All posts tagged branding

Do it Yourself Church Communications

by Tim Schraeder on 09/11/2009 in Church Communications, MinistryCOM, Notes, Principles, Resources with 3 Comments

So this is pretty weird to be posting my own notes… Download a PDF of the Slides here.

HUGE thanks to everyone who came and supported, I hope it was a beneficial session for you guys! And a HUGE thanks to Jarbyco for hooking us up and letting us take questions via text! And, if you are in or near the Chicago area and want to continue the conversation, come check out Cultivate being hosted at Park on Oct 27!

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A little about me…

  • I’m 26, going on 27.
  • I’ve been around doing church communications for almost 8 years now.
  • I knew there was no money to be had in ministry and didn’t see the need of going to Bible college.
  • Started at age 19 at Riverside Community Church in Peoria, Illinois as an intern for their college ministry.
  • I started doing the bulletin for Riverside with a copy of Microsoft Publisher 98, some bad fonts, and clip art that I ripped off from an internet photo site.
  • They say that “experience can be an educator,” and Riverside provided me a place to become an expert from learning from my mistakes.
  • In May of 2007 I went on staff at Park Community Church in Chicago.

About Park

  • Park was founded in 1989 by a group of 50 people who were a part of Moody Memorial Church that had a vision to see a church established in the downtown area of Chicago that would reach out to young, urban professionals.
  • For 20 years, Park’s motto was: “have church will move” as they moved between various locations throughout the city.
  • In June of 2008 Park opened their first building, located in the heart of the former Cabrini-Green neighborhood of Chicago.
  • Park now meets in two locations, soon to be three and has an average weekly attendance of around 2,000 people.

Challenge of Church Communications

  • Oftentimes when I tell people I do church communications their initial response is, “oh… so you make the bulletin?”
  • While it’s true that’s something I do, there’s honestly a lot more all of us do.
  • Church communications is a broad category and many of us wear a lot of different hats and do a lot of different things.

What I do at Park

  • I do anything the communicates outside of the auditorium
  • Print (although we don’t do much)
  • Web strategy
  • Social Media (Twitter, Facebook)
  • Texting
  • Part of Park’s creative team that plans and designs services.

The Changing Face of Church Communications

  • The way our world communicates has changed dramatically in the past few years.
  • The way the church communicates is changing, too.
  • 10 years ago the face of church communications was the church secretary.
  • She used pre-printed bulletin shells that more than likely had misty nature images or Holy Spirit doves and Scripture.
  • The church had 2 basic platforms from which it communicated: the front platform and the church bulletin.
  • Church communications today today looks a lot different: we’ve got email,websites, Facebook, Twitter, texting and other social media.

Our Role is Important

  • It’s really easy to get discouraged in our jobs because our job is essentially a very thankless task.
  • We’re not the ones up front preaching or leading worship, oftentimes we’re just stuck behind our computer screens.
  • It’s easy to feel like we’re not really “in ministry”
  • But you and what you do is REALLY important.
  • The future potential of the church rests in the hands of people who are thinking and creating ways to communicate the timeless message of the Gospel in a way that connects with the world around us.
  • What we do is really important.
  • One day as we were walking into a church a friend of mine said, “you know it’s crazy to think that the people who are coming here are here because of something you created.”
  • Oftentimes the things we create (postcards, fliers, websites) are the first point of contact people have with our church.
  • The need for people who are committed to Christ and who are innovating new ways to communicate are vital for the future of the church.

We Have A lot of  Critics and Not Many Contributors

  • Too often the only feedback we get is negative.
  • People never say, “wow that font changed my life…” or, “that stock image really moved me.”
  • I used to have someone who would mark all of the errors in our bulletin and slide it under my office door.
  • While many of our churches value communications and the role we play, in most cases we work as a staff of one. We’re on our own with limited resources, budget and support.

Do it Yourself Church Communications

  • We’re going to use the analogy of building a house to creating a structure to support our church communications.

Foundation – Getting to the basics of what it means.

  • “Church marketing” isn’t exactly found in the Bible.
  • The closest thing to “marketing” is the marketplace where Jesus turned over the tables in the Temple.
  • There are, however, a lot of great things that can illustrate our calling as church communicators.

Luke 14:16-23

  • This and other verses (Matthew 28:19-20) show us that we are called to go and tell, to be witnesses and extend the invitation.
  • Our competition isn’t the other church in town but the things that people are giving their time and attention to.
  • The invitation that was sent in mass was rejected, but the in person invitation brought more people.
  • From a marketing perspective, the way the early church grew in size and influence was through viral marketing. People telling other people. People bringing their friends.
  • With all of the great resources we have available to us today I think the one we need to get better at is the personal invitation.
  • Our job as communications people is to urge or to compel people to come, “that the house might be full.”

Survey – Get a Feel For the Land

  • Who is your city? What is the demographic and psychographic of people in your community?
  • Who is your church? Who are the people that come to your church?
  • What do they respond to?
  • How do they communicate?
  • A major part of our job is to keep a pulse on our church and  our community.
  • We can read reports and surveys but we can learn the most by simple observation.
  • We need to be keenly aware of our community and who the people are that attend our church.

Chicago

  • 2.9 million people
  • 3rd largest city in the USA
  • Neighborhood-centric
  • it’s the “city that works”
  • also known as the Second City
  • Center for banking, finance, marketing and business
  • “a drinking town with a sports problem”

Park

  • Average age is 29
  • 60% single
  • Most have a minimum of a college degree
  • Most work white collar jobs
  • Online experts
  • Most people will stay at Park for about 3 years
  • Most are incredibly BUSY

Once you have a better understanding of your community and your church, you have a better context to filter your communication strategies through.

Blueprint – your guide & plan.

There’s a difference between inspiration and imitation. Imitations are just cheap.

  • Whatever you do, be yourself.
  • If you’re not hip and trendy, don’t try to be.
  • Your church is unique, celebrate that.
  • Open source resources are great but don’t let them be an excuse of laziness.
  • Just because it worked somewhere else doesn’t mean it’s going to work for you in your context.
  • There’s not a one-size-fits-all approach to church communications.
  • If you must “borrow,” ask permission first.
  • We serve the God of creativity (Gen 1:1), we need to seek Him!
  • I’ve often found that the times when I’m at a creative block is when I’m not in communion with God.

Union Workers… aka our church staff and ministry leaders.

  • Our jobs would be a lot easier if we didn’t have to deal with people.
  • Replace your IM screen and Inbox with face-to-face conversations.
  • Remove the word “NO” from your vocabulary.
  • Give people options or alternatives, not ultimatums.
  • Don’t bog people down with policies, style guides, etc.
  • Take the time to get to know your staff.
  • Get to know them and earn their trust.
  • I didn’t make huge changes when I first started at Park, I took the time to get to know the culture of the staff, church and the city of Chicago first.
  • That way, when I did start to make change I wasn’t “the new guy who we’re not sure about,” I was “Tim who we know and trust.”
  • When you need to make change don’t just tell people about it, show them.
  • I shared the story of how we made the switch to a monthly bulletin and instead of just telling people about it, I created a prototype and showed them what it would look like.

Some Learnings from the move to the monthly bulletin.

  • Print budget went down by 75%.
  • Our budget has moved from being 80% print/20% web to 20% print/80% web.
  • The switch has increased traffic to our website and upped our email subscriptions.
  • We initially printed it in color but switched to black and white in January to save money.
  • The move has forced us to be more planned and ahead of schedule.
  • It’s also forced us to be more creative.

Support Beams

  • Determine the keys ways to communicate to your church.
  • Decide what the key things are going to be and plan your budget to your strengths.

Park’s Key Things

  • Our website. Soon to be re-launched, designed by CHANGEffect, powered by Ekklesia360#mce_temp_url#.
  • Facebook. Over 1,200 fans and over 10 groups reaching over 3,000 people.
  • Email. Over 4,000 subscribers. We use ConstantContact.
  • Texting. We use texting in our services and as a means to communicate to our congregation throughout the week. We are huge fans of Jarbyco.
  • Twitter @ParkChurch. We currently have over 550 followers.
  • TheCommon.org used to connect people to ways to volunteer and serve.
  • We’re soon transitioning to using the Cobblestone Community Network. A blog post about that is coming soon!

Interior Design – Words, Images and Language

Images

  • Are the images you use a true reflection of who you are?
  • Be who you are, not who you want to be.
  • Don’t portray yourself to be something or someone you’re not.
  • Use real images of real people in your church.
  • People want to know there are people like them at your church.
  • Use iStock for objects, concepts, and backgrounds… not people.

Words & Language

  • Put people and their needs first.
  • Go through your bulletin and highlight every mention of your church name. If your church name is first, re-write your copy!
  • Avoid Christianese at all costs.
  • Keep things concise and simple, not cute and fluffy.
  • Talk like people in your church talk.
  • Don’t just answer questions people are asking, ask questions people are asking.
  • I shared the story of how we marketed our Alpha Course.

Curb Appeal – External Marketing

  • Your church website is the front door to your church. Is it welcoming?
  • Church websites used to be an accessory, today they are an absolute necessity.
  • Your brand is driven more by what other people say than by what you say.
  • I shared the story of the redesign of Park’s website and showed a sneak preview of our new website.

Closing Thought: Get a Hammer!

  • I keep a hammer on my desk.
  • No, I don’t use it on co-workers or my computer.
  • It was a gift from a friend to be a reminder that everything I do is building the Kingdom of God, the Church.

I closed sharing this poem…

The Magnificent House of God

There is a house different from any other
Filled with light and love
Radiant with a glory that is totally irresistible to all.

It’s an open home
A huge welcome sign hangs from the door
Inside overflows with good food and bountiful supply
Laughter and healthy conversation
And for all who are questioning there are answers
An abundance of hope
Salvation is offered to all
Mercy and grace kiss each one.

A fire is crackling within its solid walls
Always there to warm and soothe
Gently drying tear-stained faces
Affirming the wandering soul and bringing strong counsel to
give clear direction to all negotiating this journey of life.

Captivating melodies fill every inch of every room
A new sound available even to the untrained ear
Causing every heart to willingly sing and every knee to humbly bow.

This is the House I give my life to build
To gather His Church and bring healing to the nations
This is the only House fit for a King
This is the magnificent House of God.

- Darlene Zschech

Three Steps Forward, No Steps Back

by Tim Schraeder on 09/10/2009 in MinistryCOM, Notes with 2 Comments

Kerry Bural can often be found sketching concepts and ideas on napkins or notecards as he tries to refine his thoughts and share them. He claims that his best work happens in java-infused creative sessions or when he is divinely disturbed in the middle of the night.

He is the owner and principal of The Resonate Group, a brand consulting and development firm. He recently served as V.P. for Public Relations and Marketing with the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. He was the brand architect of the “I Vote Values” initiative, which was the genesis for the “values voter” movement. He has served as PR Director for Southeastern Seminary and PR Coordinator for Criswell College. He was also a visual coordinator for the corporate headquarters of Neiman Marcus in their Visual Planning & Presentation division.

His 25+ years in ministry and business have been devoted to brand architecture. He is passionate about helping organizations translate their vision and mission into communication that resonates with their constituents through visual presentation, public relations, marketing and branding.

He has a B.S. in Education concentrating on design and technology from Northeastern State University and a M.A. in Theology and History from Criswell College.

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  • Obstacles make the ride interesting.
  • We spend most of our days overcoming obstacles and helping people develop solutions.
  • There are many things in our life or our ministry that feel like obstacles.
  • Ministry is messy.
  • If it’s not, you’re probably not doing anything significant.
  • Everything that happens in your church is part of your church’s brand experience.
  • Every decision your church makes is a brand decision.
  • The need for change has never been greater and it can be felt at numerous levels.
  • Change can be at multiple levels.
  • More often than not, most churches are stuck and struggling as to where to go next.

Change doesn’t just magically happen.

  • Change happens when someone sees the need, has a vision for what could be, and takes the initiative to drive toward it.
  • There are special times in the life of a ministry when someone needs to step up and drive the change, even if they don’t feel qualified.
  • If you see it, you might be the right person to drive the change.
  • Change should be for transformational and redemptive purposes. (2 Cor 5:17)
  • We shouldn’t change for the sake of change.

Intentional Change Framework

Refresh

  • Simply refreshing what’s already there. (i.e. redesigning a website)
  • Surface/external changes.
  • Things that are seen and easily recognizable.
  • Surface issues tend to be the things we feel the most.
  • Oftentimes, the problems are much deeper.

Renovate

  • Internal dynamics of your church/ministry… down to a systems level.
  • It’s subsurface.

Reinvention

  • Reinvention is radical.
  • Reinvention is a systemic problem.
  • Systemic has to do with the central nervous system… oftentimes our central nervous systems are out of whack.

Where Do You Go From Here?

  • Qualifying where you are helps you map out where you need to go.
  • Our goal is to do ministry in a way that resonates with the people we are trying to reach.
  • It’s not our job to make the message relevant.
  • Our responsibility is to ensure that we don’t mitigate the message’s relevancy.

Four Tactical Errors to Avoid

  1. When you try to make systemic changes but you apply surface change tactics.
  2. When you try to make surface changes but you apply systemic change tactics. (Making something small very large.)
  3. Thinking you need to change everything at once.
  4. Thinking you don’t need to change anything.

5 Take-Aways

1 – Cultivate a culture and an environment of change and resonance.

  • Whatever we change should be authentic and organic.
  • Let it flow out of who you are.
  • It has to be DNA birthed and DNA driven.
  • Be anchored in your core DNA.

2 – Learn when and how to lean in and lean out.

  • Timing is truly everything.
  • Seize opportunities when doors, windows or cracks are open.
  • Value incremental change. It leads to greater opportunity.
  • Learn to recognize, read and discern dynamics.

3 – Distinguish between surface, subsystem and systemic change.

  • Don’t be afraid to engage in the hard work.

4 – When obstacles stand in the way, change the approach.

  • What’s your perspective when see you obstacles?
  • Pick a different line or get off your bike and walk.
  • Push through the obstacles. Sometimes there’s no other way to do it.
  • Take a different route if you need to.

5 – It’s all about leadership.

  • We’re all leaders… it’s just a question of who we lead and how intentional we are about that leadership.
  • Who are you influencing?
  • Don’t try to influence the lead pastor… who has the lead pastor’s ear? That’s who you need to influence.

Action Steps

  • Write down the name of the person you need to talk to about changes that you need to make in your ministry.
  • Write out 3 areas of change you need to talk about.
  • Make the call now and set up a time to meet.

Branding 101 : Living Your Story

by Tim Schraeder on 09/10/2009 in Church Communications, MinistryCOM, Notes, Principles with 1 Comment

Tim Ellens is a brand strategist passionate about helping clients “live” their unique story. Viewing everyone in an organization as a storyteller he facilitates and develops strategies that get the story out of the board room and into the back room. As a student of branding, he understands that people relate to brands in ways that shape their identity and connect with the values of an organization. Additionally, Tim is motivated by helping leaders of organizations gain clarity of vision through “aha” moments and pulling simplicity out of complexity. He has worked with Fortune 500 companies and those who view $500 as a fortune but has a heart for those who are making this world a better place. Check out the CHANGEffect website.

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  • Branding is a promise, big idea, and the expectation that resides in customer’s mind about a product, service, or company. – Alina Wheeler
  • Brand = Story
  • An organization’s brand is it’s story.
  • Are they telling their story in a compelling way?
  • Cowboys all know you can’t brand nothin’ til you tie three of its legs together, slam it to the ground, and sedate it. – Bart Crosby, brand designer.

There’s three aspects to your Story…

  • Story – mission/vision; personality; key messaging.
  • Culture – behavior/rituals; structures, process
  • Expression – brand identity, events, print/web/media
  • Check out the book Church Unique
  • You live your Story through planning, mobilization and tactics.
  • Give them something to believe in.

How the story has changed…

  • In the pre-internet days a company put out an image and people related to the image… they didn’t need to relate to the company.
  • The internet created glass walls for companies.
  • There’s a new dynamic where people can circumvent the image and see the company for what they are.
  • This new trend has called company’s values into question.
  • A brand culture is created. People associate themselves with which brand they are loyal to. (i.e. Starbucks, Mac, Prius).
  • The brands we choose say a lot about who we are.
  • We are mosaics of brands.
  • A brand culture attracts employees and customers.

Storytelling Pyramid.

  • Strategic Level: core story creates consistency in all communications internally and externally.
  • Operational Level: stories, anectdotes, behaviors, riutuals, etc.

From Consumers to People.

  • Consumers buy. People live.
  • We have transactional customers in church… they take part in service, they partake in the services that the church offers.
  • And then we have citizens. Citizens take ownership. They get involved in serving, they are evangelists for the church.

How do we turn customers into citizens?

  • When we invite people into relationship with God in a customer/transactional kind of way… i.e. “pray this prayer, you get…” we shouldn’t be surprised that people act the way that they do (as consumers).
  • If they truly understand the Gospel, they should see it as themselves entering into a Redemptive Story.
  • The biggest communication event of all time was God sending His Son to live out His Story of redemption for the world.
  • Jesus was God’s invitation for us to participate in His Story.
  • If we are going to understand how to communicate who the church is, it has to have a firm theological foundation from the beginning.
  • People in our culture are already interacting with brands and organizations in new ways today.
  • Check out the book Emotional Branding by Mark Gobe

Are the people attending your church customers or citizens?
Can your church be a place to belong?

  • We live in a globalized world and people now want to tribalize.

From Quality to Preference.

  • Quality is a given.
  • Preference creates raving fans.
  • There’s things that are just “givens” in the church… kid’s ministry, relevant preaching, etc.
  • How do we move beyond commoditized ideas and get into what’s specific about your church.
  • What is your church telling that’s compelling.

From Products to Experiences.

  • Products fulfill needs.
  • Experiences fulfill desires.
  • Look at your Sunday services at experiences.
  • Sunday services are a branding experience for your church.
  • What are you communicating to your people about what’s important to your church through how you structure your services?

From Ubiquity to Presence.

  • Ubiquity is seen.
  • Emotional presence is felt.
  • How is your church providing an authentic experience that touches people’s souls?

From communication to Dialogue.

  • Communication is telling.
  • Dialogue is sharing.
  • What does a two-way, conversational atmosphere look like at your church?
  • Effective communication isn’t telling, it’s creating opportunities and space for dialogue to happen so citizens of your church are creating and part of telling your church’s story.

From Service to Relationship.

  • Service is selling.
  • Relationship is acknowledgement.
  • Does your church’s atmosphere feel transactional or relational?

There are no simple solutions, only intelligent questions.

What business are you in, really? The answer is the seed to your unique story.

  • Starbucks… appears to be in the business of coffee. Their genuine brand is a Third Place.
  • Dunkin Donuts sells coffee from a different angle… “run!”
  • FedEx... appears to be about delivery. Their genuine brand is “don’t worry about it.”
  • Cinnabon… appears to be about selling cinnamon buns. Their genuine brand is sensory exploitation.
  • Many times your genuine brand isn’t made public, but it’s held internally to be a guiding filter in decision making, etc.

Finding your church’s Genuine Brand Questions…

  • What can your church do better than 10,000 others?
  • How would you fill in this blank: OUr church exists to glorify God and make disciples by ___________.
  • What is your Kingdom Concept?

Your Kingdom Concept is made up of three things…

  • Local Predicament – What are the unqiue needs and opportunities where God has placed us?
  • Apostolic Esprit – What particular focus most energizes and animates our leadership?
  • Collective Potential – What are the unique resources and capabilities that God brings together in us?

Local Predicament Questions

  • What are the unique needs where God has placed us?
  • What are the immediate opportunities found within a half mile?
  • What are some of the largest community events?
  • What one positive change in our community would have the most dramatic effect in people’s lives?

Collective Potential Questions

  • What would a guest say is best about your church?
  • What promise can you make day-in, day-out?
  • If your church left your community tomorrow, who would protest and why?
  • What capabilities tend to cluster in your church?
  • If we only did one ministry, which would it be?
  • If your church was an automobile, what year, make and model would it be?

Apostolic Esprit Questions

  • What one thing bothers you most about the world?
  • If you know you couldn’t fail, what one thing would you pursue for God?
  • What do you tend to pray for the most?
  • Who are your heroes?
  • What gives you energy?
  • What gives you deep satisfaction?
  • What do you want people to say at your funeral?

Living your Story

  • It’s about the process.
  • It’s about consistent re-alignment.
  • If it’s going to really happen, there has to be one person who takes ownership at looking at everything you do and asking, “Does this align with who we say we are?”
  • It’s about telling the story daily.

The Case for Church Communications Part 1: What is a Director of Communications?

by Tim Schraeder on 08/12/2009 in Church Communications, Principles with 34 Comments

I’ve been asked a lot lately about the role of a communications person in a church and actually haven’t found much out there to define what the role of communications is in the church, and to explain why the role of a communications person is important.

So, I decided to take a stab at it and write my thoughts.

This will be the first in a series of posts where I’ll plead my case for why churches need communications people, what they should be doing, and why it’s important.

Most people, when I tell them what I do, have no idea why a church needs a communications person. The most common reply I usually get is, “oh, so does that mean you make the bulletins or something?”

Well, while that is something I do… I honestly do a lot more. The role of church communications is changing… it’s no longer about a church secretary typing announcements into a pre-printed bulletin shell. Church communications now involves a lot of planning, strategy and people who are focused on directing the different communications channels of a church.

So let’s get down to the basics, what is a “Director of Communications” anyway?

Wikipedia defines a director of communications in the corporate world as being:

a position in the private and public sectors. A director of communications is responsible for managing and directing an organization’s internal and external communications. She or he supervises public relations staff, creates communication strategies, and serves as the key spokesperson and media contact for the organization.

The director of communications usually reports directly to the chief executive officer (CEO) of the organization, and advises the board of directors on all communications work.

In an organization, the director of communications directs the Communications Department, sometimes called a Public Affairs Department. The director of communications may be assisted by a deputy director, clerical staff, and communications specialists and public affairs officers.

Or, to make it more “churchy”…

The director of communications is responsible for managing and directing a church’s internal and external communications. They work to create communication strategies and (depending on their role or level of authority) serve as the key spokesperson and media contact for the organization.

The director of communications typically reports to an executive pastor and/or lead pastor and advices the board of Elders/Decaons on all communications work.

The director of communications handles all messaging in the church outside of the Sunday morning messages and works to built teams to support all facets of church communications (print, media, web, etc.).

Communications directors should be champions of the church’s vision, being a key person involved in how it’s messaged and communicated across different mediums.

While most may sit lower on the “chain of command” in the leadership structure, I’m absolutely convinced in order for them to be empowered to do their job effectively, they need to be close to the lead visionaries of the church and close to important conversations where vision is communicated. I really believe it’s key for them to be involved in upper level conversations and be “in the know” about what’s going on.

While their day-to-day routines may vary by church, size of staff, etc their essential functions will be to (in Kem Meyer’s words) oversee anything people read, touch, or click beyond the platform.

  • Read would include any written messages communicated from or about the church… be it in print or electronic form.
  • Touch would include a weekly bulletin, newsletter, brochures, mass mailings/postcards, or anything else that represents the church or has the church logo on it, in print form.
  • Click would relate to any form of web or email based technology, as well as new social networking tools like Twitter, Facebook, etc.

Directors of communications should be able to communicate clearly and succinctly, be passionate about the churches they are serving, and be up with what’s new in the world of technology. More than likely they read blogs, they should know who Seth Godin is, they understand the concept of Twitter and Twitter themselves, they either have a Blackberry or iPhone, and probably have a mild case of ADD.

Their day-to-day functions might look different depending on the size of their church staff… some do graphic design, others to video, sound or lighting. Some are techie geeks, others just have a great eye for design. Some are PC. The cool ones are Mac.

But to sum it up, I’d say that someone who serves as a director of communications is really just a brand advocate.

Every church has a brand and by a brand I don’t mean a logo.

In the book The Brand Gap, Marty Neumeier describes a brand as “a person’s gut feeling about a product, service or company.”

In other words, “a brand is not what YOU say it is It’s what THEY say it is.”

Successful church communicators are attuned to the pulse of their church and the culture outside of the church and strategize ways to built bridges from their community to the church and helps people connect the dots to take their next steps toward Christ once they are there.

They are passionate about the church’s vision and care about how it translates to people inside and outside of the church. They defend it. They design it. They care about it. It keeps them awake at night and is a reason for them to get out of bed in the morning.

And now, more than ever, it’s absolutely critical to have people in a position of leadership who are listening to what your church is saying,  who are attuned to what other people inside and outside of the church are thinking and feeling, and who can create channels of communication to connect the two.

More to come… what do you think so far? Agree? Disagree? Discuss…