Comments on: Your Branding Sucks: The Sequel

By: Adam Gregory

Adam Gregory — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 12:18:19 +0000

I disagree…
With the above comment that is. Totally name it “New Kids” just cause that would be freaking awesome. LOL

By: Mitch Bolton

Mitch Bolton — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 17:02:22 +0000

I just have to say, based on the Lifechurch example, that you shouldn’t name your children’s ministry “New Kids” :)

“…people don’t attend ministry programs or events because of slick promotions. They attend ministry programs and events because those events add value to their lives.” That’s what I’ve been trying to communicate to people, and those are the words I need.

By: Kirt Manuel

Kirt Manuel — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 14:25:31 +0000

American Idol is multiple years running now. The promotion and brand establishment invested in it has been enormous, and enormously successful. It really wouldn’t matter what network ran it. It’s a winner because people want it.

In the church, the “people want it” effect seems to grow *only after* aggregated, individual experiences; word-of-mouth buzz; and repeated positive encounters with the ministry. Right?

Thus, wouldn’t the branding priority be that “the New Spring experience” is a powerful one, no matter if it’s weekend, men’s ministry, junior high, or whatever?

For a church message series, it helps me to think of “co-branding” or something like that–i.e. “The Man Series: New Spring Gets Hairy and Sweaty.” The top of the branding hierarchy is not “The Series” but rather “The Series: Powerful Stuff at New Spring.” Maybe it’s easier for me to think like this: the brand is New Spring. The top priority event/activity I’m communicating is Man Series. You can’t really build a “brand” out of something that’s gone in four weeks, can you?

Over time, the actual content of the series matters less than the church’s overall impact in the lives of people far from Christ, coming to Christ, or growing in Christ. I hope our churches can build brands that are instantly recognized and loved in our communities because those communities have been changed forever by us.

When we reach that point our “management of perception” will be irrelevant and our brand will be truly priceless.

By: Sean Pritzkau

Sean Pritzkau — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 22:25:50 +0000

well put tony.
one of my favorite posts from you.

By: Nick

Nick — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 23:51:46 +0000

I guess the churches that brand & name everything that I’m thinking of don’t have them all competing for attention. And, it definitely appears they spend more time leading than promoting. The branding is more about ownership of that environment and not about grabbing attention. The branding communicates quality and helps keep language consistent. You can call a children’s environment by it’s name, rather than let “Sunday School” be the label - which communicates a totally different thing.

I like the LifeKids, LifeMissions, etc, but names that aren’t that easy to identify with their purpose can work as well, as long as signage is excellent.

It’s true that people may continue to attend programs or events because they add value to their lives, but they don’t know that until they attend. People may have been more enticed to attend The Man Series because of the promotion, and the same could be true for any program or event.

So, I guess what I’m saying it that it’s not either/or, but both/and. I think churches need to lead well AND promote/brand well. Great thoughts Tony.

By: Rebecca Moon

Rebecca Moon — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 22:55:36 +0000

great insight. i love when you write long posts; no apology necessary. if there were no long posts, there would be no examples like “Mapilicious.” that should be the secret word at the Unleash blogging breakout next year. :)

By: Davey

Davey — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 21:48:28 +0000

Tony, I read this post while I was writing a paper on the history of my home church for a Wesleyan Church history class I’m in. It was depressing realizing once again how irrelevant my ministry classes are. Keep rocking my world and everyone else’s with your strategic blog posts. It’s so refreshing!

By: Billy Chia

Billy Chia — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 16:04:21 +0000

Tony,
Amazing post. The why/how you guys do branding was very revealing and helpful.

The ability to admit that you guys face challenges in the honest, yet mature way you have done above is very encouraging.

By: Nick

Nick — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 15:24:28 +0000

Great post!
I don’t know how many times I have fallen in the trap, and the biggest pain is the time spent thinking up all of the branding.

Name of the Group/Activity…Why the name - What does it mean?…Logo for Marketing…Purpose Statement for the Group/Activity…Etc…

Before you know it, the thing that matters most (people) are being neglected due to all of the time it takes to create our brand.

I couldn’t agree with this more! “By the way, as a side note, people don’t attend ministry programs or events because of slick promotions. They attend ministry programs and events because those events add value to their lives.”

By: Jamie

Jamie — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 15:18:37 +0000

How can I agree or disagree with you. I’ve never thought about stuff like that.

Yet another reason why I’m glad that you are in the position you are, doing the job you are doing.