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December 22, 2004

Chocolate Works

Remember the Church of England's plan to give away free trade chocolate? It worked.

900 people came back to church. 9 out of 10 people who returned said they'd keep coming.

Sometimes church marketing is sweet.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 11:52 AM
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Custom Brew Brings in the Young Adults

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Washington D.C. offers its own custom brewed beer, Winged Lion Lager, for its weekly pub lunches—and the twenty- and thirty-somethings are coming out in droves.

Yeah, it’s a bit shocking to dry Baptists—but some denominations have no problem with responsible social drinking. The pub lunches have continued at St. Mark’s for 31 years and it’s a smart way to bring in the younger crowd, or anyone for that matter, who considers Sunday lunch a daunting task.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 11:43 AM
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Competing with the NFL

When it comes to competing with the mass media, the church tends to lose. On Christmas Eve this year the Minnesota Vikings will face the Green Bay Packers in a 2:00 p.m. game, prompting conflicts with 4:00 p.m. Christmas Eve church services.

All the excitement is understandable, but I’m surprised no one has come up with a workable solution. How about rescheduling your church service so families can catch the game? How about throwing a party to watch the game and having a Christmas Eve service either before or after?

Why is it we have to whine about the NFL being so rude to fans? Why can’t we make the best of it and hope next time the NFL is a little more considerate?

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 11:29 AM
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December 21, 2004

Moral Superiority on Beckham Nativity

You’ve probably heard the stories about a London wax museum with a nativity scene featuring soccer star David Beckham as Joseph and his wife “Posh Spice” Victoria as the Virgin Mary. Pop singer Kylie Minogue appears as an angel, Tony Blair, George W. Bush and the Duke of Edinburgh are the Three Wise Men, etc.

While the whole celebrity nativity is a bit goofy and questionable, what I found completely repelling was the response from the Vatican:

“You cannot use contemporary personalities as the central figures of the Nativity ... And it becomes worse, if that were possible, if the people may be of questionable moral standing.”

The implication here is that everyone at the original scene 2,000 years ago was of high moral standing. The Christ child certainly was (and I suppose if you’re Catholic you might think Mary was, but let’s not argue about that). But the rest of ‘em are all sinful humans, just like the rest of us.

Churches do a disservice when their public relations drip with moral superiority. That’s a good way to turn people away from your church when you’ve been presented with an opportunity to draw people in.

Sure the nativity is goofy, but rather than turn people off with your high and mighty attitude, why not say something that encourages people and draws them in? Why not at least encourage people to remember the real nativity and check the story out for themselves?

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 11:06 AM
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December 16, 2004

Non-Traditional Church Ad

Brian Baute blogs about a non-traditional church ad for Presbyterian Church of the Covenant in Greensboro, N.C. that appeared in a local progressive paper. He quotes the text of the ad (I'd love to see a scan of it) and though he likes parts of it, challenges it as going too far in trying to be relevant. Frankly, I'm less interested in Brian's tangent about accepting/rejecting culture and more interested in the church's ad. Placing an ad in this kind of local paper is a gutsy thing to do (at least knowing the local papers in my area). I'd say if their authenticity backs up the ad, more power to 'em.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 11:37 AM
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The Church Christmas Card

Ben Bell designed this Christmas card for his church, St. Stephen's Church in Islington, London. Every year the church sends out a card to households, shops and offices in their parish. The back of the card has service times.

I'm impressed with the simplicity and attention-grabbing nature of the card. They're taking advantage of the holiday season to remind people about church, but doing so in a very non-traditional way. It grabs your attention. Nice job. (link via Brian Baute)

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 11:26 AM
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December 13, 2004

Brandvangelism

by Andy Havens, Guest Blogger

There's a great new article up at Wired Online News about George Masters, a 36-year-old high school teacher who created, all on his own, an animated ad for the Apple iPod Mini that's getting some good attention on the web via blogs and email. And now, of course, via Wired News. Why would a school teacher spend a good chunk of his free time, for five months, crafting a really slick ad for no money? For no real recognition other than a, "Hey, that's cool," from a few friends? Because he really, really likes his iPod.

Continue reading "Brandvangelism"

Posted by Guest Blogger at 12:54 PM
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December 11, 2004

The Talent Myth in the Church Office

by Andy Havens, Guest Blogger

There's a very interesting manifesto titled "The Talent Myth" published at ChangeThis by Malcolm Gladwell, author of The Tipping Point. His basic argument is that when it comes to businesses, individual smarts may not be as important as having smart systems. His chief example is that of Enron, which is a company that went with the "promote genius indiviuals at all costs" method.

Continue reading "The Talent Myth in the Church Office"

Posted by Guest Blogger at 12:17 PM
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December 9, 2004

Meet Matt: He Keeps Bringing Me Back

About every other week, for the past few months, I've been going to the same restaurant before heading to an evening class after work. The restaurant is one of those soup and salad places with a salad bar, soup bar and assorted breads section. It's quick, easy and it gives me a little time to prepare/read-up for the class.

Because of the format of the restaurant, there are no waiters or waitresses. There are, however, the people who keep tables cleaned, trays removed, etc.

Say hello to Matt.

Matt is the table cleaner, tray remover, 30-something tall and slender "busboy" who is there every time I am. From the beginning, Matt greeted me with a smile and made sure I was taken care of. He goes above and beyond by asking if he can refill my drink, even offering coffee "on the house." One time he brought me warm chocolate chip cookies that usually cost extra.

Continue reading "Meet Matt: He Keeps Bringing Me Back"

Posted by Brad Abare at 6:41 AM
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December 6, 2004

Visiting a Mega-Church

One of the Twin Cities' alternative weeklies went to church last week, offering an article exploring the mega-church after an election supposedly decided by moral values. The author visited Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie and the piece gives an 'Alice in Wonderland' experience (complete with illustrations) of the bewildering mega-church movement. The piece also closes with plenty of fair questions but no room for real answers.

But the perspective alone is what's interesting. In a sense, this is what church looks like to the ousider. One of the hardest things for churches to do is understand what it's like for a newcomer.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 9:32 AM
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December 2, 2004

Interview With PRWeek.com

Keith O'Brien covers faith-based public relations in an article on PRWeek.com, which includes some good comments from Mark DeMoss, the big PR man in the Christian market. The article also includes some responses from our very own Brad Abare and a mention of Church Marketing Sucks.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 9:05 AM
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Church Ad Rejected by Networks

Inflammatory headlines are reporting that the major TV networks have rejected a homosexual church commercial. And those headlines are blowing it way out of proportion. The 30-second commercial promotes the United Church of Christ and features bouncers deciding who can and cannot enter a church. They reject several people, including two men who could be a couple.

The tagline explains: "Jesus didn't turn people away. Neither do we."

The networks defended themselves by saying it went against long-standing policy not to accept ads that deal with public controversy, some taking issue with the gay couple, others complaining about the implications that other religions aren't welcoming. The ad will be airing on a number of other networks and can be seen online.

Continue reading "Church Ad Rejected by Networks"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:55 AM
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December 1, 2004

An Oasis of Giving

by Andy Havens, Guest Blogger

In the world of retail marketing, the day after Thanksgiving is called "Black Friday." Why? It begins the busiest, scariest, nastiest time of the year: the holiday season. In many retail industries, 50% or more of your business gets done between that day and January 2. The poor salespeople get hit a bit worse than us marketing folk, but in the 10 years I was in retail I usually got strep or bronchitis (and one year, pneumonia) from the 60 hour weeks, mad levels of stress, etc. So, for the last few years, one thing I've been thankful for in late November is to be out of retail.

Continue reading "An Oasis of Giving"

Posted by Guest Blogger at 2:55 PM
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