Marketing to Make a Difference: Effectively Promoting Early Childhood Literacy
Johnson County, KS
Population: 542,737

Time: Wednesday April 18 - 11:00-12:15pm

Literacy is a national issue: 35% of children enter school at risk for academic difficulties, and 60% have difficulty learning to read. And one of every five adults in the U.S. is functionally illiterate. Children who learn six pre-reading skills by age six will be more successful readers, researchers find. These six skills have been identified by the American Library Association in Every Child Ready to Read (ECRTR), a program of instruction for parents and caregivers. However, parents and caregivers most in need of early literacy training are precisely those who will not understand terminology such as “phonological awareness” – one of the six skills – nor do they visit libraries. Yet learning these pre-reading skills should begin in infancy.

Johnson County Library Marketing and Youth Services understood the need to make early literacy concepts “user friendly” and easier to understand, created highly accessible promotional materials, programming and resources based on ECRTR, and to reach parents and caregivers of at-risk children. The Library re-branded ECRTR concepts as “6 by 6, Ready to Read” – based on ECRTR’s “six pre-reading skills by age six” – utilizing original illustrations by national author-illustrator Brad Sneed for the accompanying marketing tools and will present their experiences in creating appealing materials for the public and evaluating the outcomes.

Attendees will learn:
• How to develop and implement an early literacy program
• How to brand/package the program so as to ensure cost effectiveness and engagement
• How to set intended outcomes and ensure they are met