Marketing to teens: a study of two New Zealand public libraries

Abstract

Purpose

Marketing in libraries has been widely discussed in literature, but is often limited to either prescriptive writing on the application of marketing theory to libraries, or descriptions of marketing at individual libraries with little theoretical basis. The purpose of this paper is to investigate marketing to teens as practiced by public libraries, and to discover whether the application of marketing mix concepts to practice is a conscious decision by libraries.

Design/methodology/approach

Staff were interviewed at two large New Zealand public libraries to discover whether they considered marketing targeting theory and marketing mix concepts when marketing to teens.

Findings

It was found that while both libraries did some formal teen marketing, the majority of marketing was conducted more informally by individual branch libraries. Libraries struggled in particular with defining their teen users, and the marketing mix was dealt with in an ad hoc manner. Overall, library marketing was more tactical than strategic.

Originality/value

Library managers can review their development of marketing strategies for teens in the light of the findings described in this paper. A closer application of marketing concepts can help with the development of marketing plans.

Citation

F. Biggs, H. and Calvert, P. (2013), "Marketing to teens: a study of two New Zealand public libraries", Library Management, Vol. 34 No. 8/9, pp. 705-719. https://doi.org/10.1108/LM-04-2013-0033