Library marketing report: limited-edition Nashville SC card yields about 2,300 new/retained cards

Andrea Fanta, the library'9s marketing and communications lead, presented results from a one-month integrated campaign that tied a limited-edition Nashville SC library card to the summer reading challenge. The campaign aimed for roughly 2,000 card acquisitions in a month and concluded with slightly more than 2,300 cards distributed, including 799 new cardholders and 688 cards issued to Limitless Libraries students.

Fanta said the campaign leveraged match-day activations at Geodis Park, social ads and a small outdoor buy. "We did again 23 just more than 2,300 cards," she said, noting 110 cardholders were outside the service area but still within the broader region. Staff planned to distribute remaining inventory through Hermitage branch outreach to local schools and projected by fall to reach about 2,500 total. She also noted that since 2022, similar limited-edition campaigns have produced roughly 9,500 acquisitions or retention touchpoints, calling it a strong ROI for the library'9s in-house marketing work.

Board members congratulated staff on the creative partnership and raised operational feedback around card design: Fanta said the team will put "Nashville Public Library" on the front of future cards after noting the artistic decision not to do so on this run. The presentation included staff call-outs to the branches that supported activations and a recommendation to consider future process changes to reduce friction for patrons who wish to obtain limited-edition cards without visiting a branch in person.