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Chattanooga: Library task force paints graffiti on fountain
(Chattanooga Times (Free Press, TN) (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Sep. 4--A "guerrilla" marketing campaign defaced the fountain in front of the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Bicentennial Library on Wednesday, leaving a graffiti-style message painted on the side that said, "Nothing will change."
"We obviously wanted to generate some buzz," said Karen McMahon, project manager for Mayor Ron Littlefield's office. "And we did."
The graffiti is part of a marketing campaign that focuses on a library task force and the library's future, Ms. McMahon said. The message advertised the Web site nothinghaschanged.org, which on Wednesday had the slogan "Nothing Will Change" in bold letters with a green and yellow picture of the downtown library as background and a clock ticking down to midnight.
The buzz is to promote a public meeting to be held at the Sheraton Read House on Sept. 18 for the library task force, she said. At midnight today, the Web site slogan switched to "Everything Will Change," she said.
This morning, the slogan on the side of the library fountain also will be repainted -- in temporary paint that can be washed off -- to say "Everything Will Change," she said.
When the Web site changes today, it will have information about the public hearing and ways the public can change the library, said Paul Rustand, design director of Widgets & Stone, a local firm hired to conduct the marketing plan.
The idea is to create excitement for the task force and the library and create the same kind of excitement that helped recreate the city's downtown and riverfront, Ms. McMahon said.
"When everyone gets involved, everything will change," she said.
In June, the city hired two former librarians as consultants to help guide a task force exploring the future of the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Public Library. The consultants were hired for a total of $50,000, records show.
Mr. Rustand said his firm was hired by the city to do the marketing campaign, which is trying to reach young adults in their 20s and 30s.
"We're trying to cut through to those people," he said.
He said painting the fountain is a "bit of a bizarre kind of graffiti."
"We had all the proper authority to go over there and do it," he said.
Mr. Rustand said he did not know how much the city would pay for his services.
"I don't know. We haven't been paid yet," he said.
Other parts of the campaign will include drink coasters at area restaurants and coffee sleeves at coffee shops, all bearing the "Everything can change" slogan, he said.
David Clapp, director of the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Bicentennial Library, said Wednesday he heard from a few dozen people asking about the fountain graffiti. He said he appreciated any focus on the library and the issues it faces.
"It's gratifying in a way to hear from all these people who were concerned that our fountain had been defaced," he said.
Staff writer Adam Crisp contributed to this story.
To see more of the Chattanooga Times/Free Press, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.timesfreepress.com.
Copyright (c) 2008, Chattanooga Times/Free Press, Tenn.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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