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Because of the visual nature of a lot of the upcoming case studies, I'll be presenting them in an online magazine, LibMarketing.
Here is the first one - I'd recommend reading the case study in this format as it includes loads of screenshots from the app; however, if you can't view the Issuu magazine for any reason, the full text of the case study is below.
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Using mobile apps to market academic library exhibitions
“It sticks in my Cantabrigian craw to say so, but the Bodleian iPad app is cowing lush and no mistake …” Stephen Fry
The Bodleian Libraries have world-renowned special collections, which are shared with the public through three major exhibitions and a number of smaller displays per year. We began publishing native mobile apps in support of major exhibitions in 2011 but it was the app for Treasures of the Bodleian that caught the attention of national ‘treasure’, Stephen Fry, and became our most successful project to date. Comment and feedback on the app has been overwhelmingly positive from both users and the media: upon launch, Treasures was immediately listed in Stuff Magazine’s ‘BestiPhone App of the Week’ feature and on the Guardianapp blog. In the UK, the iPad version also reached as high as #2 in the App Store education app rankings.
Bodleian treasures go mobile
The Treasures of the Bodleian exhibition used a number of means to engage mobile users. The accompanying exhibition website used responsive design techniques to optimise delivery to mobile devices. Quick response (QR) codes were developed, featuring interpretative images of exhibits, for the exhibition room itself. These linked to content on the exhibition website and were tracked in Google Analytics (GA). In addition, a decision was taken to create a cross-platform native mobile app with versions for smartphones and tablets. It’s worth noting that the Treasures exhibition website has had a higher than (our) average percentage of visits from mobile devices, at 12% since launch.Creating the app
Objectives
The main objectives for this app were: push Treasures and our collections into the mobile channel, increase participation in the exhibition’s ‘what is a treasure?’ debate, and raise awareness of our special collections library redevelopment.Partners
The development was undertaken with Toura, who provide a CMS for template-driven app creation called MAP. Using this approach makes production accessible without the need for specialist teams in place but, as with any non-bespoke solution, the parameters for development and layout are relatively fixed.Budget and pricing
As well as budgeting for the app development, it was necessary to ascertain and plan for potential ongoing costs in the form of commission to Apple / Android as well as further commissions or per-download fees to our chosen developer.One advantage of working with Toura was their market knowledge when it came to discussing app pricing. In the case of Treasures, a decision was eventually made to offer the app for free. This was because much of the app content was already available for free on a mobile responsive website. We also wanted to reduce download barriers in order to extend reach and increase awareness of the Bodleian Libraries as an app publisher (hopefully leading to series loyalty).
Development
To create the app itself, we started with the Treasures website architecture and content, along with the visual identity of the exhibition and the conventions that our previous app had established. We looked at how this material should be reorganised, optimised for mobile and delivered by the templates available in the MAP. A balanced view was needed on what content to embed directly into the app and what should be streamed to prevent the size of the resulting app becoming unmanageable. MAP settings can be used to automatically stream content over an accepted file size, and our chosen parameters effectively meant that all of our audio and video would require an internet connection to view. We had to extend this thinking to website links – not everyone would have access to the internet while viewing the app but, equally, many would. As a key goal for us was to drive people to the Treasures debate and other Bodleian information online, we decided to include links where appropriate but manage user expectation by being clear where internet access was required.In terms of the actual build, key tasks were:
- gather and re-process exhibit images to required size
· gather audio and video material
· proof text and update references that don’t make sense in new context
· adapt exhibit descriptions to make shorter versions for smartphone
· create additional, close-up images of key exhibits to provide detail despite the zoom limits necessary to manage file sizes
· re-write / develop instructions, captions etc. for mobile context (e.g. ‘tap to enlarge’)
· upload assets to MAP library
· build app separately in the smartphone and tablet environments
· create design assets (e.g. screen banners)
· create marketing assets (e.g. App Store icons)
· test and amend as required
The whole project took around 120 Bodleian hours in total, even with the benefit of starting with existing content and designs. Once our design and build work was complete, Toura undertook final checks and managed the launch into stores.
Collaboration
The Bodleian has also included Treasures material on peers’ apps to widen its mobile impact. For example, the Frankenstein draft it features is included in The New York Public Library’s iPad app, Biblion.Marketing
The app was marketed online and offline. Press releases were issued (by both the Bodleian and Toura), promotional codes were sent to some app review sites, a notice went into our ‘What’s on?’ e-newsletter, social media channels were utilised, the exhibition website and other Bodleian websites included download links, and other Treasures exhibition communications mentioned the app wherever possible. We had previously experimented with a phone-shaped postcard with a download QR on the reverse for promoting the app as a ‘souvenir’ in the Bodleian Shop and exhibition room, but did not repeat this for Treasures.Monitoring and measurement
One challenge with success measurement was a lack of benchmarking information on the impact of cultural apps generally. But, as Treasures was our second app, we did at least have some data from the first app to match or improve upon.Bodleian apps are tracked in Distimo Monitor, which shows downloads and revenue over time and by device type. It also collates reviews and ratings from the stores. The main gap is the lack of information on download referral sources (apparently not released by the stores). It is, however, possible to work around this and infer to some extent using GA to track links to the app from your website, QR codes etc.
Distimo showed 2625 downloads of the app in the month following launch and that 68% of these were the HD tablet version, which makes sense given the visual nature of exhibition apps.
We have also monitored commentary on Twitter and other social media. As well as the glowing Tweet from Stephen Fry, other comments included:
- “A marvelous [sic] look into a fabulous collection, complete with facsimile manuscripts, recorded music, beautiful pictures, and videos. Thank you!”
- “Very impressed by @bodleianlibs 'Treasures' app http://bit.ly/tp0S1g (I have android version): fab array of rare items to graze on.”
Final thoughts
- Be clear about your purpose: why do you need an app, what is it doing for you, how is it supporting the wider goals of your organisation / project?
- Don’t feel that you have to build an app if it’s not right for the project.
- Focus on the requirements of app users over your own.
- Document a process (including ballpark timescales) for dealing with app projects that can be used to communicate with colleagues and support decision-making / prioritisation.
- Make sure website links on your app lead to mobile-friendly content.
- Test, test and test again.
- Don’t underestimate how long things take!
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Alison Prince has been working with websites and digital content for the last 10 years. She is currently Web Manager for the Bodleian Libraries and has previously worked in e-commerce, the creative industries and international education marketing. Her main areas of interest and expertise are digital content, outreach and communications; user experience; and website management.
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