This Week in Church Marketing

October 24, 2008 by

A few stories have run across the figurative desks here at Church Marketing Sucks over the week, and you’ve probably caught them at other places on the ol’ Internet. But just in case you made it through the first part of the week without catching these, we have them for you.

New atheist marketing campaign on UK buses.
The British Humanist Association is going to start running ads on the sides of buses reading, “There’s probably no god. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.” I’ve never personally understood evangelical atheism, but here’s a bit of the response so far: AdFreak says, “Probably? Way to hedge your bets there.” And the Methodist church has thanked them, saying it “will be a good thing if it gets people to engage with the deepest questions of life.”

Church mystery worshipper for hire.
There’s a former Oklahoma pastor who is offering himself as a new form of church consultant. Essentially, he’ll come and act like a visitor at your church, letting you see what a visitor would see in their first visit to your church. Maybe you don’t hire this guy, but some sort of idea like this sounds like a great step for your church.

The Apple brand and religion.
These folks are saying that they have proved via neuroscience that Apple is a religion. The movie looks at the tie between commercial branding and religious branding–specifically at Apple’s brand and how it impacts “followers.” The trailer certainly looks interesting, and maybe it can explain the strong overlap between church leaders and Apple products. Just maybe.

Update: It looks like atheist marketing is catching on in the US as well. Check out the latest campaign from Washington, DC.

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Joshua Cody


Josh Cody served as our associate editor for several years before moving on to bigger things. Like Texas. These days he lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife, and you can find him online or on Twitter when he's not wrestling code.
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6 Responses to “This Week in Church Marketing”

  • ChristianPF
    October 24, 2008

    Wow, the thing about Apple being a religion is pretty interesting – who would have thought? ;)


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  • Pat
    October 24, 2008

    I would totally be a “secret worshiper.” Anyone want to hire me? http://patdryburgh.net


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  • Stuart
    October 24, 2008

    I enjoy life.
    What a job.
    An Apple a day keeps the devil away.


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  • Kennedy Fraser
    October 27, 2008

    The Ship of Fools website in the UK runs a Mystery Worshipper series. See
    http://www.ship-of-fools.com/mystery/index.html
    And it seems they travel abroad as well!!
    See also:
    http://www.retail-maxim.co.uk/churchcheck/
    Kennedy


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  • Karl
    October 27, 2008

    Way better then “hiring a visitor” is to actually bring one yourself and sit next to them the entire time. It will make you look at everything through an entirely different lens.


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  • Religion Churches
    June 27, 2009

    The whole apple being a religion makes sense now. I remember seeing a video by someone talking about how he hates mac computers. He was talking about how you could drag things all over except for the top right.
    He said while acting as though he was worshiping “That’s reserved for the mighty apple!” Amazing how that ties in. I think it is as funny as can be.


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