Name the Manatee Campaign
Broward County Library
Innovation Synopsis
In June 2024, Broward County Library (BCL) created a fun, new library card design featuring a book-loving manatee. To promote the new design, engage the community, and in celebration of National Library Card Sign-up Month, BCL launched an interactive “Name the Manatee” campaign that included email, digital, print, video, and social media components. In July 2024, library customers were asked to submit name suggestions, and more than 600 people did. The submitter of “Sunny,” the winning name, was announced in September and featured on the cover of the October 2024 BCL Magazine as well as in a video on BCL’s YouTube channel. The campaign received national honors.
Challenge/Opportunity
For people of all ages and walks of life, a library card is a vital and valuable resource for information, entertainment and education, and attracting and signing up new library cardholders is an ongoing goal at BCL. The challenge was to create a campaign that successfully reaches and engages library users of all ages, turning them into active participants in the library’s story.
Key Elements of Innovation
The interactive “Name the Manatee” campaign centered around a new library card design featuring a happy, but nameless manatee and a fun, engaging call for community creativity. To spread the word, flyers with a link and a QR code leading to a survey form were distributed at all BCL locations and via email to all adult BCL customer. 600 entries were received. On August 8, the name “Sunny” was selected, reflecting the smile on the manatee’s face and aligning with the Broward County logo, which features a sun. The campaign then shifted to highlight the story behind the name. A video/photo shoot of the winner, Megan, was distributed via email, YouTube, social media, and the library website. Megan and Sunny were the cover story of the October 2024 BCL Magazine. BCL Director Allison Grubbs further amplified Sunny's story in her text/video October 2024 Director's Message. Four-foot tall, stand-up cardboard cut-outs of Sunny were created and distributed to all BCL locations.
Achieved Outcomes
The "Name the Manatee" campaign was successful, exceeding its community engagement goal by attracting over 600 survey responses. An initial order of 15,000 cards was distributed within a year, and the library recently ordered 10,000 more. This innovative and heartwarming campaign effectively connected the community with their library, demonstrating the power of creative outreach. The campaign received a “Superior” award in 2025 from National Association of County Information Officers, with graphic components of the campaign garnering an additional two awards.
