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 >

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 :-)

Before you judge the ridiculousness of these commercials, the Old Spice ad agency is gaining respect in the industry and winning various awards for producing commercials that break the mold. I know, you might say that these explode the mold and do a horrible job of promoting the product. However, I think there's something to be said for totally random marketing. I mean, at the end of the day I enjoyed it so much I reposted it.

As I strategize ways to help churches engage the communities around them, I might keep something like this in my back pocket. I would bet money that if someone came across a direct-mail postcard with a half-naked guy sitting on a human-lipped tiger they might pause and learn more about what's going on...

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. 

No, you don't have to tell me, because I know what you're about to say: your new church or ministry is brilliant. It's a game-changer. Problem is, you need a killer logo. Well, today, designers, inventors, and investors are facing a dilemma similar to the one that writers and artists have struggled with for decades: there's nothing left. Or here's another problem: if you do manage to create a jaw-droppingly clever or memorable image, rather than engendering widespread consumer recall of your brand, your Easter-blue palette risks looking uneasily similar to the Tiffany box, and your little black bull is a transparent rip-off of the one that dangles from the neck of Sangre de Toro red wine.

As far as the logo is concerned, to paraphrase Bill Maher, it's time for New Rules. Today, what counts far more than a puma, a monkey, or a snarling aardvark is the cross-sensory experience your brand offers. I'm talking not only the emotion, beliefs, and desires your brand evokes, but its feel, touch, sound, smell and personality, of which the logo is just one small part. Your brand needs to be smashable, e.g., instantly identifiable via its shape, design, copy, contours, and even navigation. Aside from adolescents, who are always on the lookout for the coolest logos to set them apart from, or help them gain traction with, their peers, today for most "consumers" the logo comes in near-to-last place to other considerations.

Why? Well, various reasons. The first is, when we see a logo, our defenses go up and stay up. We fear we're being played, or manipulated. Not least, I might also add that subconsciously, a logo reminds us of our complicity with big brands, of our own shot-with-guilt overconsumption that helped drive the world's recent financial downfall.

The term "smashable" dates back to 1915, when the Coca-Cola company asked a designer in Terre Haute, Indiana, to design a bottle that consumers could still recognize as a Coke bottle, even if someone flung it against a brick wall and it shattered into a hundred pieces. Coke is a smashable brand. So are Guinness, Ferrari, Harley-Davidson and, of course, Apple (take a sledgehammer to an iPad and you'll know what I mean). Which suggests that the logo as we once knew and loved it--from Citibank's Scowling Umbrella (I don't know what else to call it), to Nike's Swoosh, to Starbucks's Whoever-The-Heck-She-Is--needs to be re-considered if it's going to play any role in future brand-building.

Let's do a little experiment: Erase the logo from every single one of your brand identifiers--collateral, stationary, signage. Close your eyes, now reopen them. Is there anything left? Would consumers still recognize those items as belonging to your brand? Look at your packaging, your copy, your colors, your design, your font, your spacing. Do any of them convey your brand's identity? Or without a logo are you adrift and bailing water?

Next let's examine your website. Again, by eliminating the logo, you'll embark on a fun (I promise) and instructive exercise that will relieve you of any stubborn logo-fixations that may still be nagging at you. It's one that will force you into acknowledging the value that every single one of your communication elements plays in defining your brand's identity. Okay, still hiding the brand logo, eyeball your copy, your graphics, whether your pages are spare or dense-looking. Do all these things convey what your brand represents? Does your brand have a personality anymore, or is it standing shyly and stiffly against the wall, hoping no one notices it now looks (I hate to tell you) like every other church brand out there?

So reserve a brick wall, cock your arm, aim, and begin smashing your brand. While you're at it, smash your website, to ensure your brand remains consistent via your web pages' navigation, style, ease, and/or special features. Now ask yourself: does my brand "own" this cross-sensory experience, from web to signage to marketing collateral. If not, your carefully crafted logo might as well not even exist.

From Fast Company. Author: Martin Lindstrom. Modified to relate to church and ministry branding.

The questions below are examples of the kinds of things you can ask your staff, members and friends, in order to get an idea of what they really think of your church or ministry brand and if that impression is the one you want to continue to foster, or if you need to go back to the drawing board and create new experiences and better advertising that generates a more positive emotional aftertaste and a more effective brand image.

You can add or make-up your own questions based on the following format: "If your brand were a 'concept here', what 'concept' would it be? Explain why?" If the word brand stumps your colleagues that's a sure sign you have a problem, so try substituting the phrase "church, ministry, or service" for brand. Make sure the concepts you use are as removed from your normal frame of reference as possible and try to find ones that tap into some kind of emotional aftertaste and see what results you get. You will most likely be very surprised, bemused, and enlightened by the results.

The Emotional Brand Aftertaste Questionnaire

• If your brand were a color, what color would it be? Explain why.
  
  
• If your brand were a car, what car would it be? Explain why.
  
  
• If your brand were an actor, what actor would it be? Explain why.
  
  
• If your brand were a city, what city would it be? Explain why.
  
  
• If your brand were a flavor, what flavor would it be? Explain why.
  
  
• If your brand were a garment, what garment would it be? Explain why.
  
  
• If your brand were a movie, what movie would it be? Explain why.
  
  
• If your brand were an animal, what animal would it be? Explain why.
  
  
• If your brand were a surprise anniversary present, how would your spouse react?
  
  
• If your brand were found in a supermarket, what item would it be? Explain why.