Branding your church

How do you get your church to stand out from all the other advertising with which people are bombarded daily? Branding is one effective way.

A recent article in Fast Company magazine says that authenticity is key to effective branding.

Here's an exerpt:

What does it take to be authentic?

Authenticity constantly requires reinforcement, and it can come from a number of sources: craftsmanship, timeliness, relevance. But it is a brand's values--the emotional connection it makes--that truly define its realism. And there are four primary strands that draw out that connection.

A sense of place.

"Authenticity comes from a place we can connect with," says Steve McCallion, creative director of Ziba, a Portland, Oregon--based design consultancy. "A place with a story." The Champagne region of France, for instance, helps give Veuve Clicquot special cachet. And yet, our notion of place does not need to be literal. On the contrary, it can sometimes prove considerably elastic. Häagen-Dazs, the Nordic-sounding ice cream, originated in that quaint Scandinavian village known as the Bronx, New York. The brand's name, concocted from two nonsensical words, is a perfect fake--so well chosen, and so evocative, that it resonates as real to folks who love the product.

A strong point of view.

Authenticity also emerges from "people with a deep passion for what they are doing," says McCallion. So Martha Stewart is perceived to be authentic in large part because her ambitious recipes for Perfect White Cake and Chocolate-Strawberry Heart-Shaped Ice-Cream Sandwiches stand in the face of a world where food is mass-produced and preparation for the average dinner is measured by the number of minutes it takes to microwave the thing.

Serving a larger purpose.

Consumers quite rightly believe, until they're shown otherwise, that every brand is governed by an ulterior motive: to sell something. But if a brand can convincingly argue that its profit-making is only a by-product of a larger purpose, authenticity sets in. "Just as there are purpose-driven lives," says Character's Hardison, "there are purpose-driven brands." (Think Whole Foods) here, or even, in a way, Google. The counterpart is also true: "When a brand changes its story to better capture its customers' dollars, it's basically a poser," Hardison says, "and people sense that right away."

Integrity.

Authenticity comes to a brand that is what it says it is. In other words, "the story that the brand tells through its actions aligns with the story it tells through its communications," Hardison says. "Only then will customers sense that the brand's story is true." When McDonald's launched its "We love to see you smile" campaign in 2000, commentators like Advertising Age's Bob Garfield hooted in derision, arguing that filthy restrooms and grumpy counter clerks rendered the ads "preposterously false." A year later, published reports revealed that rude employees were costing Mickey D's millions of dollars in lost sales. And when bloggers exposed a flog (read: "fake blog") that masqueraded as a travel journal written by a couple who were compensated for their gushing posts about Wal-Mart, the deception elicited a torrent of rebuke.

Our church has always had branding in the back of our minds, but recently we've been putting a lot more thought into how branding might play an important role in reaching new people for Christ. We are now in the process of changing our logo, etc. in an effort to brand our church in a more effective way. I will share what we learn and do.

Please share your thoughts and successes/failures as well.

The whole article can be seen here-

http://trax.fastcompany.com/k/w/mailman/fasttake/20070509/love?f=h

Daybreak Conference Notes

My wife, Ruth, and I went with two others from our church to the Daybreak "Infusion" Conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan a week or so back...and I thought I'd share some of the best learnings I received in the day and a half conference.

On imagination & creativity-

"The Christian is the one whose imagination should soar beyond the stars." Francis Schafer
"Imagination is a holy and godly tool." Mark Courtney, Daybreak's Creative Director
Visual media is king and churches should put great emphasis on video, graphics, and print materials.

From Shauna Niequist on "living in creative adundance"-

"you get back the energy you give"
"sometimes you have to give something up to make room for creativity"
"the stakes for your creative life are higher than you might imagine"

On change by Dr. Terry Woychowski-

"to change we must move from the mindset of victimization to the mindset of doing the right thing"
"starting now is better than starting later"
"baby steps are better than no steps"

Various comments by Daybreak Pastor Wes Dupin-

"The Holy Spirit changes lives - but we have a responsibility to do our part well"
"We need to creatively and couragously declare Christ"
"You cannot argue people into the kingdom of God but you can create an environment that is favorable to faith"

This was my second year of going to this conference and I have found it beneficial both years. If you are building a creative team or you just want to get some new, fresh ideas I'd check this conference out next year.

The 2008 Infusion Conference is called "Seed" and will be held in May.

Check out www.daybreak.tv

Every 7 Days

I don't know how most pastors feel...but it seems to me that Sunday comes quicker than any other day. Here at the Ridge, we have three service times...so I preach three times and bam! before I know it, Sunday is here again.

For awhile I took Fridays as my day off, but I quickly learned that I was toast on Mondays, so I switched. However, now it seems I start my week off behind because it begins on Tuesdays.

I'd be interested to hear how other pastors get their rest and their days off...and how they deal with trying to have a relevant, biblical, engaging message every 7 days.

Here We Go!

Hello. Welcome to the first blog entry into our brave little world known as the "new church cooperative".

My name is Darrel and I am the planter/pastor of Sycamore Ridge Community Church in Brookville, Ohio. Our church started with 3 couples nine years ago and now we have three Sunday morning worship services with about 400 in attendance. In many ways our church has made it to where we are today without much help or encouragement from existing churches. We had a little financial assistance in the first two years of the church - but nada since then.

I believe new/newer churches (this is decided by age or attitude) know what it is like to be starting out. My prayer is that we can link together like-minded churches to help each other.

The goal is to empower-encourage-challenge new/newer churches to cooperate in reaching people for Christ. Cooperation includes, but is not limited to, creative resources, administration ideas, marketing/branding, worship, and outreach.

My prayer is this blog will also allow a voice for discussion among pastors, staff and others regarding the struggles and victories of church planting and growing...as well as an open forum to share ideas, thoughts, and inspiration.

So...here we go!