An ordinary media? : Video game marketing to youths at Public Libraries

This essay aims to investigate how Swedish Public Libraries market their activities in video games for youths. It also highlights how the library, on the basis of the unique opportunities of the video game medium, can develop this marketing to build a relationship with youths. The empiric evidence is based on a survey of answers given by 30 librarians responsible for video game collections, and qualitative telephone interviews with three of them. The essay’s theoretical framework is based on Philip Kotler and his co-authors’ marketing theory which consists of five stages: Marketing research, segmentation, marketing mix, implementation and development. Youths were the central target group for the video games activities in two thirds of the libraries. However, there were no differences in marketing between the libraries who had youths as a central target group and those who didn’t. The result showed shortcomings in the library’s long term marketing strategies – for example in goals and development. Many libraries had a marketing strategy characterized by one-way communication and therefore lost out on opportunities to get a response from the youths and involve them in their activities. The main plans for development concerned game events and the possibility of playing games in the building. On the basis of the data collected and from earlier research, it was shown that libraries can use the video game events to their advantage. Through gaming events the libraries can also make use of the mediums’ interactive opportunities and increase its accessibility