June 22, 2009

Build Awareness or Meet the Need

I got a call last week from a husband and wife team who are launching a new business going after people who own RVs/trailers. With boomer mobility on the rise, it's a growing market with tons of potential. The particular product they're selling will be a huge hit. Unfortunately, the market doesn't understand what the product is or what problem it solves. Yet.

This is a classic awareness problem. Great product or service. Huge market potential. Major disconnect between the two. So we try and do both. We attempt to build awareness for the product/service and sell it at the same time. Doesn't work. You've got to pick one.

Churches experience this all the time. New church gets started with many new ways of "doing" church. The community is ripe for new ways of doing church. Major disconnect between the "new church" and those that are looking for new ways to do church because they're having a difficult time finding each other.

Like my friends with the new product, they need to raise awareness for the itch they're scratching. You can't tell people they have an itch and scratch it for them at the same time. When you attempt to do both, your credibility and/or ability to do either is stifled.

So build awareness.
Or meet the need(s) of the aware.
You choose.

Posted by Brad Abare at 7:54 AM
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June 16, 2009

Finding Your Focus

Recently, Brad Abare asked you to pick one. Richard Reising had the same thing to say in different words in a post on Beyond Relevance. The article is a great read, and it exhaustively explores the ideas Brad discussed succinctly. Here's a hair of what he has to say, but take a few minutes to read his entire post. It will be well worth your time.

Every church has strengths at reaching a “type” of people in its community. While that might strike you as unjust, its truth defines both our strengths and the areas we need to grow in. Whether you are a church that is known for young families, old money, the upper-class, the working-class or the struggling-class--whether you are known for deep followers, surface seekers, empty nesters or down-and-outers—there are tendencies to whom you draw.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:07 AM
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June 10, 2009

Pick One

You can't be the urban church and the rural church.
You can't be the men-friendly church and the women-friendly church.
You can't be the advocate and the antagonist.
You can't be the funny preacher and the serious preacher.
You can't be the one-site church and the many-locations church.
You can't be the Lutheran church and the Baptist church.
You can't be the hipster church and the church for people who need hips.

Well, you could attempt to be all these things at once, but it won't work.

Pick one.

And be the best in your community at it.

You can do other things too, but they must support your primary cause, not compete with it.

Pick one.

Posted by Brad Abare at 7:03 AM
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February 18, 2009

Another Lesson from Starbucks

Starbucks is often used as an example within the world of church marketing. They have an experience, they knew how to tell their story.

Yes, I said "knew how to tell their story."

I've had numerous conversations with church leaders about Starbucks' concept of a "third place" and how the church could harness that feeling. We have work, we have home ... Starbucks was that third place, a getaway, a place to relax, etc. etc.

Then they installed a drive-thru. So much for a third place, it was just a stop on the way to either home or work. They've put another nail in the coffin now with instant coffee. Doesn't get any less third place than that.

Continue reading "Another Lesson from Starbucks"

Posted by Michael Buckingham at 7:07 AM
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February 11, 2009

Churches Could Learn From Dentyne

Last fall I wrote a four-part series called "The Illusion of Community." I talked about online community networks, building community in our weekend gatherings, why community 'online' and 'offline' might be an old school way to think and why our overall value proposition might be a little backwards. The conversation was lively!

In light of this series, you can imagine my delight to see the latest campaign from Dentyne. The whole premise of their print and TV ads center around the theme "Make Face Time."

The Dentyne web site complements the entire campaign by setting a three-minute time limit to be on the site, just enough time to make a face time request, find a place for some face time and even make fun of emoticons in the smiley chamber of doom.

Is your church community known for facilitating face time?

What things could you tweak or even eliminate that might be getting in the way of helping others make face time?

Posted by Brad Abare at 6:45 AM
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October 13, 2008

Brand Value Versus Brand Recognition

I got an e-mail from a friend with a quote in it, and then I realized Tony Morgan posted the same thing a few days ago. It's a quote from John Wang, the Chief Marketing Officer at HTC, in an article regarding innovation. Here's what he had to say:

"Let me share with you how we think about brand. There is a very important difference between brand value and brand recognition. Brand value means something to the end user. Brand recognition, all it means is a bunch of advertising to make people recognize the brand name. At HTC we care about brand value, not brand recognition. Building brand value is like earning respect; you have to earn respect, you cannot buy respect. And the way to earn respect is by continuing to deliver innovative products and creating value for the market, and that has to be done time after time again. It is a journey."

That's certainly a challenge to the church. Are you just using brute force marketing, or are you delivering incredible experiences and products that lead people to admire and trust you? Ask yourself and your team this question as you prepare to serve your community.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 6:07 AM
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September 4, 2008

Advice for Soul Searching

In the midst of all my "soul searching" rants of recent weeks, most notably the Bastards With Bibles series, I'm getting a decent amount of inquiries asking "How do we figure this stuff out? How do we identify who we are as church or organization?"

First of all, this is not easy stuff to figure out. No magic pill. No amazing web app. No special recipe or secret sauce. I've had the privilege of helping many groups through soul searching exercises, and every experience has been different. In addition to some serious seeking after God (prayer, fasting, silence, retreat, etc.), there is an activity that has helped to guide my thinking and conversation. It was a little tool developed by the Personality team. (Full disclosure: Personality is a company I started in 1998 and it is one of my day jobs.)

You're welcome to try it out with your church or ministry. My wife and I used it with our home group earlier this year and after six hours of soul searching, we arrived at some really healthy understanding. I hope it can help you too.

Posted by Brad Abare at 7:09 AM
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August 25, 2008

More Identity Struggles

Last week I had the opportunity to speak at the Echo conference in Dallas, Texas, with a few hundred church media artists. I presented a spoken version of my "Bastards With Bibles" series that I wrote about here.

The basic premise of my session was about identity and how we've got to figure out who we are, both as individuals and as organizations (i.e., church). It's a serious problem with serious implications which is why I get fired up about people figuring this stuff out.

My wife and I visited a church community this past Sunday and I ran into a friend who happens to be a regular attender and, ironically, was also a presenter at Echo the day before. He told me he started attending here because his previous church of 20+ years was in the midst of figuring out who they were ever since the original pastor departed five years ago. He said that many people had left the old church and come over to this one for the very same reason. Talk about identity crisis! I happen to know the church he is speaking about and indeed, they have been struggling with this big time.

Continue reading "More Identity Struggles"

Posted by Brad Abare at 7:54 AM
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August 13, 2008

Merlin Mann Calls Out Branding

Productivity guru Merlin Mann has this to say about branding, via Twitter:

If you're really worried about your "branding," try to stop thinking about life as a press release and just focus on making something.

I'm pretty sure this is a common view, and I'm pretty sure he knows more than I do about most things. But I'm also pretty sure that your church shouldn't listen to people who espouse this view. At least not fully. Let's look a little deeper at what he says:

Continue reading "Merlin Mann Calls Out Branding"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 10:54 AM
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August 1, 2008

Bastards with Bibles, Part 4

This is the fourth and final post in a series about how our impending identity crisis is funking our souls. You can read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 to catch up.

Church as Soul Provider
If we are indeed living in an era where individual and collective identity is drawn from organizations, the church will continue to lose ground unless we get back on the soul train. If there is any organization that should be in the role of helping people find their soul, it’s the church.

We used to be a soul provider. Richard Halverson, former Chaplain of the United States Senate suggested that “In the beginning the church was a fellowship of men and women centering on the living Christ. Then the church moved to Greece, where it became a philosophy. Then it moved to Rome, where it became an institution. Next, it moved to Europe, where it became a culture. And, finally, it moved to America, where it became an enterprise.”

James Twitchell, in his book Shopping for God, points to research from Eva Hamberg and Thorleif Pettersson that shows how a competitive market spurs innovation and increases consumption. In other words, the reason the spiritual market continues to grow is because it feeds off itself. The U.S. has the highest weekly church attendance and the most diverse supply of religious pluralism in the world. The more we sell, the less we have to give. And the less we have to give, the more irrelevant we become.

Continue reading "Bastards with Bibles, Part 4"

Posted by Brad Abare at 8:42 AM
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July 30, 2008

Bastards with Bibles, Part 3

This is part three in a series about how our impending identity crisis is funking our souls. You can read Part 1 and Part 2 to catch up.

Organization as Soul Provider
When our identity is no longer found in who we are and how God sees us, we look to organizations to shape who we are and give meaning to our lives. From phones and fashion to politics and causes, our identity is being formed by who we buy from and who we belong to. This process of organization as soul provider has been gaining serious momentum. Consider these four reasons:

1. Globalization: We’re connected to everyone, everything, everywhere. We Digg our Face-My-Twitter-Blog-elcious-LinkedIn-Wiki-world. Because we’re connected to everything, we’ve forgotten what it means to be connected to the right things. People are more lonely and isolated than ever before. Today, 1 out of every 4 households in the U.S. has just one person living there. In 1950, it was 1 out of every 10.

Continue reading "Bastards with Bibles, Part 3"

Posted by Brad Abare at 8:37 AM
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July 28, 2008

Bastards with Bibles, Part 2

This is part two in a series about how our impending identity crisis is funking our souls. Part one was the story of CGE/Vivendi and their struggle to figure out who they are.

Soul Supplier
In their book The Soul of the Corporation, Hamid Bouchikhi and John R. Kimberly conclude “that we are in the midst of a transition on a global scale from an era in which the vast majority of people lived with a sense of clarity, continuity, and consistency about their identity--their notion of who they are and how others view them--to an era in which identity is increasingly problematic across all levels of human organization, from the individual person to entire nations or civilizations. The result of this identity crisis is that companies and organizations have now become suppliers of individual and collective identity.”

In traditional societies, individuals inherited much of their own identity from the social milieu (family, place of birth, tribe, religion) into which they were born. In an organizational society, individuals are defined by the companies and organizations in which they participate. Today, people are developing much of their sense of self from belonging to, or buying from, companies and organizations.

Continue reading "Bastards with Bibles, Part 2"

Posted by Brad Abare at 8:34 AM
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July 24, 2008

Bastards with Bibles, Part 1

This is part one in a series about how our impending identity crisis is funking our souls. I'm really fired up about this subject of identity and soul and I'm planning to use this for some upcoming speaking engagements I have later this fall.

In 1853, Napoleon III issued an Imperial decree for a new company to be established in France called Compagnie Générale des Eaux (CGE). CGE was a utility company providing water to several French cities. By 1880, they would be an international water supplier extending their services to Venice, Istanbul, Portugal and beyond.

One hundred years later, CGE would have 2,100 subsidiaries employing over 250,000 people. In addition to the water business, CGE had diversified into waste management, electricity, transportation, education, health care, catering, communications, real estate, entertainment and casinos.

In 1996, after posting record losses of $723 million and racking up $10.5 billion in debt, Jean-Marie Messier is appointed the role of chairman and chief executive. Over the next several years Messier attempted to streamline CGE by selling off several business units, including the original water utility service. The company name was changed from CGE to Vivendi and later Vivendi Universal after recognizing its major entertainment emphasis including the acquisition of Universal Studios.

Continue reading "Bastards with Bibles, Part 1"

Posted by Brad Abare at 8:22 AM
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April 10, 2008

Tony Morgan Thinks Your Branding Sucks

Staying on the brandwagon (I apologize; I'm ashamed; It probably won't happen again for a little bit.), Tony Morgan follows Seth Godin in discussing bad branding ideas. And he's got some great insights to branding and where churches should place their insight. There's a great conversation over there, so here's just a couple nuggets to whet your appetite:

• It makes sense for us to brand a series over the church itself. That's no different than Fox branding American Idol ahead of the network. People are interested in following American Idol--they're not interested in following the Fox network. That's why we brand "The Man Series" ahead of NewSpring Church.
• We're making a concerted effort, though, to make sure we don't promote any sub-brands without making it clear that it's "a ministry of NewSpring Church." We haven't done a good job of that in the past.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:00 AM
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April 9, 2008

How Important Is Your Church Logo?

Here's some interesting research that looks at Apple's branding and its impact on viewers:

[Researchers at Duke University] found that exposing people to a brand's logo for 30 milliseconds will make them behave in ways associated with that brand ...

Surveys found that people felt similarly about the two companies in every way except creativity, where Apple came out ahead, and competence, which was IBM's perceived strength. After exposing them to the brands, the researchers asked subjects to describe as many uses for a brick as they could.

Most people mentioned a door stop or a paperweight. "But the subjects who had seen Apple's logo also came up with uses like tying it around my roommate's foot and throwing him in a deep pond ... "

So Apple's brand makes you a creative psychopath. This follows Scott Magdalein's recent post, Brands Are Bigger Than Logos. Your logo is the figurehead for your brand; when people see it, do they feel creative? Bold? Confused? Your brand is who you are; your logo is a way to reinforce your brand at a glance. (link via clusterflock)

Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:40 AM
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April 7, 2008

Brands Are Bigger Than Logos

by Scott Magdalein, Guest Blogger

If you read Church Marketing Sucks often, then you'll see the word "brand" come up here and there. It's used as a noun, meaning the collection of your logo, letterhead, visual identity, design guide, etc. It's also used as a verb, as in the action of standardizing all those things mentioned above.

Here's another point-of-view: If traditional marketing is dead (not yet, but almost), then you're going to have to move beyond the traditional view of branding, which tells you to get a good logo and plaster it everywhere. Your brand needs to become more built-in, natural and part of everything you say, do and think -- not just everything you publish.

There are a handful of churches that grasp this concept. You can tell because you know them by more than just their logo. For example, LifeChurch.tv has a brand that reaches beyond their logo, which is nothing spectacular to be honest. Their brand includes their reputation for creativity, innovation, risk-taking and scope of ministry. As another example, Elevation Church's brand is way bigger than a logo in that they're known for audacity in a city full of stale religion.

What I'm saying is that your church's brand has to be bigger than a rock star logo if you expect to be remembered. You have to become your brand and your brand has to become you. Sounds existential, huh?

Posted by Guest Blogger at 11:00 AM
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March 11, 2008

Evangelism as an Ad Model: Part Two

Last time, we discussed Advertising Age's review of Brands of Faith, and we looked at the problems that arise when churches over market and under deliver.

But there's a second problem lurking.

The label of "evangelical." With individuals familiar to Christianity or the Bible, "evangelical" would seem to be "one who shares the gospel," thus, we would all hope to be evangelical. With individuals looking to apply terms to a movement, "evangelical" is conflated with words like "Republican," "fundamentalist," "intolerant" or "conservative."

Continue reading "Evangelism as an Ad Model: Part Two"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 8:16 PM
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March 10, 2008

Evangelism as an Ad Model

I'll admit, I'm walking in to this conversation a bit late. Advertising Age recently ran a piece called When Evangelism is the Ad Model. It's actually a book review, so be careful where to point any criticism or praise you might have. Here's the jist of things (jist (n.) - me explaining a book I have not read via the impression I got from an Advertising Age article):

The evangelistic movement is an ad model for Christianity; it's the lens through which secular America views our faith. The rise of evangelical Christianity, along with its politics and attitudes, was built on marketing rather than true spiritual revival. Mara Einstein, the author of the book in question, looks at different brands of faith (e.g. President Bush, Rick Warren, Oprah) and their rise to popularity. Then, she examines the relationship between religion and marketing, as well as a looming "disappointment" for individuals drawn to religion by marketing.

Continue reading "Evangelism as an Ad Model"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:33 AM
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February 13, 2008

One Word Marketing

Recently, our own Brad Abare raised the question, "What word do you own?" on the Personality™ blog.

He discusses a recent Advertising Age article (subscription required) exploring the importance of your brand owning a single word. They look at political rhetoric to make this point as the nominees seek to associate a single word with their campaigns. Brad quotes from the article:

If you want to run for office, if you want to launch a new brand, if you want to jump-start your business career, the first question to ask yourself begins: 'What word do I want to own in the minds of my prospects..."

So here's the question for you: What word are you trying to own? When people think of your church, is there one word that you seek after most, and are you doing a good job of chasing that word?

Posted by Joshua Cody at 10:58 AM
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November 8, 2007

Churches Can Learn From Dove

Dove continues to blaze the authenticity trail with its latest campaign--this time from their UK office because of risqué imagery--called Onslaught (viewer discretion advised).

This is the third in a series of Dove videos that tackle the problem we have today of just letting women be real women. The viral Evolution spread like wildfire which speaks to the issue of low self esteem. This led to their Pro Age spot which speaks to the issue of aging--it's OK to have birthdays, women!

I applaud Dove's boldness. This latest Onslaught campaign takes the beauty industry head on. The church can continue to learn from Dove's authentic approach by showing us that it's OK to be ourselves.

Continue reading "Churches Can Learn From Dove"

Posted by Brad Abare at 7:05 AM
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November 2, 2007

Best and Worst Logo Redesigns

Judging from the comments and questions we get in the Church Marketing Lab it seems like logos have to be one of the hardest challenges for church marketers. But have no fear, the logo vexes every other marketer as well. Perhaps it's because so much rides on your logo and everything flows from it (though Seth Godin would tell you the logo itself doesn't matter). At any rate, it's hard to get it right.

So here are the best and worst logo redesigns of the century. The side-by-side comparisons make it easy to see which ones work and which ones don't. Though figuring out why something works or doesn't work and how that might apply to your logo is your problem (sorry).

For more side-by-side logo action, check out Under Consideration's Brand New blog. The commentary is a lot drier, but you're not limited to only 21 logo comparisons. (link via 37Signals)

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:48 PM
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July 25, 2007

Top 20 Church Logos

Church Relevance has compiled a list of the top 20 church logos. According to Kent Schaffer, blogger and co-owner of Bombay Creative, a good logo is:

Distinctive. Memorable. And timeless.

It is aesthetically pleasing.

It is scalable, looking good while as large as a billboard or as small as a dime. It looks good in color as well as black and white. And it is simple enough that it can be applied to a media spectrum as broad as paper to plastic and t-shirts to websites.

Most importantly, a good logo communicates the unique qualities of its brand.

What do you think? Do you agree with his definition of a good logo? Do you think these are good selections for the top 20? Who would you have included?

Posted by Joshua Cody at 8:30 AM
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June 22, 2007

The End of Static Logos

I read an interesting piece from across the pond recently; British blogger Johnson Banks begins "It's official. The age of the static brand is coming to an end ... "

In his post, he discusses logos that change to meld with their environment, to reflect current events, or merely to exist as different works of art. Long ago, this was a big no-no. Your logo was your logo was your logo. Obviously, the most striking example of this active logo is Google. Check out their gallery of logos.

Continue reading "The End of Static Logos"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:17 AM
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April 9, 2007

Authenticity Wins Again

Values like transparency, authenticity and connectedness date back to some of our earliest entries when we started Church Marketing Sucks three years ago. When I'm given the opportunity to speak at church communication events, these themes are always met with resounding affirmation and rejuvenated commitment. The Story we're communicating is beyond Photoshop and nifty web sites. It's about connecting people to a Story that they're a part of. Not for us to fill a pew but so that Christ can fill a heart.

The March 26 issue of Adweek has an article by Christine Champagne that affirms this point about authenticity, especially in advertising. Champagne points out the recent campaigns by Kleenex and Secret (deodorant), as well as Commit (lozenges to stop smoking). All three were taking cues from Dove with the continued success of their "campaign for real beauty" that began in 2004.

Champagne suggests that reality television--in all of its transparent, confessional, cry-to-momma-moments--has helped facilitate the trend in advertising toward using real people and real problems to connect with consumers.

Continue reading "Authenticity Wins Again"

Posted by Brad Abare at 8:43 AM
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April 1, 2007

Palm Sunday, Going Green

I read a great article in the New York Times this morning about churches that have gone green for Palm Sunday by purchasing eco-palms. These palms are slightly more expensive, but they arrive in a "green" friendly way.

"The program began in 2005 with 20 American churches that bought about 5,000 palms. It grew last year, with 281 congregations placing orders for 80,000 palms. On this Palm Sunday, 1,436 churches will distribute 364,000 eco-palm stems."

According to the article, churches in America use 25 to 35 million palms on Palm Sunday. These eco-palms represent about 1 percent of the overall palm order.

It's encouraging to see churches demonstrating their care for the environment in a way that is authentic and practical.

Posted by Brad Abare at 10:27 AM
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January 10, 2007

Post-Holiday Linkfest

My post-holiday recovery never quite happened, thanks to the fact that my family is trying to sell our house. So I've got a pile of links I haven't had time to blog about. But lucky for you I'll take the lazy route and throw 'em all up here in one big list. Enjoy:

• Congregations Go High-Tech to Deliver Message - From PowerPoint and basic web sites (ooh, shiny!) to podcasting and blogs.
• Location Doesn't Matter for Most - Storefront churches are working despite locations: "I quickly discovered that the absence of typical church decorations doesn't matter a bit. What makes a church 'church' is what goes on inside the heart and soul of the pastor and the congregation."
• How Toyota Would Run a Church - Church Relevance speculates about how Toyota might run a church.
• The 25 Most Innovative Churches in America - Outreach put out the list with help from Tony Morgan, but we'll link to Church Relevance since they have the list in non-PDF format and show what other lists those churches have landed on.
• What Makes a Church Grow? - Growing churches are often multiracial, have more men than women, make an effort not to be reverent and use drums in worship (gasp!).
• New England Churches Shy From 'Baptist' Name - Even NPR is getting in on the church name change game. Dawn Nicole Baldwin is even planning a series on church name changes.
• God Bless the Bulletin - Wow, some newspapers still run bulletin bloopers?

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 11:16 AM
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December 15, 2006

Rappin' Pastors, Renamin' Churches, Sharin' Graphics

• Rapping Pastors - When we did our Christmas marketing poll we forgot all about full-on rap videos. I bet that would have beaten out extra services. Who wants extra church when you can have rapping pastors? The creative promotion has landed the church in the newspaper, TV and Hannity & Colmes. Pastor Gary Lamb also offers some encouragement to his church in the face of some criticism. That's right--forget the haters and shake it, Santa!
• Shared Worship Background Graphics - Inspired by the Church Marketing Lab, this group is all about, well, sharing worship background graphics. Rather than critique, this is about sharing and using.
• Hog Church No More - Hog Mountain Baptist Church is voting to change its name (they're dropping the hog, not the Baptist), mainly because much of the area has dropped the name, but also because "in the Bible, hogs are associated with sin." Huh? In other church name change news (somebody should start a blog dedicated to church name changes), History Church in Reston, Va. is considering a name change. Pastor Ben Arment is blogging about the process, and keeping us updated. So far he's learned that people want "Reston" in the name, as well as words like "hope" and "new". I think it's settled then--Reston New Hope Not-a-Baptist Church. Or maybe they could take Brad's much-maligned recent post in an ugly new direction and sell off naming rights: Crest White Strips Church of Reston has a nice ring to it, just like your smile when you use Crest White Strips™.
• Lighted Cross Sparks Controversy - "It's right smack dab in the middle of my view. It looks like a beer sign." Wow, apparently the Jesus in a pint and King of Jews/King of Beers ads are working.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 11:11 AM
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December 12, 2006

First Baptist Church Becomes CenterPoint Church

Over at the Out of Ur blog Gordon MacDonald writes about the recent name change his 180-year-old church went through. It took two votes to change the name and an 80% or higher 'yes' vote from the congregation. But now they're CenterPoint Church, established in 1818. MacDonald's biblical perspective on name changes is especially helpful. It's not just marketing, it's bibilical!

You can also check out a successful name change story and my favorite, the church that dropped church from their name.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 10:51 AM
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September 20, 2006

A Slimmer Sinner: Does Your Brand Match Your Message?

I think HP has gone off the deep end with their latest attempt to market the Photosmart line of digital cameras. They are promoting a "slimming" feature on the camera that can instantly take away the pounds! Forgive my frustration, but when companies engage customers in a context that is anything less than authentic, it goes against the loyalty potential for the brand. I don't doubt this campaign may sell a few more cameras and generate some buzz (things HP is certainly aiming for), but for a long-term brand (something else I would imagine HP desires), dumb campaigns hurt more than they help.

Continue reading "A Slimmer Sinner: Does Your Brand Match Your Message?"

Posted by Brad Abare at 6:49 AM
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July 11, 2006

5 Lists for Graphic Designers

Everybody loves lists! So we present our own list of lists to help graphic designers.

1. 50 Ways to Become a Better Designer - Loads of ideas, best practices and general creative stuff straight from the mouths of fellow designers. (via)

2. 10 Things They Never Taught Me in Design School - Start with what you know, then tackle the unknowns. Don't over-think the problem. Learn to give some hierarchy to the details and the big picture. (FYI, the list includes a few profanities)

3. 10 Strangest Desks and Tables - OK, this one has little to do with design, but sometimes you need some funky inspiration, especially when you're thinking about decorating the usually boring church space.

4. 4 Principles that Make for Great Logo Design - Simple and basic stuff, but sometimes that's exactly what you need. Complete with thumbs up and thumbs down examples.

5. 7 Ways to Improve Your Logo - OK, so they don't pitch it in a numbered list format, but we'll make it work. Good thoughts on how to polish an existing logo, including examples from Microsoft and Apple.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 5:55 AM
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June 15, 2006

How to Design a Church Logo

It's been great to see more and more activity in the Church Marketing Lab. The level of creativity is matched only by the willingness to grow and expand the gifts God gave us. Logo and brand identity has come up time after time in the lab, and it's an area that can be both challenging and very rewarding.

Too often we jump to designing a logo when in fact we should be developing an identity. It may sound like symantecs, but it really isn't. A logo by itself is simply an appealing image connected to a church name. An identity is a strategy that tells your story through imagery and color. This certainly involves a logo, but must first begin with strategy.

Continue reading "How to Design a Church Logo"

Posted by Michael Buckingham at 10:33 AM
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May 11, 2006

What Kind of Car is Your Church?

So often we like to think of church as a great big family reunion. People come together regardless of class, race, income, education or geography. But if you take a look around on Sunday morning, that's not the case.

You've got sprawling urban mega-complexes, you've got store-front congregations, you've got set-up and tear-down churches. You've got more denominations than I care to count. There's traditional or contemporary or emergent. You can raise your hands, clap your hands, or fold your hands. The diversity among churches is amazing.

While I'm not a fan of racially, economically or generationally segretated churches, it is a reality that every church on every corner reaches a different group of people. Sometimes that's a hard concept to grasp because we think we should be reaching everybody.

Continue reading "What Kind of Car is Your Church?"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 9:01 AM
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February 13, 2006

A Successful Church Name Change

ChristianityToday.com has the story of how a pastor at Manhasset Baptist Church successfully changed the church's name to Shelter Rock Church. It's a good example of the right reasons to change a church name and a process worth following.

Lessons learned:

• First decide on the concept of changing the name. Don't let potential names muck up the process. Decide whether or not your church is willing to change names, then work on finding a new name.
  
• Having a clear mission statement helped big time. It was an easy step from the church's mission ("To lead as many people as possible into a joyful and growing relationship with Jesus Christ,") to the question "Is our name inhibiting our calling to reach our community?"
  
• Get the help of former pastors. Every pastor since 1975 had wanted to change the name and their support proved helpful.
  
• Theological questions will come up. Address them honestly and fairly.

In the end the church lost one person who considered the change a slide toward liberalism, but they also gained an influx of new visitors.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 2:40 PM
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October 14, 2005

Gay-Friendly Churches

Driving into work yesterday, I was listening to NPR. In the Market Place segment, they were doing a story on the loyalty factor that gays and lesbians have toward brands. I am not quite sure where the source for this data came from, but a Google search always returns some interesting fodder. I'm sure the October 10 cover of Time magazine also had something to do with the context and timing of this.

This got me thinking about the Church. Apparently there is interest in gay-friendly churches from gays themselves, along with a listing of churches who are gay-friendly.

Jeff Garber, president of OpusComm Group, an agency specializing in "diverse communications," said "Loyalty is a direct offshoot of an emotional connection."

I assume for the most part that gays would accuse many churches for being closed-minded, hypocritical, unloving, and accusational. All emotionally-charged responses for sure, but not the emotions I think Garber is referring to in terms of loyalty building.

Shouldn't gay and lesbians feel most welcomed in the Church? In other words, shouldn't every church be gay-friendly, just like every church should be adulterer-friendly, liar-friendly—in short, sinner-friendly? Me-friendly? I realize conviction may play a part in diverting the connection, but that didn't stop the woman at the well from being in the presence of Jesus, not to mention compelled by his compassion, right?

I want to be a part of a church overflowing with grace and unrelenting in its pursuit of costly discipleship.

Posted by Brad Abare at 2:03 PM
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September 7, 2005

A Sense of Humor is Great for Marketing

by Jennifer Laycock, Guest Blogger

For more than 15 years I've driven past a church on the way to my parents' house without ever really noticing that it was there. (Most likely because it's located next door to Handel's, north-east Ohio's best ice cream parlor.) A few days ago, I happened to glance at their message board while following a slow car.

It read:

We aren't Handel's, but our Sundays sure are great!"

I actually laughed out loud. I was also interested enough that when I drove by it again the next day, I checked to see what church it was. (Church Hill United Methodist in Youngstown, Ohio if you're curious.) I even asked a few people if they'd heard of it. Alas, when I looked them up on Google, they had no web site.

Which leads to my second point. If you're going to catch someone's attention, make sure that more information is readily available.

Posted by Guest Blogger at 7:41 PM
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August 24, 2005

Erik Ticen on Church Branding

A few months ago I clipped an article from NRB Magazine, the self-proclaimed "premiere magazine of the Christian communications industry." (Is it just me or does that statement sound like an oxymoron?) Erik Ticen was a guest columnist for the April 2005 issue of NRB Magazine and is currently the director of communications for The Tabernacle in Orchard Park, N.Y.

It is unfortunate that I cannot link to this half-page column titled "Survival of the Different: The Church Brand." I tried digging through the archives and current issues from "the premiere magazine of the Christian communications industry," but couldn't find it. Not only did the article have a few good points, it had a lot of bad ones as well.

Continue reading "Erik Ticen on Church Branding"

Posted by Brad Abare at 7:36 AM
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August 20, 2005

Attack Ads from the Pulpit?

by Jennifer Laycock, Guest Blogger

One of the the basic principles of good marketing is to focus on the power of your own product (i.e. the VW campaigns that focus on the "cool" factor of their cars). While it's not uncommon for companies to take cheap shots at their competition (i.e. the ongoing cola wars), it's not really a classy way to advertise. While I'm all for an improvement in church marketing, I think the church needs to remember to stick with the former approach.

For example, I've always looked for a church where the pastoral staff challenges me. In my opinion, "make-you-feel-good" preaching is one of the leading causes of stagnant Christianity. A good pastor isn't afraid to delve into controversial topics, or of offending the congregation by asking hard questions.

But there's a line that needs to be drawn when hard questions turn into venomous outbreaks against other segments of the church. I can't count the number of times I've sat in church and listened to the pastor tell me how wrong "denomination x" is and how their erroneous theology is going to lead them all to hell in a hand basket.

Just like the cola war ads, that type of preaching leaves a bad taste in my mouth. While the message may be accurate, the delivery is bad.

Continue reading "Attack Ads from the Pulpit?"

Posted by Guest Blogger at 10:53 AM
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August 18, 2005

The First Vagabonds Church of God

by Jennifer Laycock, Guest Blogger

Back in May, Kevin posted about choosing a church name. There's been a definite shift over the past several years of churches looking for a new identity. The name of a church can go a long way toward establishing the atmosphere that people expect to find when they walk through the doors.

That's part of why a news story about an "open-air" church that meets in Orlando caught my eye. Aline Mendelsohn writes about the church dubbed "The First Vagabonds Church of God," which is ministered to by Pastor Brian Nichols.

Nichols' church has no pews, no pulpit, no offering, no walls.

The church doesn't have a home.

Neither does Nichols.

Nichols doesn't market his church. It's not what he thinks the church is about. He doesn't have the money to pay for advertising anyway. So he comes, and he sits on a curb and he shares the gospel with whoever is there to listen.

Is there a lesson there for the church as a whole? Does constant fuss about name changes and new logos simply serve to mask the real concern of the church? Maybe branding the church should be more about presenting the Gospel and less about having a cool logo. Maybe Brian Nichols is on to something. Or maybe I'm completely wrong and image is everything.

Posted by Guest Blogger at 2:19 PM
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June 28, 2005

Immutable Laws of Church Branding

The latest issue of Church Executive magazine applies 10 of The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding (by marketing experts Al & Lara Reis) to the church.

Some of the branding lessons learned include:

• Branding, Not Sub-Branding - Umpteen different ministries with their own logo and branding doesn't help anybody.
• Promote the Category - Prome a specific category—be it podcasting, Saturday evening services, or even churches in general—as opposed to just what your church offers. You become the expert, promote the efforts of everyone in your category, and everyone wins.
• Publicity - It's the oft-ignored tactic in church marketing: public relations. You'd be surprised at the attention a single newspaper article can generate and it's worth pursuing. Just ask Billy Graham.

Read the article for more.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:43 AM
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June 16, 2005

How a Church Responds to Theft

Shortly after a thief broke into Oconee Baptist Church in Bishop, Ga. and stole an amplifier and four guitars, the church's sign expressed how the church felt about the break-in: "To the person who broke in—God loves you."

"At this point, we're more interested in letting him know that God will forgive him than having him arrested or finding the instruments," said the church's pastor, Rev. Steve Powers. "That's for the sheriff's department to worry about. We're more interested in where he's going to spend eternity than finding the instruments."

If that doesn't scream something about their church's identity, I don't know what does.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:41 PM
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May 12, 2005

Choosing a Church Name

What's in a name? Everything. More and more churches are considering a name change, often dropping denominational affiliations that no longer connect with people (though the denominational ties remain intact) or dropping language that's no longer relevant.

"My feeling is that we will improve our ability for someone who drives by to say, 'I might try them someday,'" said Rev. Bruce Stryd of Thornton Avenue Baptist Church in Fremont, Calif., which is considering changing its name and dropping the 'Baptist' title because their church doesn't fit the Baptist stereotype.

A name change can be costly as everything from signs to web sites to business cards to checks will need to be redone. Harbor Light—formerly First Assembly of God—in Fremont, Calif. has found a way to cut some of the costs: "We're not changing the legal name. We will retain the corporate name of First Assembly of God, but it's more like we're also doing business as Harbor Light," said pastor Terry Inman.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:32 AM
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May 11, 2005

The Crowds Want In

There is certainly no shortage of conversations on the topic of community, particularly how it relates to the health and vitality of a church. Without a doubt, this concept of connectedness, of sharing, participation and fellowship, is a key ingredient to the Christian life. It is no wonder why so many churches have the word "community" in their very name.

However, this element of community that we are so quick to use in our promotion and commotion, leaves me wondering if we're really getting it.

Sometimes I think the people promoting the church (pastor, associate pastor, administrator, designer, etc.) are living too close to what they think or hope their church is like, that they forget they are several layers removed from the first time visitor, casual attender, and often the regular member. In our effort to tell our communities who we are, we're forgetting about who we are not.

Continue reading "The Crowds Want In"

Posted by Brad Abare at 6:38 AM
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May 10, 2005

Should Churches Fly the U.S. Flag?

Should churches in the U.S. fly the American flag, and if they do, what position should it have in relation to other Christian symbols? It's an interesting debate and sums up how the smallest decisions say a lot about your church's identity.

"By God's grace we live in freedom in a wonderful country. We don't want to ignore the blessing and benefits of being located in a country where we experience such freedoms," said the Rev. M. Susan Peterson [of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in St. Paul, Minn. (coincidentally, only a few blocks from my church)]. "However, we gather in the sanctuary to worship Jesus Christ. And as a result, our focus and all of our symbols in the church reflect the one to whom we give honor and praise."

Of course others disagree:

"If we do not display the flag or indulge ourselves in the freedoms that flag stands for, then what's our faith really worth?" said Rev. John Darlington [of Minnehaha United Methodist Church in Minneapolis]. "We go by James [2:14]: 'Faith without works is dead.'"
(link via CT's weblog)

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 12:11 PM
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April 17, 2005

Personality Driven Church

Reflecting on many of the churches I have visited and/or have been made aware of over the years, I am curiously cognizant of how many are recognized by the name of the senior pastor rather than by the name of the church. It doesn't take long to create a list of dozens, if not hundreds, of such well known church leaders.

On the other hand, I am pleasantly pleased by the number of churches that come to mind where I do not know the pastor's name, but do know the church and where it is located, perhaps even what its strength is in the community, some of its functions as a church, and more.

Without formal research, one of the obvious differences that come to mind is that the churches without a well known personalty tend to have history (been around for a generation or more), while the personality driven ministries are attached to the age of the known person.

Could it be that churches known for the personality of the pastor are doomed?

Continue reading "Personality Driven Church"

Posted by Brad Abare at 3:32 PM
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March 15, 2005

brandchannel on Branding Churches

The well-known marketing site brandchannel.com covers church branding in yesterday's article "Churches Put Their Faith in Branding." The story includes quotes from Richard Reising of the marketing company Artistry Marketing and Simon Jenkins of the web magazine Ship of Fools.

"There's not a church in the world that doesn't market itself," says Richard Reising. "Some do it well, some do it badly. But when you don't do it consistently and effectively, then you say clearly to the community that you don't know who you are; you're not professional, and you don't take time to think about what you are about."

Reising dismisses concerns that branding is strictly commercial and insists it's about being strategic. He also emphasizes that branding helps insiders just as much as outsiders, citing results of people being more willing to invite friends after a church implemented changes: "People are not ashamed of Christ, but they are ashamed of their church."

Jenkins spoke about the need for a local church brand to avoid any connection to a homogeneous globalization form of branding. He also encouraged consistency, noting that it comes down to the people living up to the brand. (link via Matt Constantine)

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:56 AM
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February 11, 2005

Now 17% Less Judgmental

A few months back we had a post about a church T-shirt that included the statement "We suck." Chris Mikesell (aka Rhinoguy) of Blachly, Ore. commented that a better slogan might be "Now 17% Less Judgmental."

A new church in Cochrane, Alberta, Canada called The Annex has taken Chris up on the idea and used the tagline. Read pastor Robin Bailey's article on the reaction to the slogan.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 8:39 AM
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January 5, 2005

AdAge's 2004 Marketer of the Year

Last month, Advertising Age dubbed McDonald's "Marketer of the Year." Recent winners have included Apple and Target. Although this is the first time McDonald's has won the award since Advertising Age began the ritual in 1971, McDonald's did win "Marketer of the Decade" in 1989.

If McDonald's can be the marketer of the year for selling food we shouldn't eat, or in the case of their "healthier options," food we won't eat anyway, but we feel good because they have it available, certainly there is hope for the Church.

I find it hard to believe that we have the greatest story ever told, one that has captured more hearts and minds than any for-profit business could ever dream of, and yet the Church in general is viewed as poor communicators with fringe freaks, and a following that views church more as a pacifier than a perpetuator of Truth.

Pastor: what part is your church playing to help nudge the Church to be the unstoppable, undeniable, and undisputed champion of communication that is everything it can and should be?

Posted by Brad Abare at 6:59 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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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
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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
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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
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October 26, 2004

Industry Insider on Church Branding

Chris Busch, who apparently wishes he owned our domain name (thanks!), gives some helpful general insight to the topic of church branding. Busch works for BMC Advertising, a company that helps ministries with advertising.

Two BMC employees are blogging, Busch and Michael Staires. The two spent a day with marketing guru Seth Godin (author of Purple Cow and Free Prize Inside), which is enough to cause jealousy among anyone with a foot in the marketing world.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 8:37 AM
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October 25, 2004

Creating a Church Brand

The Church Report offers suggestions and tips for creating a church brand.

Important lessons include:

• Make sure any brand fits with your church's vision and mission statement. Branding only works for the long haul, so there's no sense spending money on something that could change in a few years.
  
• Make sure it's currently true for your church. Don't tout your church as kid-friendly if you haven't made those changes yet. Truth in advertising: it works for businesses, it works for churches.
  
• Make sure it resonates with the community. Is your brand going to do what you want it to and draw people to your church? While your preference for dunking over sprinkling may be important to your church, is that really the key factor that will draw people in? Not likely.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 8:21 AM
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August 2, 2004

What's in a Name?

Everything. The church should know that. Yet again and again you'll see churches with baffling names, either for the entire church or for programs or titles. You might think I was married in a retirement community ("Spring Lake Church"), and you'll definitely wonder what two staff members at Bethlehem Baptist do (Pastor of "Evangelism, Discipleship & Assimilation," Pastor of "Student & Young Adult Care & Assimilation").

When businesses pick a name, they spend a few million. So why can't the church spend a few minutes? The naming and branding company Igor offers a free 52-page PDF Naming Guide, which covers some basic strategy for picking product and company names. If your church is considering renaming itself or even just looking to name a new ministry, check out Igor's free advice.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 4:22 PM
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