New Branding/Identity to go across all media..

We need a consistent identity / branding / look and feel across all media including:
Web Site
Facebook / All Social Media sites
New Church Sign
Printed Materials for Welcoming (Visitor card, brochure, signage, etc)
Door hangers
Stationary
Letterhead
Business Cards
Flyers
Sign shakers / human directionals
Bumper Sitcker / Bumper Magnet
Window Decals
License Plate frame / wraparound (Engraved or printed) (http://www.cafepress.com/+episcopal+license_plate_frames)

Places to market:
Street fairs (Solano Stroll)
Farmers markets

Advertising:
Billboard
Mobile billboard
Transit - Bus Interior, Bus Shelter Poster, BART Poster, Bus Bench
Grocery Cart
Movie theater

Needs to include/represent the African-American identity of this congregation -- possibly African themed textile background that could also look good in black and white as well as/or the "leather border" from around the church that ties back into the historical nature of the building.  Image of the Window/Front is definitely recognizable and would be good to carry forward too.

Church Marketing 101 Book

The Book || The official website of Richard Reising

This "must read" (we're not just saying that--look at what others are saying below) is a handbook to building a contageous church. Whether you are a marketing guru or novice, you will find it inspiring, encouraging, and hopeful. It’s everything you’ve been secretly thinking about church since you’ve been at church, but it’s also the solutions that churches are needing. In this book, Richard breaks down marketing principles and brand strategy by offering fresh insight into what both creates and hinders church growth. Built on a strong biblical foundation, he reveals how small changes can have a big impact on growth. Strategic marketing can set your church apart, creating the momentum to change the life of your church and your community for eternity. Bottom line: it’s worth the read.  

Approach for Steps to Growth

Goal is for the end result to be holistic & inclusive.  Trying to tease out and address the systems that need help and then to fix them by engaging the right people, with the right skills in the right roles to go the right thing.

Using Pentecost Sunday as a Re-Welcoming Day / Second Push

Besides an early target for using Holy Week for potential kick start to welcoming efforts the next major day in the church Calendar we could sync up and do a second outreach using the lessons learned would be Pentecost.

Pentecost (May 23rd) could be our big push to get Welcoming done right and do a real marketing campaign with follow-up survey.  Format could be to focus on that Family Reunion, Re-welcoming / Revitalizing the Church / Raise the Spirits.  Not sure if we ar near any specific anniversary year or not but that too could be a theme/message.

Resource: Church Marketing Lab (beta)

Flickr: Church Marketing Lab (beta)

http://www.flickr.com/groups/cfcc/ --- check out their Discussions Board, besides being a designers' group, they discuss church things.

Button holing the Bishop

Spoke with Bishop Marc in person yesterday to follow up on my email of last week. I need to follow up on that chat with another quick email early next week.

I do think he was shocked about the unemployment rate and length of unemployment of our church members who had been working before the great recession.

Free WiFi for the local community around the church

Community Free WiFi?

One idea that Ed and I have discussed a few times is providing Free Internet to the nearby community.  Hardware investment would be greater than just solving our own problem but we might be able to get a grant for this directly/indirectly.  

One local new potential community partner in this is the Teen Green & Media Center that opened a block down in the former Covenant House location.   Our steeple / building height (would need to be done in a way not to hurt the building or the historic status of it) might be a good place to locate it while they might have access to funding sources or donors.

If there is a reticence to making the church itself a community center physically there very well may be ways to do it virtually and give something back to the immediate area.

It could also be an advertising tool as people could be forced to see a landing page (that could have things like our calendar, etc.) and agree to certain terms before gatewaying out.  Similarly a code could be required that we then used to force them to interact with us like on a weekly basis.

Yes we could limit the access to adult sites.  Yes we could do some bandwidth management that keeps enough bandwidth for our uses in the church i.e. technically run 2 different wifi networks giving priority to the private network first.

Co-Op Shared Resources

Besides an advertising budget and a advertising strategy - what else do we need?

Coordinated outreach and PR for "free media" -- this means setting up a list and managing that list actively.  This means hiring a PR firm/person who can help develop angles/pitches and then has the relationships to make that coverage happen.

Part of it will actually be developing some demographic targets and then doing events, activities, inclusion in a unique way.  The goal is to both ge tthe marketing campaign buzz and media coverage but also to get other human interest pieces and community calendar listings for individual churches.

Looking for Champions

On a process level to actually get something done we need some internal champions.  These would be people on the the Vestry as well as long term key members.  The champions would be the ones if in agreement to help pursue the resources including financial to support the effort and sometimes more importantly to provide air cover and support for the disruption/change that needs to occur.

I'm starting that process to reach out facilitated by another key champion in our case the Rector.

Refining and wording of goals, objectives and solutions -- as well as presentation materials for the rest of the Vestry & Congregation are another critical area for champion support.

Draft Presentation - VERY Early

Tools: Online Learning

Online courses / learning -  (Course Management System (CMS), also known as a Learning Management System (LMS) or a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE))

• ATutor
• Moodle

Screencasting:

• GoToMeeting.com has a multi-user login/demo that can be used to run a slide deck in combination with a call-in phone #.
• Camtasia.com is good for recording slide/audio presentation

Should churches be advertising in or around Farmville?

I've been thinking about what personality types might be the first "easy" target for Churches to reach out to and where can you find them in a way it is easy to track effectiveness.

Factoids that made me think:

• Zynga users in Farmville sent over 500 MILLION valentines in 48 hours
• Over $1.5 Million raised in Zynga games for Haiti relief in 5 days
• Stats at the Casual Games Association site

My personal experience in the Video Game Industry leads me to think Farmville and other Social Networking game applications that are very "gender balanced."  Many of the games are played through portals which have relevant demographic data of the user which makes it easier to target within the target.  Then specifically targeting games that have a caring nature i.e. taking care of a pet, person, animal at first.  The "revenue" of these sites is buying virtual cash/credit as well as special placement advertising and/or special one-time items or virtual cash that "power users" in the game would want.  Since the person is on the web playing the game very easy to get them over to a site inside the social network and "Join" or "Become a Fan" so to group and help you target communication further or take them out of the social site and drop them into a marketing landing page/campaign site to lead capture and give a custom message.  Both of those options should be tested and tracked online response into social network buckets & off-system deeper messaging.

For teen and twenety-something men they may or may not be tending their sheep but rather playing Madden or blowing stuff up -- not really sure in-game advertising would only raise awareness at best vs. total waste.  More traditional web advertising and a specific web campaign to reach them on sites they read would likely be more effective to get them to a lead capture situation.

There may be a lot of "addiction" to social media like Facebook and specifically to the games.  Those people are trying to reach out and feel connected but are stuck in a virtual outlet vs. real world.  I'm not slamming games when I say addiction -- most people in the US are addicted to TV and other Media or some other less-personally social outlet.  We are no longer a nation of joiners its the Bowling Alone problem - more people are bowling just not in leagues or groups.

What is interesting is there is a TON of good research out there Casual Games / Social Games as they are the current "hot" marketing tool -- which should help inform any efforts.

Goals? Rough, rough ideas...

What are the goals of this project?

• "Lift the Spirit" of the current congregation
• Increase Fellowship and sense of community
• Retain, Renew and Re-engage membership and lapsed members
• Encourage, Empower and Engage new members/attendees
• Grow membership
• Grow stewardship/tithing
• Impact on the community (more through the Outreach side)
• Develop a solution - software, people, process, and best practices that can be replicated/shared

Importance of "Personalities" in being Welcoming

One thing I have noticed about groups especially groups that are new or want to grow - is that it takes a real personality type to actively reach out and connect with new people.  That connection isn't a simple handshake or a smile or a "Hello."  That person does not need to be in a designated leadership role but does need to "represent" the heart of the group and have publicly displayed respect from the authority figure.

From what I can tell it is a mix of qualities and its an overall impression that one gives almost instantly.  There are some pretty well know roles that play out in group dynamics but a useful one is the "mother hen" that can guide people into the right spots.  Many churches tend to rely on not only the Pastor/Rector but also his/her spouse to fill that role.  It puts a lot of pressure at the top.

There has been some turmoil in our midst at St. A.'s from the loss of one of the welcoming people who was very gifted at raising people's spirits.  While I don't want to join any side -- it is important to acknowledge that role is empty and we as a congregation need to find ways to fill it.

Unfortunately, without someone filling this role or having these qualities -- it is one of the key reasons for failures of groups.  It seems like a lot of what a Kindergarten teacher would be doing/saying but in this case to everyone not just 5 & 6 year olds.

So in my own mind, I'm trying to nail down some of the qualities - but what I find equally interesting is that these need to be done from a point of "pleasure" vs. tasked:

• Extroverted / Outgoing
• Kind
• Good listener
• Good at connecting like people
• Put and tend people on paths
• Authentic / Sincere
• Willingness to share
• Raising spirit / Enliven 
• Good memory of names and faces
• Balance Emotion and Intellect
• Motivational
• Trustworthy
• Skilled
• Inclusive
• Fair
• Navigate around walls

wel·come  (wlkm)

adj.

1. Received with pleasure and hospitality into one's company or home: a welcome guest.

2. Giving pleasure or satisfaction; agreeable or gratifying: a welcome respite from hard work.

3. Cordially or willingly permitted or invited: You are welcome to join us.

4. Used in the expression you're welcome to acknowledge an expression of gratitude.

n.

1. A cordial greeting or hospitable reception given to an arriving person.

2. A reception upon arrival: gave the stranger an unfriendly welcome.

3. The state of being welcome: Don't overstay your welcome.

tr.v. wel·comed, wel·com·ing, wel·comes

1. To greet, receive, or entertain (another or others) cordially or hospitably.

2. To receive or accept gladly: would welcome a little privacy.