The Newberry
Building a community for Chicago’s cultural heritage
The Challenge
Support for the Newberry was gathering dust.
Long known as a beloved resource for scholars, the Newberry Library was struggling to find fresh supporters outside of their traditional academic circles. So, they aspired to reach and engage a wider audience of people across Chicago and beyond. Our challenge: rally a community of everyday Chicagoans in support for the city’s cultural heritage and the library’s new vision.
Our Approach
Create a destination
for discovery
Drawing on the library's extensive collections and knowledgeable staff, we created an engaging, accessible, content-driven strategy and marketing plan that repositioned the Newberry from a niche home for academics to a vibrant cultural destination for anyone curious about exploring the past.
The result
New support for one of Chicago’s oldest institutions
The Newberry was able to revolutionize how it reached new audiences in the 21st century. Flinging open the doors of the Newberry’s diverse collection to a digital-first audience, we helped shine a light on Chicago’s cultural heritage, build up support for the Newberry beyond academia, and inspire a new generation of Chicagoans to enjoy and support the work of one of the city’s oldest institutions.
100x
Increase in social engagement
15x
Boost in unique website visitors
Kristin Emery, Director of Governance and Strategic Initiatives
“Teller deeply understands the power of creative storytelling across digital and traditional platforms. They transformed the Newberry’s profile from an elite, academic institution into a dynamic cultural hub that continues to resonate with people across the city and beyond.”
Our work
Website
We launched a new digital home
Working with our friends at Firebelly Design in Chicago, we completely reimagined the Newberry's digital home, expanding the entry points for new audiences to learn about the library and get involved. Through bold visuals, inviting language, and accessible design, the new website guides users through a number of different user journeys, helping new audiences across the city and the world see themselves and take part in the Newberry’s story.
Social media
We made the old new again
We brought the Newberry’s treasure trove of collections and artifacts into the digital age. Engaging storytelling extended to a variety of digital platforms, including social media. By honoring the Newberry's scholarly soul and embracing a conversational new voice, we brought the Newberry into the feeds of new audiences who’d never heard of the library before and presented cultural collections as timely, unique, informative, and fun.
The Newberry Magazine
We kept true to the library’s roots
Print continues to be an essential medium for the library's core audiences and supporters. We applied the Newberry's refreshed identity to its semi-annual magazine, creating an aesthetically and intellectually stimulating experience for readers looking to dive deeper into what the Newberry’s collection has to offer.