Elements of a Successful Brand Strategy

A Checklist for Planning Your Brand

1. Who are you called to serve?

Every brand planning exercise should start with this question. It’s not enough to say “the people of XYZ community.” Every community is different and every church within that community has a unique contribution it can make. Understanding whose spiritual needs we are trying to serve should drive all other aspects of the plan.

The first step is to understand the make-up of your congregation and that of your community. How closely are they aligned? If they are not aligned, is that intentional, or does your church need to adjust?

It is also important to consider your church’s culture and how it fits with the particular audience you are seeking to reach outside the church. For example, a pastor who preaches in a beach shirt and sandals will be effective at reaching people in Florida who are more comfortable in a casual environment.

If our purpose is to reach the lost, we need to provide them a place they’d feel welcome. So what groups of people would feel most at home in your congregation? We don’t want to ask people to change who they are in order to go to church.

Knowing your target audience means understanding who they are, how they think, and what their needs are. You will also benefit from knowing their perceptions — both positive and negative — of your church so that you can consider what can be done to leverage or change these perceptions. Finally, try to understand what cultural or demographic changes are underway in your community that will impact whether your church is more or less likely to attract new people over time.

There are a number of ways to answer these questions. Getting help with this from a qualified strategist is recommended if your church has the resources. Generally, the starting point is qualitative research — usually focus groups or facilitated discussions — with members of the church body and the community. It may also be important to collect data through quantitative surveys. Analyzing results of a well-constructed congregational survey as well as census data from your community can provide important insights.

With a clear understanding of your target audience you are ready to proceed to step 2…

2. What is special about your church?

Once you’ve clarified who you are aiming to serve, you then need to define what attributes are unique to your church.
Imagine a new family moves into your neighborhood. Not just any family, but one that fits your target audience. What would be the impression they would most likely have of your church? Would it be accurate? Would it be compelling?

Defining your church’s uniqueness comes out of a discovery process comprised of three building blocks.

1. Mission. Seeking God’s unique purpose for your church in your community is the starting point. While we as churches are all pursuing the same mission at a high level, the plan God has for your particular church is unique. Has your church leadership reviewed the vision and mission statement recently in light of the needs of your community and how you are uniquely called to meet them?

2. Associations. What are the things your church is particularly known for, both by the loyal core and people who have never set foot inside the church? Associations could be programs, events, images, or attitudes that are connected with the church. The most valuable associations to understand are those that translate into benefits for your target audience. What would compel them to visit your church (or avoid it)? Conducting focus groups with both members and prospects is a great way to get at these questions.

3. Your brand persona. What are the cultural or personality characteristics that shape your church’s identity? Imagine if your church were a person. What would be the adjectives you’d use to describe him or her? Developing this carefully honed list is particularly valuable for the creative team that will visually interpret your brand, your logo, Web site, and other communications materials.

Based on a composite of these three building blocks, your church will have a good depiction of its brand uniqueness. Next, we turn to the “how” step in planning your brand …

3. How do you reach your audience?

From the first two stages, you know who you are aiming to serve and what is special about your church. The “how” stage focuses on the execution of your brand.

How well you deliver here will have a direct impact on the number of new people attracted to your church and the positive associations formed in the minds of all audiences. Start by doing a mental audit of your current brand execution against this checklist:

Ensure consistency. Are all the elements of your brand image working together? Your church name, logo, icons, tagline, and overall look-and-feel should reflect your image, and be internally consistent. It is important to remember that everything that touches your audience contributes something; the key is to make sure it positively reinforces the message you want to send. Consistency across all “touch points”… the Yellow Pages ad, signage at the front of the church, bulletin, Web site, etc., creates synergy in communicating your overall image.

Demand excellence. When was the last time you updated your church’s communication materials? Do they convey your desired image with excellence? It is important that your branding is current, professional, and an accurate reflection of your church’s culture. People in your community will make judgments based on the image your church conveys. Since they are exposed to thousands of well-designed images over the course of a day, people today have a finely tuned sense of quality. Not just corporations are projecting a quality image. Most well-run charitable organizations, and even many school systems and municipalities are professionally branded. People instinctively want to align themselves with quality institutions.

Use many channels. Are you currently leveraging the available channels to reach and impact your audience favorably? Media experts will tell you that the greatest impact is a focused messaged delivered through a variety of media. Key vehicles to consider are church signage, building appearance, Web site, invitation cards, direct mail, letters, e-mail, bulletins, brochures, and advertising. But there are many creative ways to make an impact, often at little cost. It may be worth assembling a team to help generate some new ideas.

Your Web site is one of your most strategic communications tools. It is a window into the heart of your church for those wanting to learn more, and an efficient way to connect communities of people within your church. Seekers usually “check you out” by visiting your Web site before making a decision whether or not to attend. Does your site clearly address seekers’ top three questions: 1) Is this a place I’d fit in? (culture, style, theology, etc.); 2) When are services held?; (3) How can I get connected?

Create news. Use special events, sermon series, and major spiritual holidays as occasions to make news in your community. The return on dollars and effort invested in outreach will be significantly higher when there is “news” and a call to action. Some churches decide to “re-brand” their church all at once. If it is executed well, the introduction of a new look across all the touch points creates a powerful impression of excitement and change for the better.
All of this is not just “marketing talk.” Following these steps to develop your brand will help equip your church to bring the gospel to more people and connect them in community with each other, all for the glory of Christ.