Cambridgeshire County Council Request for Quotation - Delivery of Marketing Services for The Library...

Creating a vibrant, exciting, diverse and inclusive programme of high quality arts activities with Libraries across Cambridgeshire

Cambridgeshire County Council is a National Portfolio Organisation funded by Arts Council England to run ‘The Library Presents’ in partnership with Babylon ARTS for five years, until March 2023.

‘The Library Presents’ programme brings high quality arts activities into towns and villages across Cambridgeshire. The programme aims to inspire and deliver a vibrant inclusive programme of high quality arts activities in accessible and welcoming venues. By 2023 our communities will enjoy, experience and expect locally chosen and diverse arts activities across the County.

We aim to raise the ambition and professionalism of programming in libraries, so that over the four years we are increasingly able to programme excellent, diverse and ‘stretching’ work - ensuring that high quality cultural activity becomes part of the core offer of the library service. Residents, staff and volunteers will get the best quality participatory, performance, digital and visual arts work and learning experience.Currently there are 25 participating libraries in each season of TLP events.There are four seasons of events planned for the coming 2 years, the first starts May 2021, with precise timing, content and approach to be decided for the remainder, based upon Covid guidance (see schedule below). However, we would hope to return to our pre-Covid schedule, which would be ticketed events in libraries for three months each season, Spring and Autumn).

Our existing Marketing Plan focusses on developing a County-wide presence and recognition for The Library Presents and a strategy to ensure the programme is well attended. This includes clear project branding, print and digital marketing, press coverage, and the use of social media. The audience development and marketing also relies heavily on promotion at the local level.

We envisage that the Marketing Plan and the communications approach and reach will benefit from the expertise and advice of the successful deliverer. The main aim of this contract, however, is not to rewrite the Plan, it is to deliver to it, to increase awareness of the programme, to encourage larger and more diverse audiences, and to inform future improvements.

Additional activities to the main programme – taster sessions, commissioned work and schools engagement - will be delivered as part of the over-arching communications and audience development strategy and we are expecting the successful contractor to deliver marketing activities related to these.

Full Business Plan and Marketing Strategy available on request.

The Marketing Plan focuses on developing a County-wide presence and recognition for The Library Presents (TLP) as well as promotion at the more local level (by town and village) to ensure the programme is well attended. This includes print and digital marketing, news stories and articles, and the use of social media.

Marketing and promotion is one of our main challenges and you will become a partner in ensuring that positive promotion reaches more potential audience members, in collaboration with the extended team of TLP, Corporate Communications, libraries, external colleagues and partners.

Your role

Your role will be to increase the visibility of the programme through comms channels and lead on driving traffic to our website and the ticketing webpages. You will create news stories and articles and lead on social media. We will also expect the successful bidder to advise on possible marketing and communications improvements for future seasons and additional channels to explore.

Contract duration 24 months, April 2021 – March 2023