What's Your Brand?
Three WCA Member Churches Re-evaluate their brand strategies... and thrive as a result
Here are case studies of three very different churches — each with its own unique calling and culture — developing their own distinct "brand" to reflect those realities.
Overhauling the Image
Pinellas Community Church, St. Petersburg, FL
www.pinellaschurch.org
Positioned on the racial and socioeconomic divide of St. Petersburg, Fla., Senior Pastor David Melendez had visions of a truly integrated church where people of multiple races and social status could come together to learn about God.
Shortly before Easter 2002, Pinellas Community Church reintroduced itself to the area with an image that intentionally positions the church where it wanted to be in the future.
"In the past we had been a predominantly white church and wanted that to change," explains Executive Pastor Mark Canfield. Pinellas church is positioned right on a cultural border. To the north, there is a predominantly white neighborhood. To the south, mostly black. "We want this church to be a place where everyone feels welcome, regardless of the color of his or her skin."
The church also wanted to have an image that reflected their casual, laid back beach atmosphere. "This is not a place where you need to have it all together before you can come," states Canfield, "but where you can dress the way you want and hear a message that addresses issues you face everyday."
From the Ground Up
The logo was redesigned to reflect this casual Floridian image, and the Web site was re-architected to support the needs of both new and existing attendees. New signage, the bulletin, invitational cards, brochures, banners, and even bumper stickers were included in the overhaul, all championed under the campaign, "Together We Can." "Together we can... promote racial unity, strengthen family relationships, restore broken lives, and experience God's love," are the rallying cries woven throughout the campaign, supported by photos that were intentionally selected to have a multicultural feel. And it's working.
"People aren't coming just because of our new logo," says Canfield. "We are diverse, contemporary and reaching out to the community. The new image is just an expression of that."
The process began by clarifying the purpose of the church, who it intended to reach, and the attributes that are unique to the church. Pinellas is passionate about outreach and its culture resonates with singles and young families in their 20s and 30s.
"The rebranding process pushed us to think about who we are and asked the tough questions like, "How are we currently represented? What do we want to be?" says Canfield. "People in our culture are visually stimulated and icon-oriented. Sometimes all we have is the glance of an eye. In that moment, what is is that we're communicating?"
In the past year, Pinellas Community Church has grown from an average of 850 per weekend to levels reaching over 1,600, and a capital campaign has been initiated to meet expansion needs.
Reaching Out to Seekers
Northwest Assembly of God, Mt. Prospect, IL
www.nwaog.org
"Fifty years of history can sometimes be viewed as a negative," says Rich Weller, pastor of this Pentecostal church in the Chicago suburbs. "Who said church is supposed to be boring? We want seekers to say 'Wow!'"
When he assumed leadership of the church two years ago, Weller wanted to update its image. "To truly be outreach-oriented we needed to be more relevant, less traditional, and look like a place our members would feel proud to invite their friends."
But transitioning the church from previously being more inwardly focused to being more intentional about outreach takes a lot of work. The key was to first cast a vision that was focused on reaching new people, while still serving the needs of current members. "Reach Up, Reach In, Reach Out" reflected the vision and strategy for Northwest Assembly of God.
The church is also very focused about who they target. Bringing down the average age of the congregation was a primary goal, so the church began to focus heavily on reaching young families in their late 20s and early 30s.
Given the congregation's strong sense of tradition, the leadership was selective about the transition process. Two of the first things to change were the logo and Web site. "I wanted to change the impression that we were behind the times," says Weller, "and these were great opportunities to make a visible change."
The site was developed to be a strategic communication vehicle, not only for existing members, but also for potential visitors. The home page was designed to address at a glance the top three questions seekers are often asking:
- Is this a place I'd feel comfortable and fit in?
- When and where are the services?
- How can I get connected at this church?
To help potential visitors understand the personality of the church, there's a section of the site that profiles the key leaders of the church, listing their passion areas, life goals, and personal fun facts. Another section of the Web site describes the atmosphere of a church service, and features a movable panoramic view that reflects the energy of a service in progress. These are just two examples of how seekers can get a feel for the church before even setting foot on the property.
The church also made a number of physical changes to be more outreach oriented. Services were restructured to incorporate more video use, the stage was reconstructed so it felt more like an auditorium, and carpeting and a fresh coat of paint were added. Fellowship and a sense of community improved after the church built a coffee bar in the lobby and hung pictures to create a more welcoming feel.
Any advice to other churches contemplating similar changes? Weller says, "Anything important is going to deserve your best, so create a budget. Go into it with a spirit of excellence — first impressions are so important."
Becoming a Difference-Making Church
Asbury United Methodist Church, Little Rock, AR
www.asbury-lr.org
Facing a trend of declining attendance and a somewhat insular culture, Pastor Jon Mac Taylor was called to this suburban Little Rock church just over a year ago. "As a 115-year old church, we wanted to retain our tradition without succumbing to traditionalism."
Giving the Asbury congregation a unifying purpose was his starting point. "We went through a visioning process that helped us understand our DNA. We listened very carefully to God's whisper for what we're supposed to be doing," says Taylor. Out of the visioning meetings, leaders identified that one of the church's distinctive features is the fact that it's an extremely friendly and caring church body. The only problem was that all of that caring was focused inward not outward.
Despite a century-long tradition and a prominent building on the hillside, very few people in the community ever heard much about Asbury CHurch — unless it was time for their annual garage sale. This isn't just any garage sale, but the biggest of its kind in the community. One elder highlighted the problem with this picture: "I'd have to guess that the most likely perception the community has about Asbury is that we're the 'garage sale church.'"
The outcome of this visioning process? A new strategy that heavily emphasizes evangelism and missions, and Dr. Taylor preaches passionately on the church's call to serve in the community and abroad. "We are fulfilling the vision of a church where each member is a minister — making disciples who are making disciples."
Branding is playing a major role in achieving the church's vision. A new logo and tagline seeks to empower and mobilize the congregation: "Asbury — Where You Make a Difference." And the church reintroduced itself to the community by conveying their core message as a difference-making church.
The strategy is working. Many of the new attendees who have responded are younger families eager to find God and community in a serving-oriented church. To better serve this group, Asbury continues to enhance the contemporary worship service that heavily integrates use of the arts, initiated small groups for singles and career-age people, and beefed up its children's ministry program. With the new vision and addition of a brand-new pipe organ, Asbury has renewed energy to those members who prefer traditional worship, as well as the contemporary service. Asbury has fully embraced the dual worship service format, and continues to differentiate the two services to better meet the needs of different audiences.
Central to Asbury's communication strategy has been the development of a quality Web site. "If you invest nickels and dimes in outreach, you'll get nickel and dime results," warns Taylor. The Internet has been a powerful tool for outreach. Taylor estimates that 80 percent of the communication for Asbury's outreach events is now online through e-mails and e-vites.
Asbury's Web site was redesigned to reinforce the new vision. Taylor also wanted to make sure that it reflected the unique identity of the church. "A lot of church Web sites look exactly the same — it's like thumbing through the Yellow Pages." The new site highlights the church's two types of worship services — traditional and contemporary — and presents information to meet the needs of both audiences. It also features opportunities for members to "make a difference."
"Marketing and strategy has helped us get clear on what we're trying to do and intentional about doing it." says Taylor.
Elements of a Successful Brand Strategy
A Checklist for Planning Your Brand
1. Who are you called to serve?
Every brand planning exercise should start with this question. It's not enough to say "the people of XYZ community." Every community is different and every church within that community has a unique contribution it can make. Understanding whose spiritual needs we are trying to serve should drive all other aspects of the plan.
The first step is to understand the make-up of your congregation and that of your community. How closely are they aligned? If they are not aligned, is that intentional, or does your church need to adjust?
It is also important to consider your church's culture and how it fits with the particular audience you are seeking to reach outside the church. For example, a pastor who preaches in a beach shirt and sandals will be effective at reaching people in Florida who are more comfortable in a casual environment.
If our purpose is to reach the lost, we need to provide them a place they'd feel welcome. So what groups of people would feel most at home in your congregation? We don't want to ask people to change who they are in order to go to church.
Knowing your target audience means understanding who they are, how they think, and what their needs are. You will also benefit from knowing their perceptions — both positive and negative — of your church so that you can consider what can be done to leverage or change these perceptions. Finally, try to understand what cultural or demographic changes are underway in your community that will impact whether your church is more or less likely to attract new people over time.
There are a number of ways to answer these questions. Getting help with this from a qualified strategist is recommended if your church has the resources. Generally, the starting point is qualitative research — usually focus groups or facilitated discussions — with members of the church body and the community. It may also be important to collect data through quantitative surveys. Analyzing results of a well-constructed congregational survey as well as census data from your community can provide important insights.
2. What is special about your church?
Once you've clarified who you are aiming to serve, you then need to define what attributes are unique to your church.
Imagine a new family moves into your neighborhood. Not just any family, but one that fits your target audience. What would be the impression they would most likely have of your church? WOuld it be accurate? Would it be compelling?
Defining your church's uniqueness comes out of a discovery process comprised of three building blocks.
1. Mission. Seeking God's unique purpose for your church in your community is the starting point. While we as churches are all pursuing the same mission at a high level, the plan God has for your particular church is unique. Has your church leadership reviewed the vision and mission statement recently in light of the needs of your community and how you are uniquely called to meet them?
2. Association. What are the things your church is particularly known for, both by the loyal core and people who have never set foot inside the church? Associations could be programs, events images, or attitudes that are connected with the church. The most valuable associations to understand are those that translate into benefits for your target audience. What would compel them to visit your church (or avoid it)? Conducting focus groups with both members and prospects is a great way to get at these questions.
3. Your brand persona. What are the cultural or personality characteristics that shape your church's identity? Imagine if your church were a person. What would be the adjectives you'd use to describe him or her? Developing this carefully honed list is particularly valuable for the creative team that will visually interpret your brand, your logo, Web site, and other communications materials.
Based on a composite of these three building blocks, your church will have a good depiction of its brand uniqueness. Next, we turn to the "how" step in planning your brand...
3. How do you reach your audience?
From the first two stages, you know who you are aiming to serve and what is special about your church. The "how" stage focuses on the execution of your brand.
How well you deliver here will have a direct impact on the number of new people attracted to your church and the positive associations formed in the minds of all audiences. Start by doing a mental audit of your current brand execution against this checklist:
Ensure consistency. Are all the elements of your brand image working together? Your church name, logo, icons, tagline, and overall look-and-feel should reflect your image, and be internally consistent. It is important to remember that everything that touches your audience contributes something; the key is to make sure it positively reinforces the message your want to send. Consistency across all "touch points"...the Yellow Pages ad, signage at the front of the church, bulletin, Web site, etc., creates synergy in communicating your overall image.
Demand excellence. When was the last time you updated your church's communication materials? Do they convey your desired image with excellence? It is important that your branding is current, professional, and an accurate reflection of your church's culture. People in your community will make judgments based on the image your church conveys. Since they are exposed to thousands of well-designed images over the course of a day, people today have a finely tuned sense of quality. Not just corporations are projecting a quality image. Most well-run charitable organizations, and even many school systems and municipalities are professionally branded. People instinctively want to align themselves with quality institutions.
Your Web site is one of your most strategic communications tools. It is a window into the heart of your church for those wanting to learn more, and an efficient way to connect communities of people within your church. Seekers usually "check you out" by visiting your Web site before making a decision whether or not to attend. Does your site clearly address seekers' top three questions: 1) Is this a place I'd fit in? (culture, style, theology, etc.); 2) When are services held?; 3) How can I get connected?
Create news. Use special events, sermon series, and major spiritual holidays as occasions to make news in your community. The return on dollars and effort invested in outreach will be significantly higher when there is "news" and a call to action. Some churches decide to "re-brand" their church all at once. If it is executed well, the introduction of a new look across all the touch points creates a powerful impression of excitement and change for the better.
All of this is not just "marketing talk." Following these steps to develop your brand will help equip your church to bring the gospel to more people and connect them in community with each other, all for the glory of Christ.
Helpful Branding Resources
The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding: How to Build a Product or Service into a World-Class Brand
Al Ries, Laura Ries
(HarperCollins, 1998)
A no-holds-barred look at a diverse collection of successful - and not-so-successful- branding efforts undertaken by high-profile firms. This book distills the most critical principles involved into a series of clear rules.
Emotional Branding: The New Paradigm for Connecting Brands to People
Marc Gobe, Sergio Zyman
(Allworth Press, 2001)
In a visionary approach to building powerful brand loyalty, this groundbreaking book shows marketers of any product or service how to engage today's increasingly cynical consumers on deeper emotional levels.
The Revenge of Brand X: How to Build A Big Time Brand - on the Web or Anywhere Else
Rob Frankel
(Frankel & Anderson, Inc., 2000)
A practical, often humorous, look at branding. Frankel, lays out his approach to branding in a series of directives and laws. The book features lists of action items at the end of each chapter. These lists challenge the reader to apply the principles of "Big Time Branding" to their own business.
Big Brands Big Trouble: Lessons Learned the Hard Way
Jack Trout
(John Wiley & Sons, 2001)
This book presents a set of expert guidelines on how to build, protect, manage, and expand your brand while avoiding some of the most common brand-killing blunders that can hurl you from the pinnacle of success to a scramble to stay afloat.
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