When—and How—To Level Up Your Marketing

Lots of libraries realize their marketing isn’t exactly razor-sharp … but in a nonprofit world where budgets are tight, they’re not sure what to do about it. In this session, the team from Low Octave Brand Foundations will lay out a framework libraries can use to evaluate their existing marketing and then craft a strategy to push it forward—on any budget. We’ll also help you think through what to take on with an in-house team; when it makes sense to partner with an external agency; and how to approach an external project in a way that ensures success and makes financial sense.

Speaker: Low Octave Brand Foundations
Nathan McDonald, Aaron Johnson, and Steve Hendershot

Steve is a content marketing expert, multimedia journalist and bestselling author who works with innovative brands including Adobe, Qualtrics and Staples. In 2022 alone, he was honored with two Content Marketing Awards from the Content Marketing Institute; a Peter J. Lisagor Award for excellence in Chicago journalism; and an award from the Academy of Interactive & Visual Arts for the top-rated podcast he hosts on behalf of the Project Management Institute.

Aaron crafts distinctive brand identities for a broad range of organizations, from municipalities and universities to pizzerias and Harley-Davidson dealerships. He has served as creative director at multiple branding agencies, and also was art director of industry-leading insurer State Farm. He excels at distilling a company’s ethos and product focus into a single, cohesive idea, expressed visually in a meaningful, memorable brand identity.

Nathan is a strategy specialist and graphic designer, as well as a Certified StoryBrand Guide. In the latter role, he translates organizational opportunities and challenges into a compelling, narrative sales strategy, drawing on the StoryBrand framework as well as his extensive experience as an in-house creative director in both commercial and nonprofit settings. He serves as our workshop facilitator and project manager, and also deploys his skills as a visual storyteller to help craft your brand’s new or reimagined visual identity and website.