Church signs September 26, 2006

I didn’t think that the area I live in was too backwards until today. I drove by two churches on my way back to work today and this is what their signs said:

“Be an organ donor, give your heart to Jesus”.

“A day without prayer is like lungs without air”.

WHAT?? I don’t even know what they mean. Especially the second one. No wonder people are turned off to church. If they could only know that not every church is that corny and out of touch. This is why I am against church signs where you put up your own lettering or  type in an electronic message. Just tell me the name of your church, when you meet, your URL, and maybe your phone number. That’s really all a person who’s driving between 45-50 mph needs to know…until they walk inside your doors. But, that’s a different post.

We live in south Florida…not the “south”…let’s keep it that way and be relevant to our community.

What is branding? September 20, 2006

I asked myself this question in March ‘06. It was explained to me kind of like this:

“You know, like when you see the McDonald’s arch, you know it’s McDonald’s without having to read ‘McDonald’s’.”

Although that is a good definition, I think branding goes deeper than that. I think it’s about consistency. If you have a certain “look” that you are going for, you should try to represent that look in everything that your audience will see. For example, I am working on a project right now that has it’s own logo and look. Every piece that is going to print looks the same…it’s all very consistent. I am trying to brand this event we are doing. I’m getting a banner, stickers, t-shirts…the works. It all looks uniform.

Now, that alone won’t “brand” the event, but it’s a step in the right direction. I am still trying to figure it all out. I didn’t take any classes in marketing or branding, so my knowledge is limited. I am learning as I go! However, my awareness of branding has significantly gone up since March..:)

Any comments, thoughts, advice are welcome…

It’s the little things in life… September 11, 2006

I visited a local church that my parents attend last Fathers’ Day. It wasn’t my first time going to that church, but I didn’t recognize anyone…and no one knew who my husband and I were. Nonetheless, they treated us as visitors, which was kind of nice! The highlight was that they gave us a brown box with their logo and contact info on it (the box isn’t the good part). There was a candle inside!

Now, being the communications person at my own church, a light bulb suddenly flashed. It was one of those “a-ha!” moments that so many of us have (unfortunately some more than others…*cough* me *cough*). How come our church isn’t giving away something nice like this to our first time guests? Do we not appreciate them waking up on a Sunday morning and coming to our church instead of sleeping? Of course we do!

So, I talked to my good friends and old co-workers at Hands On Originals, and they hooked us up with packs of gum to give away. Not as nice as the candles…but I think they still serve the same purpose.

Gum, candles, pens, Cappucino’s…they all add to the “experience” of your church. What are you doing to enhance the experience at your church?

By the way, it’s not all about the product.