« October 2004 | Main | December 2004 »

November 29, 2004

Our Very First Press Release

Today we sent our first press release to nearly 300 news and media contacts all around the country. We appreciate the many people who have linked to us and spread the word about this little conversation. But we're also eager to take this conversation to a wider audience. So here we go.

Continue reading "Our Very First Press Release"

Posted by Brad Abare at 7:46 AM
| Comments (0) | TrackBack

Think Young(er)

In the December 2004 issue of Fast Company magazine, staff writer Ryan Underwood does a "Fast Talk" with Zean Nielsen, director of marketing for Bang & Olufsen America, the way-too-expensive for me store with gadgets way-too-cool for me.

Zean (pronounced Shawn) is from Denmark. He was recruited by a marketing group that used some major filtering criteria (eight hours of exams, IQ tests, English and Math placement, etc.) before making a recommendation to B&O. Zean got the job. He was 23 years old.

Two years later, at age 25, B&O would recruit him to lead the way in opening 60 stores in the Unites States and Canada. Zean is now 26 years old and 43 of the 60 stores are already up and running.

John A. Byrne, editor of Fast Company, was so impressed he wrote this in his editor's column in the same issue: "The fact that [Zean has] been given such responsibility so young says a lot about Bang & Olufsen. It is an organization that encourages and supports creativity, a flat and lean company where young, talented people are empowered to make a difference."

What would happen if pastors appointed a young adult in their twenties (inside the church) to lead a creative team made up of individuals inside and outside the church? This team could meet regularly and dream up new ways to reach the community, enfranchise the disenfranchised, and build loyalty. The team would be fully empowered to function within the context set out by senior leadership.

I can only imagine what would happen in our churches...

Posted by Brad Abare at 7:00 AM
| Comments (2) | TrackBack

November 27, 2004

Google, Apple and the Church

According to Advertising Age, Google is looking for an ad agency in what would most likely be a multi-million dollar account. Google has never had an ad agency before, relying almost entirely on word of mouth.

Apple, on the other hand, also relies on word of mouth, but has had an agency from the beginning. Their ads are legendary.

When it comes to the church, word of mouth is without a doubt the best form of advertising. Ask nearly anyone in your church why they came and chances are pretty good it is because they were invited by someone, not something.

Google has a host of incredible tools that people talk about to others.
Why would Google be looking to an agency to create advertising?

Apple has very cool products and gadgets that cause people to drool on others.
Why does Apple invest so much in its advertising each year?

Churches have the greatest story every told, definitely worth spreading to others.
Why don't churches invest more in advertising?

Word of mouth is only good when the person who can spread the word remembers to say something. Advertising is one of the things that can initiate such an action.

Posted by Brad Abare at 9:16 AM
| Comments (4) | TrackBack

November 23, 2004

The Pastor Can't Do it Alone

Marketing guru Seth Godin (author of Purple Cow and Free Prize Inside) has released a previous book in a free PDF format for a limited time only: The Bootstrapper's Bible.

The 103-page PDF covers the typical "bootstrapper" in business, the person who picks themselves up by their own bootstraps, making a business happen with few resources. It strikes me that these are the kinds of people needed in the church to make things happen. Often, they are pastors. But let's face it: pastors can't do it all on their own. Pew-warming lay people need to step up and help the church to be more.

As a side note, Godin comments on his own blog about the successfulness of spreading an idea when it's offered for free.

UPDATE: The limited time to download "The Bootstrapper's Bible" has expired, but Godin gives permission for others to post it online, so here it is:

The Bootstrapper's Bible by Seth Godin (PDF 1.1 MB)

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 2:14 PM
| Comments (1) | TrackBack

Lessons from U2

Anyone who reads my personal blog or has had contact with me in the past month probably knows that I've been obsessing about the release of How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, the 11th studio release and first in four years from the biggest rock band in the world, U2.

All that obsessing has given me a good grasp of the kind of marketing U2 does when they release an album.

Perhaps the biggest organization in the world (can I say that about the Church?) can learn something from the biggest band in the world. Let's see.

Continue reading "Lessons from U2"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 1:00 PM
| Comments (1) | TrackBack

November 22, 2004

Carry-Out Christianity?

by Andy Havens, Guest Blogger

There's a nice article on the PRWeb Newswire about a trend in casual sit-down restaurants (Chili's, Outback Steakhouse, TGIFriday's, etc.) to offer carry-out service that's a more complete customer experience, as opposed to a barely-available afterthought. Like most good ideas, it makes perfect sense... just as soon as somebody else came up with it.

If enough people are ordering take-out, the article advises, make sure you've got people on the phones who know the menu. Make the check-out process smooth and fast, etc. etc. If take-out is easy and friendly, they'll be back. If not... they'll go elsewhere. Good restauranteurs will read this article and begin to think of ways to improve their own carry-out service.

Continue reading "Carry-Out Christianity?"

Posted by Guest Blogger at 7:00 PM
| Comments (0) | TrackBack

November 19, 2004

Confusion Costs

by Andy Havens, Guest Blogger

Siegel & Gale, a major research, branding and communications firm, recently published a "Perplexity Poll" (PDF) for its clients in the wireless telecommunications industry. In brief, what they found is that there is a measurable cost related to the confusion and complexity surrounding issues like rate plans, additional charges, roaming, phone features and invoices.

What kind of measurable cost? Try $3 billion. That's how much the industry loses every year when people get fed up and quit because they are confused. Fully 25% of the people interviewed said they'd left a previous wireless company because they'd been perplexed and frustrated.

What does this have to do with church marketing? Well, it shows -- in big, stark numbers -- that people like clear, easy-to-understand information. They don't like to be confused. And they vote with their feet.

Continue reading "Confusion Costs"

Posted by Guest Blogger at 1:37 PM
| Comments (1) | TrackBack

November 18, 2004

Spread the Word in the Real World

Church Marketing Sucks has always been a conversation and we encourage you to spread that conversation far and wide. To prompt that in the real world, we've got stacks and stacks of business card-sized Church Marketing Sucks promo cards. They fit in your pocket, they're fancy and cool, and they give the basic rationale behind the site.

Want some? Send us an e-mail with your name, shipping address (U.S. only) and how many you want, and we'll send you a stack. We hope you'll use them to tell friends about the conversation and encourage them to check out the site.

Thanks for your support.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 8:45 AM
| Comments (1) | TrackBack

Church Sucks Flyer

We got an e-mail the other day about a fun church marketing story. Ryan Haack is involved in planting a new church in Madison, Wisc., the Journey, which will open its doors December 5.

They began plastering the community with promotional flyers (see photo inset for full view) with small lettering across the top that said, "Without love, compassion and tolerance," and then in huge letters: "Church Sucks."

The response came the same day with a call and an e-mail from a local professor, complaining that if they were really Christians they'd take the signs down, according to Ryan. The professor threatened to file a formal complaint and alert the local paper, though commented that more attention is probably what they wanted.

"Uh yeah," Ryan wrote in his email. "That's what a flyer is supposed to do, right? Get attention?"

We haven't received any independent confirmation of the story, so it's best to keep an open mind, but the scenario itself is worth considering.

Continue reading "Church Sucks Flyer"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:30 AM
| Comments (3) | TrackBack

November 17, 2004

Rev Magazine: A Little Misleading

I found in my stack of clippings a one page ditty in Rev magazine. The column-esque heading at the top left read "culture" and floating in the middle of the page was a large colorful graphic that read: "brAnd." (See photo inset for full view.)

Naturally, I thought this was going to be a quick take on branding and how it relates to the church or some other useful nugget a pastor (the primary audience of Rev) could apply to the subject.

I should have known better than to think Christiandom would get it right. There are some useful takeaways, but it is all about direct mail. Yep, direct mail works. I wrote an entry last month, citing a study by Pitney Bowes. Rev cites what appears to be a more legitimate study by the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing. Their results?

Continue reading "Rev Magazine: A Little Misleading"

Posted by Brad Abare at 6:42 AM
| Comments (0) | TrackBack

November 16, 2004

Guest Blogger Andy Havens Joins the Conversation

We'd like to welcome marketing guru Andy Havens to the Church Marketing Sucks conversation. Andy will be joining us as guest blogger, sharing his thoughts and insights culled from 15 years of experience in professional marketing.

You can read more about Andy in his bio or check out his first entry, What is Marketing?, which argues that marketing goes much deeper than mere advertising.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 9:29 AM
| Comments (1) | TrackBack

What is Marketing?

by Andy Havens, Guest Blogger

Ask most people about marketing and they’ll talk about advertising. Why? Because advertising is the end result of a long marketing process and the only part that is actually observed by the general public. Behind the scenes, though, there are hundreds of people and thousands of hours of marketing work involved in every product you see advertised.

This becomes problematic when consumers of advertising become creators of marketing, as they assume they should start with advertising. That’s like assuming that building a house begins with picking out paint and wallpaper because that’s the part that’s most visible and that you’re most familiar with.

So what is marketing?

Continue reading "What is Marketing?"

Posted by Guest Blogger at 9:21 AM
| Comments (57) | TrackBack

November 10, 2004

Church Membership Cards

I love hanging out with pastors. A week ago today I spent several hours with a local pastor here in southern California who planted a church four years ago in Orange County. Our time together had no big agenda other than to connect and learn more about each other's lives, passions, families, ministries and everything else those subjects bring out. Although our acquaintance was made familiar through mutual friends and circles, I was honored to spend time with this guy. His heart is huge. His mind is brilliant. And his love for people is deep.

Among the many topics we covered, of which I'll work into more entries later, one of particular interest was the idea of having church membership cards. I should stop now and say if you think this brings us one step closer to the "mark of the beast," you might as well stop reading and take your apocalypse phobia somewhere else.

Continue reading "Church Membership Cards"

Posted by Brad Abare at 6:35 AM
| Comments (8) | TrackBack

November 9, 2004

Moving Furniture

"On Religion" columnist Terry Mattingly covers a baptizing bus tour put on by the Southern Baptists in an attempt to rack up one million baptisms between June 2005 and June 2006. While the Southern Baptist denomination has grown as other denominations shrink, the baptism numbers have essentially plateaud since the 1950s while the population has exploded.

In Southern Baptist congregations only 40 percent of adults baptized are true converts—the rest have come from other churches.

"What that means is that we're not reaching the pagan pool," says Southern Baptist Convention president Rev. Bobby Welch. "We're just rearranging the furniture inside the church."

Ultimately, church marketing isn't about seats in pews or money in the offering plate. It's about helping the church communicate effectively with a world at large, to reach new hearts with the good news.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:52 AM
| Comments (0) | TrackBack

November 8, 2004

Branding Won't Save You

Wired recently ran the article "The Decline of Branding", which has interesting applications considering our recent discussions on church branding.

Essentially, the article argues that branding as an insurance policy for major corporations to keep the profits rolling in is dead. Basically companies would built up a brand (like Tide) in the mind of consumers. Even in an economic downturn, that brand would pay dividends as customers keep buying Tide thanks to their brand loyalty. But now that brand loyalty seems to be disappearing.

What does it mean for the future of branding and the church?

Continue reading "Branding Won't Save You"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 11:27 AM
| Comments (0) | TrackBack

November 4, 2004

Sucky Approach

Lisa Sampson has an interesting post (with several comments) from October 26 that started as a comment about ChurchMarketingSucks.com and ended with a unique T-shirt approach she found a church was using. The shirt says:

our church invitation
We Suck...
We have nothing to offer...
We don't know anything...
We are just a small group of people
in a small room trying to discover
more about God...
Come be confused with us...

While I appreciate the spirit behind this, I am not compelled to check out this church. By the very nature of the shirt, they don't appear very intellectual so the false sense of pseudo-intellectualism exuding from it confuses me. I think by using the word "confused" they are inferring that they are seekers of Truth and want you to come join them in their quest. I can dig that, but I doubt people who are really seeking Truth are relating to this shirt, its approach, or even the person wearing it.

I like what Rick said on a recent comment he made here on ChurchMarketingSucks.com. Although I don't believe these are the rule #1 and #2 for advertising, I appreciate his perspective:

"Rule #1 in advertising: If your ad has to be explained, it sucks. It fails.
Rule #2: If your ad makes people laugh, cry, jump up and down, yet fails to sell the product, your ad sucks... it failed."

I wonder how many people (of the kind they are seeking) are visiting the church as a result of this shirt?

Posted by Brad Abare at 7:06 AM
| Comments (11) | TrackBack

November 2, 2004

Spreading the Word about Porn

The New York Times covers XXXchurch.com in an article summarizing the anti-pornography ministry. Their marketing tactics include the slogan "the #1 Christian porn site" and a van covered with the slogan and url. They've also teamed up with a porn director to make a public service announcement about keeping pornography away from kids.

Radical tactics, yes, but they do clear the blinders many Christians have about the dangers of pornography (and the widespread use - the NYT quotes a survey that says one-third of U.S. pastors admit to viewing pornography).

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 11:12 AM
| Comments (2) | TrackBack

Green Steeples

St. Mark's Presbyterian Church in New Port Beach, Calif. is finishing a new construction project and trying to get their church classified with the U.S. Green Building Council.

"It's a basic stewardship matter for us, caring for creation, and in our corner of the world we do what we can," St. Mark pastor Gary Collins said. "We clearly have an opportunity with this project to leave as gentle an imprint on the ground and the land as we can."

The $8 million building project will leave an impact of a different kind on the community, showing a concern for the environment that's sadly a rare sight in many churches.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 10:50 AM
| Comments (0) | TrackBack

November 1, 2004

The Brand of Christianity

"What does the brand of Christianity stand for in America and what should it stand for? I think the religious right has captured the brand, so when a person hears the word 'Christian' they think anti-homosexuality, judgmental, angry, loves big business, feels the poor are to blame for their own problems, that sort of thing. This is such a gross parody or caricature of the image of what a Christian follower should be. So we all have some serious work to do when we think about the brand identity of Christianity in our world today." -Brian McLaren (see our interview)

That serious work is what we want to do here at Church Marketing Sucks. When asked how to change that brand, McLaren graciously used words from our site:

"I love what you say on your web site. We've got to frustrate people and say the brand identity of Christianity that you are presenting is a terrible portrayal of who Jesus is and what Jesus is about. So that will cause some frustration. That will then require education and some motivation. Those are three good words from your web site—frustration, education and motivation. I very much agree that's what we need."

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 12:07 PM
| Comments (1) | TrackBack