New Canaan Library: Capital Campaign Communications Strategy
The New Canaan Library is building a new, world-class library with unique indoor and outdoor spaces that amplify the library experience for its patrons and local residents. The leadership team and board wanted to create awareness for the project, helping to generate excitement in the community and garner the support needed to reach their $40 million capital campaign goal. They engaged Latshaw Marketing to provide marketing and communications strategy, capacity-building leadership, and ongoing execution support.
Building a Solid Foundation
We started by applying the Empathetic Positioning Process to inclusively understand the goals, needs and values of the library staff, patrons, donors, and local residents — representing a wide range of ages, interests, and backgrounds.
This foundational work informed the positioning for the New Canaan | New Library capital campaign which will continue throughout the building process, until 2023. Three themes emerged from this work: Curiosity, Community, and Connection — which led to us creating the campaign tagline: Enter Curious. Leave Connected. These themes and the tagline have provided the framework for all communications.
“The empathetic and inclusive engagement with our team has created an environment for learning side by side that will serve us well for years to come.”
Campaign website with new messaging.
Project Goals
As with every project, we started this project with a carefully crafted success statement: To inclusively engage the community and build support and excitement for the NEW New Canaan Library at every turn. We measure success based on the following project goal metrics:
Drive traffic into the project headquarters and exhibit space
Create a steady drumbeat of excitement for the building project as it progresses
Leverage library events and programs to raise awareness for the new library & capital campaign
Build out creative ways to engage and excite the public about the endless possibilities for curiosity, community, and connection at the NEW LIBRARY!
“The Latshaw Marketing team has brilliantly led the strategic marketing effort for the new Library’s capital campaign. Their Empathetic Positioning Process was a natural extension of the community-centered approach that has been central to the 10+ year library planning and design effort. Marissa and Margo quickly understood the needs and values of our community which, in turn, provided clarity for our messaging and direction for our marketing plan. I’m particularly impressed by their entrepreneurial and collaborative style which has made them a trusted part of our team — able to execute on our vision with flawless precision and efficiency. Their work has positioned us for success in the public phase of the capital campaign!”
Digital collateral to introduce the new library to its members.
Getting to Work
From this solid base, we created a marketing and communications plan designed to drive awareness and build financial support for the new library. We worked with the team to understand what a “modern library” means for New Canaan so that we could clearly articulate their collective vision in a compelling way. The library’s long and rich history, the global and local design influences, the architectural plans, the unique indoor and outdoor spaces, and the strong community engagement have guided our work.
“Working with Latshaw Marketing has been a pleasure throughout the development and implementation of the New Canaan, New Library campaign. At all times during the process they served to coordinate their work with that of multiple stakeholders, developing the Library’s messages and communicating them in ways that resonate with their differing audiences.”
Creating Results
Every initiative has been carefully focused on creating an environment of excitement that activates community support. We worked collaboratively with the library’s leadership team and staff, as well as the capital campaign committee, the events committee, the award-winning design team at Alexander Isley Inc., and other strategic partners. Here are some of the projects that have helped advance the library’s capital campaign fundraising efforts:
Exhibit & Project Headquarters
We worked with the library's leadership team to develop an exhibition introducing the new library to the community: New Canaan. New Library. New Chapter. The gallery provides a unique and hands-on opportunity for residents to see up close how this new library and library green will transform downtown New Canaan. With Alexander Isley and his team, we developed an interactive, physical space that tells the story of the NEW New Canaan Library—from planning to groundbreaking.
Exhibit slideshow featuring members of the library community
Exhibit Opening Celebration
The exhibit opening brought together over two hundred residents and advocates of the library. During the event, Ellen Sullivan Crovatto, CEO of the Capital Campaign, announced the single largest gift to date — a $3 million gift to support the auditorium.
Ellen Sullivan Crovatto announcing the $3 million gift and adding balls to the fundraising thermometer.
Passport Rewards Program
The goal of this summer program was to show how a New Canaan Library card is a passport to the downtown community. The program also encouraged New Canaan residents to obtain or find their library card! Over six weeks, library members were able to present their library card at local merchants in the community in exchange for delicious treats.
We developed the event strategy and communications including the drip email campaign, press release, signage, social posts, and all follow-up event communications.
Fundraising Event: Magic in the Meadow
This summer event was designed to cultivate interest among young families and prospective leadership donors to support the new Children’s Room. We worked with the library’s leaders and the events team to build a cohesive events strategy to ensure both event and fundraising success. We developed all event communications including the invitation, signage, swag, and follow-up event communications.
Storybook-style invitation
A Groundbreaking Ceremony: Spade in the Ground
The groundbreaking ceremony was a joyous event, marking a ten year effort to envision and design a world-class library. This event included members of the board, local political leaders, and key supporters of the project. We developed and managed the coordination of the event, built the communications concept, collaborated with the design team at Alexander Isley Inc., secured a local photographer and drone handler, and drafted all communications for print, digital, and social channels.
Ongoing Content & Social Media
Each month, we work side-by-side with the marketing team at the library to build awareness, excitement, and support for the NEW New Canaan Library. We design and direct interactive, branded campaigns for their social channels and create content for newsletters and ads. This includes developing the content and social media calendar, drafting copy, developing graphics, and tracking engagement.
Campaign Website
The website, NewCanaanNewLibrary.org, is an important vehicle for communicating with the public about the project and providing ways to support giving. We completely reworked the site to reflect the new positioning and messaging, changing the navigation and the page content to create an overall better user experience. The site now makes it easy for visitors to find information about the project’s history, the design plans, the unique spaces, and building progress.
A video tour of the Library Green and Outdoor Spaces
Promotions, Giveaways, and Other Materials
“I have hired and worked with many kinds of consultants and outside teams in my career, and the Latshaw Marketing team is simply the best. They deliver laser-focused strategy, their communication is incisive and fast, their creativity is boundless, and they make the entire process transparent and enjoyable. They deliver million dollar ideas on our non-profit budget. If you want big-picture creative and strategic partners who keep you on task and make it a pleasure, they are your team.”
“At every step of the Capital Campaign process, Marissa and Margo have asked questions that pushed me to think about what kind of librarian I strive to be—and how the New Library can help make those goals a reality. I really appreciate all the research and reflection that they asked us to do around the meaning of a modern library.”
“Working with Latshaw Marketing was a collaborative experience. Their ‘big picture’ approach, presented to all Library staff participants right at the onset, provided clarity on the tone, goals and scope of the campaign. In turn, Margo and Marissa’s requests for review and contribution at each phase helped tailor the campaign to reflect both staff members’ perspectives and the Library’s organizational persona.”