What is a brand?
When you search the word brand, the first definition that comes up from Oxford Dictionary is “a type of product manufactured by a particular company under a particular name.” We tend to associate this term with products for sale or logos that represent large companies.
Does a faith-based organization have a brand?
If you’re part of a faith-based organization, you may be thinking, what do words like product and company have to do with my work? Yes, these are words from business and marketing. But, as a person within a religious system or structure, you are in the “business” of ministry. Whatever that particular focus may be, your organization already has a brand. This is part of your reality.
What is brand identity?
We live and work in a context and world that rely on communication of all kinds. Part of how your organization communicates with both present and potential participants is through words and images that make up your brand identity.
Ideally, brand identity is how people come to know who you are and what you represent. Being intentional about your brand strategy is the first step toward refining your brand identity.
Do your communications have a consistent look and feel to them, or do they seem haphazard and random? Most importantly, does the look and feel align with how you want to be perceived by your current audience and by people outside your organization?
Why do faith organizations shy away from thinking about brand management?
Brand management is your plan for building, refining, and maintaining your brand identity. Some working in mission-driven contexts resist determining a brand strategy for a variety of reasons. Maybe you don’t have the time, personnel, or other resources to dedicate to being intentional about your brand. Another reason faith-based organizations may avoid doing this work is because it feels too much like for-profit marketing.
Your brand identity is part of how people determine if your mission aligns with their values. Organizations that have a brand strategy are clear about their mission AND how they plan to communicate it. The fact is that most (if not all) major denominations have built an intentional brand strategy and have made plans about how they manage their brands that include published brand guides. A few are linked below.
The Episcopal Church | Visual Identity Guide
The United Methodist Church | Brand Manual
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America | Style Guide
Presbyterian Church in America | Logo Standards Guide
Practical advice for building a brand identity
If you’re ready to start being intentional about your brand, here are a few tips. We’ll talk in more detail about each of these in an upcoming Learning Live Q&A session next Tuesday, December 13 at 12:00 noon (ET) on our Learning Hub. You can register here.
- Define your audience(s).
- Determine your visual brand strategy.
- Audit your current communications.
- Document your brand management plan.
In the meantime, if you have questions or thoughts about building your brand identity, post them on our community message board, the Hub Commons. We’d love to hear from you!
Sarah Lawing is Digital Marketing Lead at Learning Forte. In addition to managing marketing efforts, she provides support in the areas of content creation, graphic design, and media production. Sarah served in congregational ministry for over 15 years. She enjoys working for an organization that provides support to leaders in faith-based contexts.
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