CASE STUDY
Growing Young Readers with the Dolly Parton Imagination Library
A playful, Dolly-branded social media campaign exceeded benchmarks, boosted registrations and sparked statewide momentum for early literacy.
The Client
Oklahoma Partnership for School Readiness (OPSR) is a nonprofit dedicated to ensuring all Oklahoma children arrive at school with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed. OPSR manages the statewide expansion of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, which provides free books to children from birth to age five.
The Ask
OPSR engaged Candor to raise awareness of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library among Oklahoma parents. The goal was to increase signups for the program by surpassing digital engagement and click-through benchmarks, while translating online attention into real-world participation.
The Campaign
Candor launched a series of Meta ads leveraging Dolly Parton’s beloved brand recognition and charm. Playful, western-inspired creative — particularly “Wanted” posters and ads spotlighting Dolly herself — generated the highest engagement. By quickly optimizing to focus on these top-performing visuals and copy, Candor maximized the client’s ad spend while ensuring the message resonated with parents across the state.
The campaign drove real-world action.
Beyond the numbers, OPSR reported in September 2025 that the surge in registrations was so significant they may need additional fundraising to sustain growth in counties with limited resources. In other words, there may now be too many 0–5-year-olds reading books in Oklahoma — a problem worth celebrating.
As of October 2025, 950K+ books were distributed since the beginning of the year.