Science of Brewing: Tour and Tasting

Mar 23, 2015

Free

🆓

Byline

Sharon Kay Edwards, Youth Services Librarian/ Program Coordinator, Coffee County Lannom Memorial Public Library, Tullahoma, Tenn.

As part of a science-themed summer reading program, we partnered with a local micro-brewery to hold a "Science of Brewing: Tour and Tasting" event.

Advanced Planning

My goals for the program were to reach a broader adult patronage. Typically, our adult summer reading participants were senior citizens and/or retirees. While I didn’t exclude the older patrons, I wanted to market our services to the middle-aged group (30-45), generally working parents. I wanted them to not only enjoy this program, but also learn of other services and events we provide for all ages, in order to bring in more families.

Marketing

I began to marketing the program through social media and in-house resources a month before the event. Two weeks before, we contacted the local paper, which ran a great article about it. A week before, I went on our two local television stations to promote the event. This was great promotion for both us and the local brewery.

Budgeting

The only expense was my time and the printing of flyers for in-house advertising.

Day-of-event Activity

There was no set-up necessary by the library staff. The brewers set up a few items for the tour.

Program Execution

We were so excited that nearly 60 people attended the tour and tasting -- most of them in the age demographic we were aiming for! The brewers did a thorough job of explaining the brewing process and answered participants' questions. The first thing we did was the tour, followed by the tasting. A food truck was on site to provide food for the participants, should they wish to purchase any.

Advice

Cross-promotion is key!I love to partner with other organizations and businesses. They want the event to be as successful as you do, so they work to advertise, too! It also makes for interesting local news for the paper, which equals free marketing.