

For example, I was just checking out an email from The Smoking Gun, an extremely popular site that uses public legal records to create entertaining content. Though I hope librarians will recognize that there's a downside to laughing at people who've been arrested*, TSG is an excellent example of how the Web has connected everyday folks to seemingly esoteric pursuits such as searching public records.

I'm guessing most folks don't think of TSG in those terms but it struck me that TSG could be used as bait for a very solid public records workshop .

I know some librarians may wince at the thought but I feel the Web offers us an opportunity to reinsert ourselves as core resources in people's daily lives if we're willing to make such moves rather than thinking of the Web as competition.

I'll be dropping more ideas along these lines in the Marketing category as I go. Please feel free to add your ideas by commenting, sending me email suggestions or writing a guest post!

Contact Clyde Smith: culres(at)gmail(dot)com

*Note: Sounds like a good lead-in to a discussion of relevant ethical issues!

Seth Godin on Using New Media to Create 10 Bestselling Books

Seth Godin on 10 Bestsellers: Using New Media, New Marketing,
and New Thinking to Create 10 Bestselling Books

Over the last 9 years I've learned a lot about how technology has impacted many industries with strong ties to libraries and education settings including the book business and journalism.

The above video featuring Seth Godin shares some insights into book marketing with new media that offer examples of disruptive innovation in action.  He also drops some quick but interesting observations on libraries along the way.

Seth Godin's presentation from O'Reilly Tools of Change for Publishing Conference, New York City, NY, February 11, 2008.

Via Seth's Blog.