So how do you know that it’s time to rebrand? What warning signs might you look for? Here is a list of
twelve common indicators that your church's brand may no longer be doing its job.

This is a great commercial—it has both a strong concept and high-impact visuals. Also, I can see it translating well into a print campaign. Even more impressive is the imagery drives 90% of this spot. Only about 3 sentences are voiced at the end.

Interestingly, there is a parallel between electric cars and church advertising. Both are trying to convince their audiences to at least explore a shift in their lifestyle—explore electric-powered transportation, explore Jesus-centered living. Unfortunately, the vast majority of these two audiences are hard to convince— "I like my gasoline", "I'm fine living my own way."

In any case, I'm not suggesting tearing out pages from the Nissan handbook to reach people for Christ. However, I encourage you to pay attention to how Fortune 500 companies are trying to convince you to do something—their messaging, their visuals, their creative concepts. Yeah, some advertising can be manipulative and/or focus just on sex or "the grass is greener over here." But some advertising, like this commercial, can use a great concept and strong creative to encourage viewers to think differently about something. Is your church thinking differently about how your encouraging your community to think differently? If you're unsure, let's talk >

1700’s
If you didn’t have a prominent last name you were identified as your father’s son.” This is Tim, John’s son.” This soon evolved into your last name—Johnson.

1800’s
As families began to accrue livestock such as cattle, there needed to be a way to distinguish whose cow belonged to whom. Thus a hot brand was applied to the cow’s hind end with the initials of the owner.

1900’s
Small town’s began to grow. Soon their were more options to purchase goods, have a drink or keep your money. No longer could townspeople refer to the one general store in town. Thus started the modern brand as we know it.

1920 – Present
No longer was it enough to just be “Tom’s General Store or Johnson’s General Store.” More emphasis was placed on image and message. 

Noticing that your General Store competitor hadn’t changed since the turn of the century, it was time to update your image to attract more customers.  A brighter, cleaner store with a new name and messaging that implied “I’m better than the other guy”  did just the trick.

But in an effort to compete, your competitor leverages his traditional look and values to reach your audience with messages of trust and family values creating his own market and now bringing back the audience you thought you had. This has lasted even until today with more stores, more competition and even more emphasis placed on staking your claim in the market and positioning yourself to succeed.

Today more than ever it is imperative to know your audience, know who’s competing for their attention and how to  leverage or create new assets to  reach them. A walk through a grocery store is always a good reminder of how important this is. Yet, if the world is the grocery store, are you certain that people searching for a retailer, service provider, school, church, dealership, etc…  will glance twice if they're walking down your specific “aisle”? 

If there is any doubt or you are finding that competitors are slowly encroaching on your “General Store”, let us assist you in leveraging or creating assets to strengthening your brand.

The idea of a Brand Bat is genius. Just might be something sent along to clients after completed branding projects. Thanks Ambert!

On my way to church yesterday I saw a sign in the median for another church. It was a simple sandwich board with the logo, service times and location. My initial thought was "I wonder how many people will check out that church just based on that informational sign?" My second thought was "They are giving that logo a lot of responsibility." The focus of this post is based on my first thought rather than my second, but just a side-bar on my second thought:

This is exactly why a well thought-out logo is so important, sometimes it will be the only thing that conveys your church's personality. However, it's good to keep in mind that rarely will people explore your church, or even more rarely, come to Christ just on a logo alone. But it is a very important aspect of your brand. So back to my first thought...

I understand that the sign builds awareness and is there for when people decide they want to find a church. But this doesn't mean it can't have some personality, especially when there are 3 other churches in the area doing the same thing, sometimes right next to the other. Anyway, here would be some of my ideas for injecting some personality:

1) Add People: Since churches will most likely have several signs placed around the community, add a different image of people on each sign. Specifically images of people that portray the type of community you are (college students, young adults, young families, different ethnicities, etc.) More than likely drivers will pass a couple of your signs, so they'll see what type of church environment you have (hopefully it's one that they relate to).

2) Add Phrases: What if, instead of leading with basic information have in large font "Hi, Que Pasa, Howdy, Look at me, I'm a sign in the median..." These simple phrases go a long way in giving your church a personality and will resonate more than just a logo and service times. 

3) Be WAY different: Venture beyond a sandwich board. Put a box or arrows around a telephone pole, make a custom sign/shape or use objects that relate to your church's name or image—if your church name has something to do with water, use some old canoes or paddles to hold your signs. 

Yes, these ideas range in cost and effort, but I always say "I'd rather have 3 signs that get the community talking rather than 16 that they don't say anything about."  

Recently I learned about a style of art known as "Steampunk." I've actually always been drawn to this style (you'd know if you saw my watches or the clock in my house). However, I didn't know it had a name. Even more, I didn't know it was created by artists with such a specific achievement or end-result in mind.

To para-phrase, this style of art is based in Victorian era Britain where steam power is still widely used. Elements of technology or futuristic innovations are added to various Victorian-era items. But not innovations as we know them today, these are innovations as Victorians may have envisioned them. I've included a picture to illustrate, but think H.G. Wells or Jules Verne.

What got me thinking was that this idea isn't far off from how many organizations brand, market and communicate—applying strategies that, to them, seem innovative but are very far off from being successful. The major downfall is that these ideas not only fall short of connecting with people they often paint a more out-dated and out-of-touch picture of the organization. 

Simple elements like design, wording, symbols and application can convey a great deal about your organization to your audience— especially how in touch you are with what's important to them or relevant in today's world. The simplicity of a logo (mark, type and tagline) can, in a matter of seconds, shape an individual's perceptions of your organization (both consciously and sub-consciously). And to think how many times a logo or branding in general falls from the priority list.

But unlike Jules Verne who didn't mind if his whimsical, over-weight Zeppelin or analog computer ever worked, your organization is relying on effective branding and marketing to convey a particular message/personality that, in turn, will connect with your audience.

If you notice signs that your organization is having an issue with branding or marketing, contact Brand Army or your nearest branding professional—an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure :-)

This is a video of Andrew Mason, creative director at Bayshore Community Church, presenting at Ignite Sussex. He touches on some very good ideas and items to consider if your church is struggling to connect with the community by way of communication. Definitely like the parallel between church and business branding and where they overlap.

Very interesting video from Chris Conley (Gravity Tank) as he explains how design can be a facilitator rather than just an end result. As designers, we often overlook this aspect of our thinking because it's just built into us. However, design itself can be a great tool for all ministries and churches as they search for the best solutions.

The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines a brand as a "name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of an organization and to differentiate it from those of other organizations.

Therefore it makes sense to understand that church branding is not about getting your community to choose you over the other churches in the area, but it is about getting the community to see you as the only option for their needs.*

The objectives that a good church brand will achieve include:

• Delivers the message clearly
• Confirms your credibility
• Connects with your community emotionally
• Motivates the community
• Concretes community/individual loyalty and trust

To succeed in church branding you must understand the needs and wants of your community. You do this by integrating your brand strategies through your church at every point of public contact with the community and individuals that surrounds you.

Your church brand resides within the hearts and minds of the community. It is the sum total of their experiences and perceptions of your church, some of which you can influence, and some that you cannot.

[See how we developed region-specific messaging to help Village Church integrate into Buffalo, NY]

A strong church brand is invaluable as the battle for your community's attention intensifies day by day. It's important to spend time investing in researching, defining, and building your church brand. After all, your brand is the source of a promise to your community. It's a foundational piece in your church marketing communication and one you do not want to be without.

*I definitely understand this can be a touchy subject—the idea of "competing" with other churches in the area or defining your marketing efforts around getting people to come to your church and not another. However, you started your specific church because you had a unique vision and mission that set you apart from other churches (otherwise you would have just joined another church team). So the goal with church marketing isn't to compete with other churches but to define and communicate your difference to the community that surrounds you.

This is a presentation from the 2011 Calvin Symposium on Worship. This is a great fly-over of what branding is and isn't. Especially as it relates to developing and building experiences and expressions for your church or ministry.