There are a lot of distractions out there vying for people’s attention, so places of worship that want to stand out above the noise must establish a way for their values and unique approach to resonate. Churches can accomplish this goal through branding. Branding helps distinguish your organization from others, and it helps you compete with the types of imagery and positioning that prevent people from remembering how important spirituality is to their lives.
To help you establish a brand for your church, here are four tips to keep in mind:
Consider Your Audience First
Many churches, organizations and even businesses get the branding process backwards. They try to imitate things they have seen to come up with an approach that hits “all the right notes.” Only when they start to think about how the people they tend to serve will react do they backpedal and try to perform “damage control” by tweaking the logo to actually resonate with its intended audience.
If your organization does their research first and considers what their target audience likes seeing, then the process can be a lot more straightforward. Remember the age of your intended audience, their familial status and even their socioeconomic background before beginning to craft your brand, and all of the elements should fall into place with much less effort down the road.
Avoid Making Your Building or Your Pastor the Main Focus
A church is not a building, nor is it a single man or woman. Churches must come to grips with this fact and realign their perspective towards the things that matter. Namely, the congregation and the works they do. Keep this maxim at the front of your mind to avoid missteps that could be seen as vain or excessive. Also try to craft a “story” that sets your church apart from others and explains the values you hold dearest.
Start with a Color Scheme for Church Branding
The simplest way to begin your actual branding process is to start with colors. Find two to three colors that coordinate well with one another while evoking the type of emotional response with which you wish to connect to people. Working on colors with proper balance and that set the right “tone” — both figuratively and literally — can help guide your later decisions.
A logo can follow, along with a typeface, both of which will be formed by the positioning your color scheme and brand-story set. From there, you can work on other sorts of materials like tag lines and promotional outreach according to the theme and tone of your other materials.
Stay Consistent
Once you have gone through the trouble of making your brand, stick with it. Do not stray away from it, even with casual one-day event fliers you make. Every single piece of information you use to communicate with your congregation should have your name on it and your message either metaphorically or literally printed on the side.
Tithing envelopes are particularly important for this situation, especially since they can supply a major source of income for your ministry. Ensure that your tithing envelopes stand out and proudly declare your church’s branding through their printed color scheme and logo.
Letter Jacket can make this process easy with our affordable, custom-printed tithing envelopes that can be ordered in bulk. Visit our church envelope section to begin customizing your own set of direct mail and tithing envelopes with your church’s unique brand.
