Branding in the Church
Do We Know Who We Are?
and if we don’t,
How Can We Expect Anyone Else to Relate to Religion?
Today, I’d like to link to a discussion published on the Grow Blog.
Two marketing experts and a rabbi discuss the meaning of brand in today’s society.
The foundational argument is that brand matters to people who want to belong. We proudly walk the streets wearing grungy t-shirts that advertise the causes—including commercial causes—we want people to know matter to us. In our minds we aren’t advertising the company (although we are). We are broadcasting that we somehow relate to this service or product, and we want people to know it.
The companies want people to know it, too!
Branding, the discussion suggests, addresses a fundamental need to belong to something bigger than ourselves.
That used to happen in church. Religion used to define a big part of our lives.
Not so much anymore. We worship at the altar of technology, beauty, comfort and fun and choose an occasional charity at our convenience. The Church gets this nod of convenience at Christmas and Easter.
How does this thinking relate to the community of believers? What are we going to do about it?