{"id":49101,"date":"2020-12-02T10:55:34","date_gmt":"2020-12-02T15:55:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/?p=49101"},"modified":"2020-12-02T22:15:42","modified_gmt":"2020-12-03T03:15:42","slug":"creativity-under-lockdown-three-takeaways-from-library-takeout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/creativity-under-lockdown-three-takeaways-from-library-takeout\/","title":{"rendered":"Creativity Under Lockdown: Three Takeaways from \u201cLibrary Takeout\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>In a year of restrictions, creativity is challenged. Still, we\u2019re up for the challenge! Here\u2019s a closer look at one example of creativity persevering and getting the message through.<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p>One of this summer\u2019s hottest jams was about a library. No joke. If you have never watched \u201cLibrary Takeout\u201d on YouTube, please do yourself a favor and go do that now. I\u2019ll wait.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-spacer\"><\/div>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/e1iGEM9NMFM\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div class=\"div-spacer\"><\/div>\n<p>If you\u2019re just back from watching, I must inform you that you will now never be able to get that earworm out of your brain. I\u2019m sorry, but also, you\u2019re welcome!<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p>For those who didn\u2019t, or couldn\u2019t, watch the video, I\u2019ll attempt to describe it to you: the video features instructions on how to take out books\u2014and also periodicals, CDs, and DVDs!\u2014from Duke University Library while campus was shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p>Seems pretty straightforward, huh? Like it could have just been an email or a printed pamphlet (libraries already have a thing for paper, right?). But, here\u2019s the thing: emails and flyers are easy to ignore; they\u2019re just more white noise lost amidst the worries of the pandemic, the influx of online communications in a lockdown world gone almost entirely digital, and in this case, the inability to get paper into the hands of students who weren\u2019t actually on campus. Which reflects the problem they were faced with in the first place: how to get materials to students and staff\u2014the main role of a library\u2014in a safe and effective way.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p>Instead of creating another email or another piece of paper to be tossed or tucked into a pocket, one librarian at Duke decided to have their message make actual noise, in hopes that it would stand out and stick with students in a way they wouldn\u2019t be able to forget. Set to a background of infectious synth, \u201cLibrary Takeout\u201d lays out the steps for socially distant, contactless checkout, one by one, while a series of animations\u2014clever crayon drawings of Duke buildings, takeout bags, bookshelves, and synthesizer keys, as well as a dancing stick figure mascot who also rocks out on the keytar\u2014flip by.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p>The video was intended to be disseminated to Duke Library patrons, but the creator, Jamie Keesecker, under the pseudonym \u201cMicrOpaqu3,\u201d also decided to upload it to YouTube, where it currently has over 820,000 views (several dozens of them mine, as I just kept it on loop while writing this). The song is also now available on Apple Music and Spotify (and, yes, it\u2019s on my running playlist).<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p>It\u2019s a true viral phenomenon, despite its relatively small intended audience. It achieves its specific purpose well\u2014making the takeout process both clear and memorable\u2014but it can also teach some valuable general lessons for other businesses and organizations to get their messages out to their own intended audiences. I\u2019ve listened to this song so much by this point that my brain is now probably just a crayon drawing of a brain, but here are a few takeaways from \u201cLibrary Takeout\u201d that may prove useful in crafting effective, infectious messaging or marketing.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-spacer\"><\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-49104\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Library1-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Library1.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Library1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Library1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Library1-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Library1-50x33.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"div-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h2>1. Draw inspiration from wherever you can find it.<\/h2>\n<p>Duke Libraries got the initial idea to make an instructional music video for their \u201clibrary takeout\u201d from another library\u2019s instructional music video for their \u201ccurbside service.\u201d Nashville Public Library\u2019s \u201cCurb Side, Baby\u201d features <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=rnk4qeu9WZY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a rapping mouse marionette enlightening patrons to the tune of 90s staple \u201cIce Ice Baby<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p>\u201cLibrary Takeout\u201d starts from a similar premise\u2014instructions set to music\u2014but takes it in its own new direction.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p>In other words, you don\u2019t have to start completely from zero\u2014neither art nor marketing exists in a vacuum, after all. Even the original mouse-rap parody video uses Vanilla Ice as its base (who in turn \u201csampled\u201d from \u201cUnder Pressure\u201d by Queen and David Bowie), but then evolves his work into something both far more bizarre and more appropriate for their message.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p>Take a look around and see what\u2019s out there; keep an open mind, and consider ways in which someone else\u2019s ideas might be a possible springboard. Draw out what\u2019s working for others, and then make something of your own.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h2>2. Consider the best method and medium to get your message to your audience.<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cLibrary Takeout\u201d is fairly simple and straightforward, meant to explain a somewhat unintuitive new process to patrons, most of whom are students who have grown up watching videos like this on YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, or now, TikTok. As such, \u201cLibrary Takeout\u201d meets them where they likely already are using a medium with which most will be intimately familiar.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p>The video is visually and sonically catchy, for sure, but it\u2019s also efficient and message-focused. In just over three minutes, it lays out the takeout process in both easily-digestible text and lyrics, with an approachable and engagingly-humorous tone that makes the message attractive and unforgettable.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p>Of course, this approach won\u2019t work for every message or product. Determining the best way and place to meet your audience with your message may require some analysis, thinking through <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/know-your-audience-is-there-anybody-out-there\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">who your message is meant for, who is most likely to consume it, and if\/how those two groups might overlap<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-spacer\"><\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-49105\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Library2-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Library2.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Library2-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Library2-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Library2-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Library2-50x33.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"div-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h2>3. Discover surprising talent already around you, and take creative risks.<\/h2>\n<p>It can be important to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/introverts-and-extroverts-at-work\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">be open-minded about what your employees have to offer, especially in terms of their less-apparent strengths<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p>The creator of \u201cLibrary Takeout,\u201d Jamie Keesecker, works as a librarian now but has a fairly extensive personal and educational background in art and musical composition. When his supervisors and colleagues were looking for ways to get the word out about the new takeout process, they were open to his ideas about how they might create their own instructional music video. No one expected Jamie to produce the sensation that he did, but it all started with giving him an opportunity to shine with his talents and experiences.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p>Of course, this was somewhat of a risk\u2014a low-stakes one, sure, but a risk nonetheless.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p>As Keesecker told Duke Today, \u201cI kept thinking about it and decided I might as well try and see if I could put together a song\u2026 If it\u2019s a total disaster, we don\u2019t have to release it. But it could be just the thing we need to reach the people we\u2019re trying to reach.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p>In this case, taking a creative risk, and building up and betting on their own people, worked out quite well for Duke Libraries.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p>Maybe one of your employees has a surprising skill or talent that you don\u2019t really know about; maybe they just need an open opportunity to use it and, in doing so, can reach your audience in an unexpected way.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p>And who knows? They just may also be creating the feel-good hit of the season in the process.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a year of restrictions, creativity is challenged. Still, we\u2019re up for the challenge! Here\u2019s a closer look at one example of creativity persevering and getting the message through. One of this summer\u2019s hottest jams was about a library. No joke. If you have never watched \u201cLibrary Takeout\u201d on YouTube, please do yourself a favor and go do that now. I\u2019ll wait. If you\u2019re just back from watching, I must inform you that you will now never be able to get that earworm out of your brain. I\u2019m sorry, but also, you\u2019re welcome! For those who didn\u2019t, or couldn\u2019t, watch the video, I\u2019ll attempt to describe it to you: the video features instructions on how to take out books\u2014and also periodicals, CDs, and DVDs!\u2014from Duke University Library while campus was shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Seems pretty straightforward, huh? Like it could have just been an email or a printed pamphlet (libraries already have a thing for paper, right?). But, here\u2019s the thing: emails and flyers are easy to ignore; they\u2019re just more white noise lost amidst the worries of the pandemic, the influx of online communications in a lockdown world gone almost entirely digital, and in this case, the inability to get paper into the hands of students who weren\u2019t actually on campus. Which reflects the problem they were faced with in the first place: how to get materials to students and staff\u2014the main role of a library\u2014in a safe and effective way. Instead of creating another email [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":5069,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[156,75],"tags":[415,573,241,417],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.7.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Creativity Under Lockdown: Three Takeaways from \u201cLibrary Takeout\u201d - Sogolytics Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Creativity can take a seat on the bench when other matters seem more pressing. 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