Elisabeth Leonard on Libraries

Books, diamonds, and a targeted market

Roger Shashoua, who made  a fortune in Russia, "is offering a made-to-order edition of his new book Dancing With The Bear.

The cover of each of the special "oligarch" copies, said to be the most expensive book in the world, features more than 600 flawless diamonds."  How much does it cost?  About $6 million dollars! 

Why does he think this will sell?  Because there are 53 billionaires in Russia who Shashoua believes want to spend their money conspicuously.  I suppose there's bragging rights that could come with owning a book that expensive, but I wonder if his fellow entrepreneurs admire him enough to want to brag about owning his book....Hopefully Shashoua really does know his market!  

Link: BBC NEWS | UK | £3m book targets Russian tycoons.

Beloit College college freshmen mindset list

Most of the students entering college this fall, members of the class of 2011, were born in 1989.  The annual Beloit list gives context on what we elders may need to remember about our experiences vs. the experiences of incoming freshmen. 

I read this list every year and sometimes feel that I am as out of touch as the freshmen (and I am old enough to have a child in college)!  For example, on the list this year:

They have never had to distinguish between the St. Louis Cardinals baseball and football teams.  Uh, OK.

They have no idea why we needed to ask "...can we all get along?" Now, I admit, I had to google this to see what the context was.  I remember Rodney King, but didn't remember this quote!

And for some things, I am pleased to be reminded of how different the world was for me growing up and how the world has been for them:

The retail experience is different.  From big boxes to "coffee has always taken longer to make than a milkshake", their expectations for consumer goods and services has been shaped by both ends of the retail experience: Wal-Mart and Starbucks.  Combine that with exposure to excess (the list mentions all the TV shows concentrating on wealthy teens, the really rich have regularly expressed exuberance with outlandish birthday parties) and social consciousness (faux fur has always been a necessary element of style, dolphin-free canned tuna has always been on sale), and you have an interesting picture.

I frequently state that we need to understand our consumers.  Let this serve as a beginning point, not just to give factoids, but to remind us that we do have different experiences and that they frame our understanding of the world and how we like for the world to be presented to us.

Link: Beloit College Public Affairs.

GENERATIONAL SELLING

While a very brief article,           Steve Anderson         (2007, July).  GENERATIONAL SELLING. Rough Notes, 150(7), 104,106, has good tips on marketing to various generations, believing that marketing should be customized to the audience (which I agree with!). 
For seniors:
Anderson notes that 60% of seniors use the internet; that seniors have difficulty reading from glossy paper, that blues, greens, and purples are also difficult to read, while reds and oranges are easier to read.  Good to know for anyone designing brochures!
For boomers:
He continues that boomers are comfortable with a variety of communication methods and there is no one way to communicate with them.  He recommends noting which means your audience is communicating with you and then utilizing that means in return.
For Generation X:
Nothing new here; I have noted in my blog before everything that this author writes in this article.  My favorite quote however in the article is: Xers bring a refreshing intimacy to the way they want to run their own enterprises. Xers who are entrepreneurs look for interactive, bidirectional communication with customers. They want the same from their business partners. However, their loyalty to a company or a brand needs to be continually earned....
For Generation Y:
similar to Gen X, Gen Y likes straight forward messages that are also customized to them.  The author recommends considering direct marketing.

Mining Virtual Worlds for Market Research

Business Week Online has a social report on gaming.  Part of the report is Mining Virtual Worlds for Market Research.  It's worth the read!  The article presents information on market research that was conducted via VR, as well as the point of view "trend watchers" who don't believe this is a valid method of market research.  I must admit that like the idea of using virtual worlds in the same manner as the physical world, especially for a population that is sometimes more comfortable interacting virtually.

Imagine asking 42,000 tech-savvy tweens and teenagers around the globe about their buying and spending habits, as well as their brand preferences. How long would it take to conduct such market research? If you wanted to zero in on kids who regularly played online games or engaged in networked communities in Web-based virtual worlds, how would your market-research team target them and then verify their activity in these online parallel universes?

Marketing and the Nissan Pino

Wow!  Talk about knowing your consumer.  Nissan introduced a new mini in Japan, the Pino, which is incredibly popular with young females.  They have taken an approach I haven't seen in the U.S., which includes a website that looks like it could be for Barbie, complete with Barbie-like accessories.  The result of their marketing is that while the Pino frame is based on the Suzuki Alto, sales for the Pino have exceeded forecasts by 15% -- and the Pino costs  23% more than the comparable Alto ("Hits & Misses", David Jacobson.  Business 2.0.  Aug 2007, Vol. 8, Iss. 7; p. 106).

If Nissan sold a virtual Pino,  my avatar in her ALA READ t-shirt would look cute in one!  The look and feel seem very similar.

Bad publicity? Bad tools?

The Top 100 tools for learning does not include any library created tools or any library purchased tools.  The Chronicle cites Mr. Bell as saying we have not done a job publicizing our databases and then cites Stephen Downes as saying this might be "evidence of bad tools, not a lack of publicity." 

I definitely think libraries need to publicize their resources more, but I can't say as I think any of our purchased databases meets the call for "tools that can be used in a learning context - whether it be for personal learning or for creating learning for others - and demonstrates that e-learning is much much more than online courses"  While research can be part of learning, our e-resources clearly aren't the primary means our faculty think of when creating learning opportunities, as asked for in this context.  Are libraries really surprised by this?  What have we created that can compete with the top 5 tools:

1	Firefox	51	Firefox Web browser	Free
2	del.icio.us	35	del.icio.us Social bookmarking tool	Free
3	Skype	30	Skype Instant messaging, VoIP call tool	Free
4	Google Search	28	Google Search Web search tool	Free
5	WordPress

Instead, I find I am impressed by just how many of the tools listed are those used by librarians!  And let us remember that librarians collaborate everyday with faculty on assignments that use our resources (electronic and print).  Our faculty have not forgotten us, they simply read the question to mean applications, not resources.

Link: Top 100 Tools for Learning.

TOP 100 TOOLS FOR LEARNING as at 08 August 2007

This list has been compiled from the TOP 10 FAVOURITE TOOLS lists of 88 learning professionals (consultants, analysts, developers, practitioners, academics, etc) who responded to our open invitation.

Strategic alliances

IU recently announced it will be partnering with ChaCha, and perhaps not renewing it's contract with Google.  At the surface, this seemed to be more of a campus wide issue, but it appears that it will impact the library as well.  The press release says one of the benefits of the collaboration is "Expanded roles for IU librarians to help with guided inquiry", which appears to mean chat reference.  And yet, IU already has a chat reference service.  So, is this hype or is this really a substantive change?  Only time will tell, but in the meantime, I wonder how involved the university librarian was in this decision.  Not that I can tell if the decision is good/bad/indifferent, but given it impacts the work of the library, I hope that it was not something that was decided without the library's input.

Link: IU & ChaCha: Reports of Google's Demise Greatly Exaggerated.

ChaCha combines machine-based searches with human guides, who are available to help narrow searches and answer questions via chat. As part of the deal with IU, the university's librarians will become guides "to help the IU community conduct searches through a live instant message chat interface, identify exactly what information the user is seeking, refine the search for the user, and then display only the most relevant results."

I'm lovin' it?

The Today show reported this morning that preschoolers have an incredibly high brand awareness of McDonald's AND believe that any food in a McDonald's wrapper taste better (even carrots!).  It's a mixed blessing for the fast food giant.  They've done a great job of advertising, "proving that branding trumps taste"; the bad news is that they are now being criticized for that successful ad job.  Now, while I sympathize with parents whose kids might be pushing for a trip to the arches, I must say, I cannot fault McDonald's (or the ad agency) for creating a powerful brand.  I'm less pleased with how they prepare the food, but as the public demands nutritional change, McDonald's has responded. 

Why mention this in a blog about libraries?  Because it reminds me in an odd way of censorship.  Libraries are constantly challenged because of the books in their collections -- even though if you don't like a book, it's easy enough to decide to check out another book.   The book one person despises may be a literary gem to someone else.  And shouldn't our collections be able to provide a spectrum that pleases both of these people?

Personal responsibility should be in play at McDonald's and at the circulation desk.  Protect our children?  Of course libraries and corporations have responsibilities.  But, so does the individual and so does the parent.  Libraries have taken the necessary measures to make children's collections "safe".  I'd love to see the public as interested in seeing libraries be more diverse, the collections richer, able to serve more people in their communities.

Getting to know your public

I've been looking around for instruments libraries use to find out more about their patrons.  I came across these and quite like them!  SPL as Place - Library Users Instrument
and SPL as Place - Passersby Instrument. 

The customer isn't always right

I talk a lot about using market research to hone your products and services, to know more about what your customers need so you can be more responsive.  I always state that you must be sure before you conduct your market research that you know who you are and what your mission is so that you don't find yourself led astray by customer feedback.  What customers say they want may not be aligned with what you stand for or even what the customer really should have!  Take a look at the article below for a great example of this.

Link: Companies and Business Students Differ on What Skills M.B.A. Programs Should Teach - Chronicle.com.

"Given that students are indeed the direct consumer and key revenue stream of most M.B.A. programs," they write, "this finding supports recent assertions that students' general disdain for people-focused course work drives considerable policy decisions regarding curricula. ... This finding may suggest that with respect to designing a relevant M.B.A., the customer is not always right."