Branding Faith

I just met Phil Cooke today. He sat in my session this morning at the National Outreach Convention. I'm glad I didn't find that out until the session was over. If I had known he was sitting in there the whole time I would have been too nervous.

Have you read his book, Branding Faith? Here's where Phil is coming from. In his words...

"One of the great frustrations in my career has been seeing great churches and religious organizations crippled because of wrong advice."

"I propose that we need to dramatically change the way we publicly express our beliefs." 

Here's the deal. This book is smart, original, practical and comprehensive. It's completely relevant to any person of faith living in today's culture to help us un-do some of what we've done. Until you have a chance to read it for yourself, I've shared some of my favorite excerpts (some paraphrased).

Communication

• "A generation ago the question was, 'What is Truth?' Today, the question is, 'What's the point?'" - Billy Graham
• It's not about chasing the latest new thing. It's about interpreting what that new think means to your audience.

Branding

• At its most basic level, branding provides answers to the simple human need to differentiate one thing from another.

• Branding could be the single most misunderstood term in American business. As a result, churches and not-for-profits have mistakenly applied it's principles in a variety of disastrous ways, and many end up thinking that branding is something born in the bowels of hell.

Quality

• A higher quality production might not generate a better response time at the moment, but it will impact the overall perception of your ministry.

• Certainly, a single product or commercial may resonate with an audience, causing them to respond regardless of the production quality. But there's no question that over the long haul, quality always wins out. It's a matter of the brand story you want to leave in the mind of your audience. What do people think of when they think of you?

Advertising

• During the past few years there has been a trend in advertising and marketing to explore the connection between religion and branding. As advertisers search for more and more effective ways to connect products with consumers, they've stumbled upon the power of "meaning".

• If you can link a product to a consumer's personal identity, the connection becomes far stronger and the relationship sticks for a much longer period of time.

Change

• "In times of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists." Eric Hoffer, social philosopher.
• Change is often perceived as an unfair encroachment on a person's territory, and he or she worries about failing or looking bad--especially to superiors. This is understandable, but it's absolutely necessary we communicate to ministry professionals that change does not mean they've been doing something wrong. It's not about mistakes; it's about responding to the changing culture with a fresh, new approach.

Information Overload 

• Whatever good this abundance brings to the world, it also brings confusion and clutter for people trying to make sense of it all.
• A pastor with a heart to reach men realized that another 30-minute program wouldn't help separate him from the ministry pack, so he started producing 30-second spots and used them to sponsor the local sports report on a network TV channel. As a result, he's reaching more men during those 30-second breaks than all the full-length Christian programs in his market combined. He writes the spots around male-oriented subjects and speaks into the lives of thousands of men every night during the network news.

Comments

[Tina Burrows]

Kem,
I could not agree more!

Phil Cook's book should be a "must read" for anyone working in media or communications for a church.

[Dan Kimball]

bah! they didn't have your CD. they said it didn't record or something......

[Dan Kimball]

It was nice seeing you as we whisked my one another on the sidewalk. One of these days we shall have to chat... I'd love to get to know you and Tim better and hear more of what is happening with Granger. I read your blog regularly. I am heading out to airport now but am picking up your workshop on CD before I go. Bye bye!

[Steve]

Hey Kem,

Can you believe I have Phil's book in my laptop case right now!

It is a really good read!

Thanks for the post.

Steve