Wherein Smart Chicago shares the results of the recent Connect Chicago advertising campaign and lets everyone know about the Connect Chicago Summer of Data.

1. June 20, 2013
Dear Community Partner:
I wanted to share the results of our recent advertising campaign and let you know about an
initiative that we’re running – the Connect Chicago Summer of Data.
Over the last six months, we’ve conducted an aggressive ad campaign to promote your location
under the Connect Chicago name. Here’s some stats:
• 125 station platform posters
• 300 exterior bus posters
• 1,500 interior bus and rail signs
• 225 bus shelters
• All downtown newspaper stands
We’ve generated lots of interest in the program. We’ve had 13,514 unique visitors to the site since
the beginning of the year averaging 4.39 pages per visit and spending more than three minutes per
visit.
We’ve also been building a sense of ownership of the Connect Chicago program. Each location has
the ability to manage the information that is presented on the page—hours, training, images—
anything that you want to show your patrons when they’re searching for you. Nineteen admins have
signed up for this system. To sign up to manage your own page, go to
http://locations.weconnectchicago.org/.

2. That’s a great start, and we’re excited about building more.
During the summer we’re sending out street teams who will visit farmers’ markets, street fairs and
other special events to make certain that everyone is are aware of Connect Chicago and the
services offered at all of your locations. Please let us know if there are any particular events you’d
like them to attend.
These teams will also visit all Connect Chicago locations to gather more information about each
place so that we can keep the Connect Chicago website up to date. They’ll use the same form that
your own staff can use when they sign up to be Connect Chicago admins.
Each team will be supplied with tablet or mobile device. They’ll be taking photos, gathering printed
matter, and collecting any training materials used at your location. These visits will occur during
your regular hours, and they will check in your staff upon arrival. Please be as helpful as you can be
with the important info-gatherers. All street team members will be issued identification and will
have explanatory materials so that they’re easy to spot and their mission will be clear.
In addition to updating the information on the site, we’d love to work with a member of the staff at
each location to gather some longer-form info about your location, your patrons, and your work with
other Connect Chicago locations. We want to get a feel for how special you location is and get ideas
on how to promote it. The questions we ask are here:
https://smartchicago2012.wufoo.com/forms/connect-chicago-summer-of-data-form/.
We know this is a lot of info, and our teams will be as unobtrusive as possible. We’ll come back to
the location as many times as it takes so that it is convenient for staff. The form should take about
15 minutes to complete, the visit should be around 45 minutes, but the information will be
invaluable in telling your story.
All of this also helps us close out our federal Broadband Technology Opportunity Program (BTOP)
grant obligations and give us a great basis for continuing our work under Connect Chicago. This
program is being implemented by MK Communications. If you have any questions about the items
above, you can contact them at (312) 822-0505 or agency@mkcpr.com. Likewise, I may call on you
to explain our program to staff at any of your locations who may have questions when our
canvassers are on site. As always, please contact me if you have any questions, comments, or
concerns about Connect Chicago or any other Smart Chicago Collaborative initiative.
Sincerely,
Daniel X. O’Neil
Executive Director, Smart Chicago Collaborative
(773) 960-6045
doneil@cct.org