What if the church marketed more like…
By Adam McLane on November 08 2008
In the past 36 hours this video has popped up on dozens of youth ministry and church marketing blogs. I was thrilled to learn that the the people behind the video were none other than NYWC Pittsburgh presenter Richard Reising and his new blog BeyondRelevance.com.
When I watched it, it caused me to start thinking of other brands. Coke. Nike. Tide. Wrigley Gum. State Farm. On and on I thought about the various brands that we all interact with on a daily basis. Maybe it’s just too many years of all-nighters with middle school boys but I started to come up with my own versions of the video in my mind…
What if the church marketed more like McDonald’s and promised the same experience no matter where you went? or What if the church marketed more like Domino’s Pizza and if they failed to deliver in 30 minutes, no offering would be taken?
Contest: Unleash your creativity and think like a marketer! We want to hear your funny, silly, hopeful, or downright odd ministry-based analogy of a popular brand. Leave a comment with your entry, we’ll pick the best one and send you one of our famous prize boxes.
UPDATE: Richard Reising is going to include a copy of his book to the winner and he will help us pick a winner: ChurchMarketing 101: Preparing Your Church for Greater Growth Deadline to post your entry is Thursday, noon PST.
Comments
From Mike Fitzpatrick on November 08, 2008
What if the church marketed more like Progressive Insurance and compared the experience you get with them with the experiences of several of their competing churches?
From Jake Bouma on November 08, 2008
Axe Body spray.
Check out this campaign: http://www.axevice.com/naughtytonice/
I’ll change just a few words:
“More and more good people are going bad. Watch as [insert church name here]’ “Naughty to Nice” program reforms these wayward people, returning them to lives of virtue and light.”
From abby on November 08, 2008
I work for a local Putt Putt Golf franchise here in Modesto, CA. Our tag line: “It’s all about fun @ FUNWORKS!” (there’s also a catchy jingle that goes with it too!)
What if the church marketed themselves more like FUNWORKS! It would say: It’s all about fun @ _________ (enter name of church)!
Then you could have a mascot, that has a yellow golf ball head, and take him all over town to promote your church… of course that would come after you build a mini-golf course! But don’t forget the go-carts or the batting cages or the bumper boats (that some how have a Moses parting of the Red Sea theme) or the bumper cars. But most of all, you can’t forget the video games inside… which are all bible themed games… some after the great battles and events of the bible… like one game could be about trying to keep your eyes on Jesus… because if you don’t you’ll drown. you know stuff like that.
because it’s all about fun @ church!
From Jennifer on November 09, 2008
What if the church marketed more like Geico and instead of focusing on what a member says, or a pastor preaches, listen to a celebrity interpret their message. It would be a real ‘service’ and ‘save’ us the time of interpreting the message. They would cut down the message because it would take twice as long to include a celebrity :)
“(Church member’s name or pastor) is a real Geico customer not a real celebrity. So to help tell their story we’ve hired (Celebrity). Geico - real service, real savings.”
From Tyler V on November 09, 2008
Like the Cubs,
Where we always promise “It’s Gonna Happen” and when it doesn’t, we follow up with “Wait til Next Year!”
From Josh C on November 09, 2008
Like State Farm Insurance.
” Like a good neighbor: _________ (Insert Church Name) is here.
From Scott on November 09, 2008
We have a local TV station which says” 7 is on your side”
What if it said (Your Church name) is on your side” too often it is seen as us vs them which the truth is that we are all in this together, the entire world!
Looking forward to NYWC in Nashville. It is where I met my wife 3 years ago at NYWC! Now serving youth and culture together.
From Big Mike Lewis on November 09, 2008
What if the emerging church were like Mac and made commercials showing how stupid modern churches looked to….oh….uh wait….my bad.
From Bethany Boring on November 09, 2008
What about the famous Chuck E Cheese’s “Where a kid can be a kid” because truthfully, wouldn’t is be so much easier if we could all just be ourselves (little and big kids alike)? No robotic mouse shows…unless you are in to that preaching style…
From mike on November 10, 2008
What if the church marketed like K-Mart… blue light special in the 2 year old room. Mark down on mission support for today only. Right now in the nursery, if you bring a baby for the first service you get Sunday School for free.
From uzmegr8ly on November 10, 2008
living in Pennsylvania we support Penn State (even though they lost to an unranked team who they should have destroed without trying too har…oh…sorry) anyway, at the games half of the stadium yells “we are” the other side then says “Penn State” and this goes back and forth for a few minutes. when the mascot determines it is done, the student section says “thank you” and the rest of the stands says “you’re welcome.” Imagine how catchy and polite it would be to introduce your church this way…(left side-right side or to accomodate downstairs-up stairs which ever fits your church best)“WE ARE”—“BETHEL CHURCH” “WE ARE” “BETHEL CHURCH” and when the pastor determines enough has been said the visitors say “THANK YOU” and all of God’s people say “YOU’RE WELCOME”
From Brian Willhite on November 10, 2008
What if the church were marketed like UPS… What can the church do for you?
UPS uses this slogan to show the versatility of their organization and that they do not just deliver packages. They offer whole solutions for businesses and individuals. The church can do the same. They can show that it goes beyond sitting in a pew singing hymns as many still seem to think. They can offer solutions to improve your life.
From Kate Larson on November 11, 2008
Marketing like Pepto-Bismol:
Jesus. He’s got you covered.
Or J.C. Penny:
First Church: It’s all Inside.
From Tammie on November 11, 2008
I had another thought. I guess I got to thinking about this because our family just discovered it thanks to a bout of bronchitis, but there’s a cough medicine called Buckley’s that tells it like it is in its marketing. It’s motto? “It tastes awful. And it works.”
Now, I’m not saying the church is awful, but what if rather than trying to feed the consumer-driven mindset, the church was honest about being an imperfect structure that works by the grace of a perfect God?
Hmmm ... shades of NYWC speakers there ...
From Tammie on November 11, 2008
Forgot to include a link to Buckley’s. Their ad copy is interesting (and no, I don’t get kickbacks). http://www.buckleys.com/about/index.htm
From Jesse on November 11, 2008
Like Wheaties…
St. Francis Episcopal Church…..the church of champions
From jess on November 12, 2008
home depot..
first church - you can do it, we can help.
Jesus- i’m lovin it.
we should have a dancing Jesus with a crown on going around putting money in people’s pockets, since a lot of people think he does that anyway. (cough, burger king?)
From Jenifer R. on November 12, 2008
like Visa…It’s everywhere you want to be.
From Paul on November 12, 2008
Like Seth Godin and…
gave away every idea for the opportunity of building a relationship with other churches
gave up interrupting people and instead got to know them
showed people how remarkable (and personal) the gospel is
and built tribes instead of groups
all wrapped up in presentations, books, stories and relationships that spoke the language and actually was interested in people instead of numbers
From Erik w/a "k" on November 12, 2008
Like Nike - Church - Just do it
iPhone - Church - this officially changes everything
like Gatorade - God…is He in you?
Like Geico - 15 minutes or less and your life could be completely different
From Kate Larson on November 13, 2008
Like Motel 6
We’ll Leave the Light on for you
From Tony on November 13, 2008
What if the church marketed like Nike’s Sparq line. Although they use the slogan “Just Do It”, they have a commercial with a song by Saul Williams called “List of Demands.”
If that song were playing in the background, with a list of Christian do’s and don’ts displayed, have the Ad show - Church—Just do It!
From Matt on November 13, 2008
Playing on the MasterCard “Priceless” commercials…
Gas to get to church… $2.50
Offering at church… 10 percent
Lunch after church… $10
A relationship with God… priceless
From adam mclane on November 14, 2008
thanks for all the entries! we will be judging these and picking a winner soon.
From Adam McLane on November 18, 2008
We have a winner! I just got this email from our guest judge, Richard Reising.
“I laughed at all of them. I thought Tyler V’s was too funny. Of all of them, I think Jess nailed the combo of funny with hopeful the best. It was the Home Depot line… “You can do it. We can help.” Sounds like what Christ would like us to be… encouraging while supporting our faith with service to others.”
Jess- shoot me an email with your mailing address so we can get the “box of fun” and Richard’s book off to you!
Sticky Faith Teen Curriculum with DVD
10 Lessons to Nurture Faith Beyond High School
