LibreOffice Marketing Activities – TDF’s Annual Report 2024
In 2024, The Document Foundation and its global LibreOffice community undertook a variety of marketing initiatives aimed at increasing visibility, fostering community engagement, and driving adoption of LibreOffice
(This is part of The Document Foundation’s Annual Report for 2024 – we’ll post the full version here soon.)
LibreOffice and Open Source Conference 2024 in Luxembourg
A major highlight of TDF’s 2024 marketing activities was the LibreOffice and Open Source Conference, held from October 10 to 12 in Luxembourg. The annual event brought together contributors from around the world, including developers, designers, documentation writers, translators, and marketers.
Marketing efforts for the conference included:
- A targeted social media campaign promoting the event’s location, speakers, and agenda.
- Outreach to local technology communities and universities in Luxembourg to boost participation.
- The creation of promotional graphics and materials highlighting the conference themes and goals.
- Live updates and content shared across LibreOffice’s social channels to engage a remote audience.
The conference acted as a vital showcase of LibreOffice’s progress, community strength, and future plans.
“Month of LibreOffice” Campaigns
Throughout May and November 2024, TDF organized its recurring “Month of LibreOffice” initiative. This campaign aimed to recognize and reward community contributors across various roles, including development, documentation, QA and marketing.
Participants who contributed during the campaign period were acknowledged through:
- Special edition badges awarded digitally.
- Public recognition via blog posts and social media.
- Incentives like stickers and merchandise shipped to selected contributors.
This initiative not only celebrated existing contributors but also attracted new participants interested in supporting open source software.
Launch of the LibreOffice Podcast Series
In November 2024, TDF launched its LibreOffice Podcast, a new platform to discuss topics related to LibreOffice and the wider world of open source software. The podcast aimed to:
- Share success stories from migrations to LibreOffice.
- Offer insights into FOSS marketing strategies.
- Feature interviews with developers and community leaders.
- Provide behind-the-scenes looks at the ongoing work within TDF.
The first episode focused on marketing strategies for FOSS, with discussions on how to engage institutions and governments in adopting LibreOffice.
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Enhanced Social Media and Content Strategy
In 2024, TDF expanded and optimized its social media presence. Alongside its traditional platforms like Twitter (X) and Facebook, TDF increased its focus on:
- Mastodon: engaging the open-source community on federated social platforms.
- LinkedIn: Sharing professional success stories, including case studies on large-scale LibreOffice deployments.
- Regular posting of blog content, including release announcements, tutorials, and community spotlights.
- Short video clips and graphics to make content more accessible and visually engaging.
These efforts aimed to grow the project’s audience, particularly among decision-makers in public administration and enterprises.
Native Language Community Outreach
TDF placed a strong emphasis on supporting native language communities. The marketing team worked with volunteers worldwide to produce localized materials, including:
- Press releases for new LibreOffice versions.
- Social media templates and visual assets.
- Brochures explaining the benefits of LibreOffice in local contexts.
Several regions ran independent marketing initiatives, including:
- Nepal: workshops for students on using LibreOffice Writer to create professional resumes.
- India: local events demonstrating LibreOffice’s potential for government offices and educational institutions.
Workshops, Training and Community Events
Throughout the year, TDF organized workshops and training sessions aimed at onboarding new users and contributors. These included:
- Online training for translators and QA testers.
- Regional events offering hands-on experience with LibreOffice migrations.
- Webinars aimed at IT administrators exploring LibreOffice deployment in enterprise environments.
The Open Source Workshops helped public sector organizations understand the benefits of LibreOffice and how it can replace proprietary office suites.
Outreachy and Template Development
LibreOffice participated in the Outreachy program, with a focus on developing new templates for LibreOffice Writer. These templates included resumes, reports, and business documents aimed at improving the user experience and broadening appeal, particularly for users migrating from proprietary suites.
Marketing activities highlighted:
- How templates increase productivity.
- The contributions of new developers and designers participating in the Outreachy program.
- The availability of these templates through LibreOffice’s website and community channels.
Media and Press Relations
TDF continued its media relations work, distributing regular press releases covering:
- New LibreOffice releases and features.
- Major migrations by organizations and governments.
- Events such as LibreOffice Conference and Month of LibreOffice campaigns.
TDF’s press outreach focused on reinforcing LibreOffice’s position as a cost-effective, secure, and privacy-respecting alternative to proprietary office suites.
Download Statistics and User Adoption
The marketing efforts in 2024 yielded significant results:
- Download Milestone: by the end of 2024, LibreOffice surpassed 400 million cumulative downloads since its inception in 2011, with an average of 28.6 million downloads per year.
- Weekly Downloads: Weekly downloads approached 1 million, marking the highest figures since 2023.
- Public Sector Adoption: The German state of Schleswig-Holstein announced plans to migrate 30,000 PCs to LibreOffice, aiming for completion by 2026.
Conclusion
In 2024, through conferences, campaigns, podcasts, and media outreach, TDF advanced its mission of promoting free and open source software while making LibreOffice more accessible and trusted around the world. These marketing efforts not only amplified LibreOffice’s visibility but also demonstrated the value of community-driven open source projects in delivering professional-grade software solutions.