An idea born in Greater Victoria has earned applause from an international organization.
Greater Victoria Public Library is the second place winner of the 2020 IFLA PressReader International Marketing Award. The prize recognizes a select group of library organizations from around the world which implement creative, results-oriented marketing projects. China’s N-Library to Forge a Closer Community of a Shared Future placed first, with Spain’s Viven en la BRMU/They Live in BRMU coming in third.
GVPL received the prestigious award for their “Change Your Mind” campaign, an integrated marketing strategy that encourages people to change their perceptions about the library and to literally change their minds by reading, watching, listening and learning.
“This award is a tremendous honour and I am so proud of our incredible staff team who developed such a creative and compelling campaign,” says Maureen Sawa, GVPL CEO. “Libraries have always changed lives. Now, Greater Victoria will inspire communities around the world to recognize what their libraries can do for them.”
“The Board of Trustees and I are always impressed by the creativity we see every day from GVPL staff,” says Deborah Begoray, GVPL Board Chair. “This international award confirms what we know and spreads the word about GVPL’s accomplishments to communities near and far!”
The IFLA PressReader International Marketing Award is presented by the IFLA Section on Management and Marketing in collaboration with the award sponsor PressReader. This award, in its 17th year, honours organizations which implement creative, results-oriented marketing projects or campaigns.
The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) is the global voice of the library and information profession with more than 1,500 members in 150 countries worldwide.
“Our goal is that libraries around the world will get inspiration from these amazing campaigns,” says Anya Feltreuter, chair of the IFLA Section on Management and Marketing. “We think the diversity in scope of these projects shows you don’t need a lot of money to successfully market your library and its services. All you need is some research, a good idea, and strategic implementation.”
The Change Your Mind campaign also received the 2019 John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Award for marketing and public relations excellence from the American Library Association.
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