This post is a video recap of the short blog series on church branding. In this series we’ve looked at why you should care about your church’s brand? This coaching session was designed specifically for the team at Lawton First Assembly and it covers the basic philosophy behind church branding. You can review the entire series below.

Church Branding Series

1. Who Cares About Your Church’s Brand?

2. Branding vs. Marketing

3. Getting Started with Church Branding

4. Shaping Perceptions About Your Church

5. Everything Communicates

6. Living Logos

7. Brand Alignment Problems

8. Initial Brand Systems

9. Church Branding Video Presentation

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After months of behind-the-scenes designing, coding, tweaking, and heart-stopping technical glitches CreativeChurch.com is finally live.

As you may know I started this blog (RyanWakefield.com) in 2011 as a way to capture many of the ideas I was learning from the churches I was working with across the nation, and that’s been an amazing part of my job at AG Financial Solutions. Now I can relate to the saying that “it’s not always fun to write, but it is always fun to have written.”

Now for the update. Recently, I took an opportunity to help with the launch of Creative Church. I believe this is going to be another tremendous way to be a part of resourcing and inspiring local churches across the country. Unfortunately that also means that I will be pausing my personal blogging and I will be using that time to focus on making Creative Church a friend to creatives. I hope you’ll join with me in that journey.

At Creative Church we want boundaries to be pushed. We want comfort zones to be stretched. Because growth happens at the edges, and revolutions are not founded on the status quo. Check out our first blog series is called “Creative Proverbs” and features words of wisdom from church creative leaders from across the nation. We asked them, “What if you had five minutes to share one proverb with church creatives? What would you say?”

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Your church doesn’t have to be on Pinterest. But your church does need to consider a communications strategy that includes the fastest growing website in history.

“In February (2012) Pinterest drove more traffic to websites than Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, and YouTube combined.” – Fortune

My goal in this coaching video is to help you evaluate and improve your current strategy.  The video is segmented into three parts:

Part 1 – For leaders, creatives and pastors who probably will never use Pinterest
Part 2 – For churches who are ready to make their website Pin friendly
Part 3 – For churches who are looking for ideas to engage the Pinterest community

What ideas or recommendations do you have for churches considering Pinterest? Who are your favorite church creatives to follow on Pinterest?

Church Creatives on Pinterest Worth Checking Out

• http://pinterest.com/jeremycowart
• http://pinterest.com/joshboston
• http://pinterest.com/storychicago
• http://pinterest.com/adevizia
• http://pinterest.com/jcirclesh
• http://pinterest.com/davidmessner
• http://pinterest.com/rwakie
• http://pinterest.com/creativechurch

Links From the Video

• http://pinterest.com/source/yoursitehere
• http://pinterest.com/about/goodies
• http://www.pinreach.com
• http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2012/03/22/pinterest-silbermann-photo-sharing

Church Pinterest Ideas from the Video

• Baptisms and Testimonies
• Recommended Reading
• Favorite Sermons
• Family Ideas
• Date Night Ideas
• Parenting Tips
• Financial Freedom Insights
• Life at Church
• Messages We Love
• Kids Ministry
• Small Group Ideas

Example Churches on Pinterest

• http://pinterest.com/marshill
• http://pinterest.com/calvaryftl
• http://pinterest.com/northviewchurch

Ryan on Google+

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Have you ever spent a hot summer watering a lawn, dragging around that sprinkler?  You’re basically responding to brown patches of dieing grass and it’s exhausting. After failing at it for a couple years I decided to have a sprinkler system installed.  Now I manage the water at a control unit, but the rest is pretty much automated.  That’s the power of a system.  The same is true with your brand.  If you want to quit reacting to problems, you’ll need to install some systems.

Here’s how the transition from problem response to systems thinking normally plays out:  The church is beginning to set up repeatable processes.  Furthermore, you’re getting better at evaluating and improving.  You’ve even set some goals and began to educate across the leadership team.  As a result you’re seeing some healthy coordination among the staff and ministry teams.  Of course there’s still plenty of issues, but you’re beginning to feel the momentum of the brand.  It’s starting to carry your church’s message farther into the community than before.  So now what?  Well, it’s time to press on.  Here’s a few things to keep in mind:

• Pray that God would give you brand insights and to help your church do everything to honor Him.
• Don’t get comfortable.  Keep the organization postured for additional change.  You never arrive.
• Start to set expectations about the consistency of the brand throughout the organization.

Now you’re also at the stage to go deeper with your tools and systems.  At this point consider utilizing surveys and focus groups to get a better picture of what your customer is hearing versus what you are trying to communicate with the brand. You’ll also want to develop a style guide to help officially begin guiding your brand.  Lastly, you’ll want to keep educating the different levels of leadership about the brand.  This means that key volunteers will begin to get it.

One thing you’ll being to notice is that ownership of the brand (your church’s story) will be your most powerful marketing tool.  Now your living logos will be excited and on message. This synergy can help you make an impact in your community.  Ultimately you’ll start developing credibility – you’re becoming trusted brand.

This takes a lot of time and energy to get to this point. And you can’t stay here or advance until you get good systems in place to support the brand.

What are some other systems your church has developed to support your brand?

The post Initial Brand Systems appeared first on Ryan Wakefield's Blog.

This is post #7 in a short series on church branding.  In this post we’ll discuss the beginning stage of brand alignment – reacting to problems.

Early on many churches will spend a lot of branding energy simply reacting to problems. In this initial stage you’re putting out fires.  You’ll find yourself trying to reign in the volunteer who just set up another twitter account for the church.  You’ll constantly be dealing with ministries creating their own logos or websites. And you’ll have a never ending flow of creative requests all demanding your attention.

In this stage you’ll experience a lot of activity rather than processes. You’re busy due to the need to constantly be responding to problems.  You’ll also find that your creative or media quality will fluctuate all over the place.  Initially there could be a lot of excitement because everything is launching.  But be careful! A brand that is out of alignment will cause issues down the road.  And if you stay in response mode you’ll burn people out and you’ll put a lid on the brand and the organization.

So what can you do to start bringing alignment to the brand?

• Harness the excitement of activity into momentum for processes and systems. (Address the problem but if it is a systematic issue then look for a long-term process solution. Have a way to start tracking the problems.)
• Use this time to really find out who you are and maybe more importantly who you are not. (Start making lists and keeping examples of the good, bad, and the ugly.)
• Set some clear goals and expectations for your church brand. (Educate people on those goals. Realize people want to do the right thing but we’re still figuring out what that is.)
• Implement continual cycles of improvement throughout your organization. (Take small steps toward alignment each time you have an event, service, ministry outreach, etc.)

Every church will experience seasons where the brand gets out of alignment.  These are windows of opportunity.  If you church lives here you’ll vastly diminish your synergy.  If you’re realizing parts of your church brand are competing then it’s a great time for an alignment.

What are some ways you can tell if your brand is out of alignment?

In the next post we’ll look at how a church can move towards a systematic approach to branding.

The post Brand Alignment Problems appeared first on Ryan Wakefield's Blog.

So we’re 6 posts into a series on church branding and I don’t think I’ve mentioned the word logo yet.  This has been intentional because too many church leaders assume re-branding a church means updating the logo.  If you’ve made it to post 6 then you’re probably not in that camp.

Your church logo is important, but post 6 is about something more important: your people.  I’d like for every church leader to start thinking about their core group as their “living logos.” Above all else your people will carry your brand. Your people will live out your values or something completely different.

Anytime someone encounters your brand it’s considered a moment of truth.  This is the split second where the customer is determining if their perception of you lines up with their experience. In these moments customers are normally either surprised or disappointed.

As a church leader we need to make sure the living logos understand how vital these moments of truth are.  Imagine the difference to a guest between being wowed by love versus being let down by broken promises.  Ultimately, as followers of Jesus, The Logos, we are all called to be His representation.  So the stakes are high.

When it comes to branding, all moments are not created equal.  So look for those moments of truth to help shape your brand in people’s minds.  Think about it, that’s why resorts have gorgeous entrances, lobbies, and welcome processes.  They are investing in that moment of truth.

As a church, what are your most important moments of truth?  Do people realize they a living logos? Do they know how to best represent your core values?

In the next post we’ll see if your church’s brand is out of alignment.

The post Living Logos appeared first on Ryan Wakefield's Blog.

This is post #5 in a short series on church branding.

You church desperately needs something. Your church needs fresh customers who can try your product and tell you what they experience.  You’ll quickly be surprised to find out how everything about your church or brand is communicating something to your customer.

Stop and think:

What does your landscaping communicate?
What do your never-ending announcements communicate?
What does your “under construction” website communicate?
What are your greeters or lack of greeters communicating?
What does that overflowing trash can next to the nursery communicate?

The list can go on and on, but the bottom line is that everything is saying something.  You and your team must start paying attention to what your customer is hearing and then do something about it.

The same principle applies to your brand and its components:

What does your font selection communicate?
What feeling does your color scheme give?
What are the priorities guests pick up through your pictures (or lack of)?

Many churches fail to develop a strategy behind their details. Take for example how this plays out in church.  Everything about your service is creative but the offering time is dull. People walk into a creative environment but the altar room is bland and lifeless. You advertise that all are welcome but visitors are confused as soon as they get to your building because there’s no signage.

The examples could go on and on.  So what can your team do? Start by getting fresh unbiased opinions.  Specifically look for instances where your details are contradicting your core values.  You strengthen your brand when you remove these inconsistencies.

What are some examples you’ve seen where a church is saying one thing but communicating something totally different?

In post #6 we’ll look at possibly the most important aspect of your brand – your logos.

The post Everything Communicates appeared first on Ryan Wakefield's Blog.

This is post #4 in a short series on church branding. In this post we’ll review why it’s important to influence people’s perceptions about your church.

What do people think of when they think of your church’s brand? Why and what has shaped that? Something is influencing people’s perceptions of your organization.  You have a brand and it’s either working for you or against you. Now it’s time to get more intentional about being part of the perception equation.

Perception determines reality.  If people perceive your church as out of touch that has shaped their reality.  Their perception may prevent them from ever attending your church or listening to your message.  Good branding will help remove those hurdles.

Another benefit to a strong brand is that it strategically positions your organization in people’s mind. When people think “I’m hungry…” McDonalds hopes the golden arches pops in their head.  You too want to determine areas you’d like to be top of mind and guide your brand that way. What are the top few questions your potential customers are asking that you want to be the answer?

My life is a mess, what should I do?

My kids need positive influences, where can I turn?

Is there a church that really loves and accepts people?

I wonder if my life matters?

Beginning with these types of scenarios in mind will help you shape your brand.  It will also help you make better decisions along the way.  You can now ask, “How does this ___________ (website, design, radio spot, video, post, picture, landscaping, building, layout, etc.) help position our brand as an answer when people are asking our questions?” Remember, branding is about the compelling story of your church.  How people view your story will determine if they will listen to the rest of your message!

So, what is shaping people’s perceptions about your church?

In post #5 we’ll look at how the small details of your church may be undercutting your church’s brand.

The post Shaping Perceptions About Your Church appeared first on Ryan Wakefield's Blog.

This is post #3 in a short series on church branding. In this post we’ll look at how to get started.

Now that we’ve set the framework of branding and marketing within the church context I want to help you get started.  First in order to build a great church brand you want to start with building a great product.  It’s a mistake to try to brand a lie. You’ll repel people if you misrepresent your church to lure them into coming. Don’t start your relationship on misinformation. I’m not saying you need to be perfect before you get started, just get moving in the right direction. The bottom line: don’t promote if you don’t have a worthwhile product.

Here’s how you can get started improving your brand…

• Step 1: Honestly evaluate your church and take the necessary steps to become the church you want to be.
• Step 2: Clarify what you want to be known for.
• Step 3: Work with a creative team to flesh out who you are into your brand components. (This step alone could be an entire blog series. We’ll save that for a later date.)

When you’re evaluating your brand you want your team to be asking two questions:

“What makes our church remarkable?” and “What do we want people to remark when they talk about our church?”

Those questions will propel you as you strengthen your brand.  (You’ll want to ask the opposite questions as well.)  Remember, the most powerful church marketing tool is word of mouth. So be clear on why and how you are going to become “remarkable.”  A strong brand will help shape what people say about you and how they perceive you.  In the end I pray that points people to Jesus and a relationship with Him.

In the post #4 we’ll cover how important it is your branding influence people’s perception about your church.

The post Getting Started with Church Branding appeared first on Ryan Wakefield's Blog.

This is post #2 in a short series on church branding. In this post I want to answer the question “Is branding the same thing as marketing?”

In the church world these terms can get thrown around a lot, both with negative connotations or as junk drawer terms for anything related to promotions.  If you want to be effective at both it’s important that we’re clear on what they both encompass.

First, let’s look at their definitions side by side:

Branding: Creating a unique story in a customers’ mind aimed at creating a presence in a marketplace.

Marketing: The process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy organizational objectives.

In simpler terms think of your brand as your image or your story and think of marketing as how you are going to share that story with others.  Marketing is not about misrepresentation, rather it’s about effectively communicating who you are to people where they are.  Really, the incarnation of Jesus is the greatest marketing in the history of the world.  It’s God effectively communicating who He is to people where they are.

The bottom line: branding is a part of marketing.  For many churches branding is where you should start. Get your story clear and consistent, and then you can begin sharing it more effectively.

To the creatives out there, what are you seeing in the church world? Does branding and marketing still get viewed as simply secular tactics? Do leaders recognize the differences? Does it matter?

In the next post we’ll look at how to get started improving your church’s brand.

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