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2504 Broadway
New York, NY 10025
David C. Bocock, Assistant Pastor at Broadway United Church of Christ, gives us an insider's look at the planning, implementation and outcomes surrounding this church's efforts to maximize response to the God Is Still Speaking advertising campaign in December 2004.
Beginning in November 2004, we began planning for an advertising blitz the first week of December and running through January. We wanted to take advantage of the new UCC nationwide advertising campaign. Unfortunately, we hadn't budgeted appropriately to do any significant advertising, so we were at a loss as to exactly how to proceed. In a Board of Stewards meeting, we discussed the imperative of this unique opportunity of joining with the national campaign. We decided that even if our advertising ran over budget, this opportunity was worth it.
We decided the best way to take advantage of the national campaign was to advertise in local newspapers and purchase the UCC banner to hang in front of our church. We also made a few changes on our website to reflect the distinctive way the United Church of Christ is identified in the advertisements.
We also adopted the UCC phrase, "No matter who you are or where you are on life's journey, you're welcome here." We used this phrase in our church service as we welcomed visitors, on our church signboard that advertises our service times, and on our church website, www.bwayucc.org.
Making the changes on our website, church signboard and purchasing the UCC banner were simple and required little effort. However, given the reality that the cost of advertising in newspapers would be very expensive, we contacted all the local newspapers, did a cost analysis, and found which newspapers would advertise our fellowship in the quickest way to the largest audience. With this information, we met again to decide on the top three.
Upon completion of our cost analysis, we decided on three papers. Two of the newspapers we chose are free to the public: New York Metro and AM New York. The last newspaper we selected was the NY Times. We decided to advertise once a week in all three newspapers for eight weeks for a total cost of nearly $800 a week. (Most of this was the cost of the NY Times). As January 31, 2005, our advertising run is completed. We will be meeting soon to discuss the benefits of our advertising and to determine how we can afford to advertise again and when we will do it.
The benefits of our advertising far exceeded our expectations. We have been averaging four to six visitors a week and have received at least two or three calls a day inquiring about our ministries and the services we offer (We recognize it's tough to determine if those calls are the result of our advertisements).
Of the visitors we've asked, more than half said that they first saw the UCC commercial, then found our newspaper ad, and after visiting our church website (that was identified in the ad) they decided to visit. A couple of the visitors saw our UCC banner displayed on the front of the church that said, "Our faith is 2000 years old, our thinking is not," and decided to drop in for a visit. A young couple said they went to the Stillspeaking website, did a church search and found that our church was near their home. (We registered with the Stillspeaking website to have our church and website listed there). A few heard about us from their friends.
Given all the new visitors, we are excited to see our pews fuller. The new faces have added a friendliness and sense of community for many of our long-standing members. We are excited to see that many of the visitors have visited again and again and remain excited about what our church offers and are interested enough to tell their friends about us. A few of our visitors have already requested their names be added to our church newsletter that we mail each month.
All in all, we are very excited that we joined in on the national campaign. We have definitely seen an increase in participation, and our members are excited about the potential these new members may offer us. With a little planning and some risk-taking initiative, we have benefited and been blessed by what the national campaign has done for us.
I encourage every church to take advantage of the national advertising campaign. Because an effort from the national level may not happen again for a long time, local churches can benefit from those who are curious about our inclusivity and ecumenical spirituality. Besides, the advertising from the God is Still Speaking campaign is almost free advertising for the local church- the national campaign has done the hard part by coming up with such an innovative and distinctive marketing brand identity. All we have to do to increase the impact from the national level is let church seekers know where they can find us.
You may discover, as we have, that we're as blessed by the presence of our newcomers.
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