Crisis Report to Marketing Tool: The Auraria Library’s COVID-19 Report

Sommer Browning and Alex Freedman, University of Colorado Denver

Marketing Libraries Journal, volume 5, issue 2, pages 4-26.

Abstract: When the Auraria Library building closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic on March 18, 2020, library staff documented the procedures taken to shut down and move services online. As the pandemic wore on, the document grew from merely tracking the spring 2020 service disruptions to a robust report outlining how the pandemic affected library usage and larger organizational structures. This was an internal document to be used by library staff; however, the library’s communications coordinator saw a marketing opportunity: transform a crisis report into an external marketing tool. The communications coordinator used the Adobe Creative Cloud suite of software applications to create robust and rich media elements based on specific color themes that could easily be repurposed for multiple communication channels, in line with the “hub-and-spoke” model of content creation. The transformed report would be used to further the library’s overarching brand story of being an impactful resource for research and student success.

keywords: documentation, internal marketing, crisis communication, marketing communications

Citation to article:

Browning, S. & Freedman, A. (2021). Crisis Report to Marketing Tool: The Auraria Library’s COVID-19 Report. Marketing Libraries Journal, 5(2), 4-26. https://journal.marketinglibraries.org/fall2021/02_MLJv5i2.pdf