How to increase membership at each local United Church of Christ by building upon the established eq

1
How to increase membership at each local United
Church of Christ by building upon the established
equity of God is Still Speaking
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Current Situation

• Each UCC congregation in the greater Toledo area
  has its own identity and therefore, its own set
  of unique challenges.
• Within this group, we have a cross-section of
  demographics from upper income white-collar to
  those on the very fringe of society with
  everything else in between.
• At least three congregations have interim
  ministers, bad timing for anything new and
  different.
• Each congregation is participating in the God is
  Still Speaking Initiativehowever, the level of
  acceptance and implementation is quite varied.

What we do agree upon. United Church of Christ
must renew its distinctive voice as a people of
welcome, justice and passion for the Gospel
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Current Situation

• The current national advertising initiative
  builds on the denomination's "God is Still
  Speaking" slogan one that has been used and
  tested widely since 2001.
• The current television ads are being used to
  emphasize the denomination's historical
  commitment to inclusively and hospitality,
  however there is no local tie-in. No local
  connection. No answer to the question Where
  do I go to get that?
• Besides reaching out to potential members,
  nationally UCC hopes to promote increased
  enthusiasm and commitment among members as the
  United Church looks toward its 50th anniversary
  in 2007. Is this a local goal as well?
• "The Still Speaking Initiative will help us fall
  in love again with the United Church of Christ,
  be generous in financial support, and turn our
  attention toward a world that needs to experience
  the presence, embrace and encouragement of
  Jesus. (Thomas)

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2005 local advertising objectives

• Combine your individual vision and financial
  resources into one comprehensive strategy. In so
  doing, you will
• Spread the gospel
• Increase growth
• Build the local UCC (God is Still Speaking)
  brand.
• However, in order to do this we must accomplish
  it at a reasonable cost

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In order to increase membership at each local
United Church of Christ, by building upon the
established equity of God is Still
Speaking Three Things are required 1. Reach
the Right People 2. A Message That
Motivates 3. High, High Frequency And The
Plan Must Be Affordable!
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Concentration is the KEY to ALL Economic
Success Peter Drucker
Focus And Dominate Dave Burke, 2000
Fewer Glasses Jim Doyle, 1995
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The Power of TV
Source TVB Media Comparisons Study, 2003 (all
data is based on Adults 18)
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The Power of WTOL

• WTOL 11 dominates in the Toledo Market reaching
  more viewers more times than any other station in
  the marketplace delivering your message to
  thousands of people in the Toledo Market.
• WTOL 11 has the 1 rated newscast among A18 in
  all of the local newscasts. This association will
  give your messages greater impact with Toledo
  viewers.
• As a CBS affiliate, WTOL 11 offers some of the
  highest rated Prime Programs such as Everybody
  Loves Raymond, Survivor, CSI.
• WTOL-TVs lineup is filled with 1 syndicated
  programming such as Oprah, Dr. Phil, Wheel
  of Fortune and Jeopardy.
• WTOL 11 is the Toledo Market News Leader
• Source Feb04 NSI

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Cable information
One-third of the homes in the Toledo market do
not subscribe to any cable service. Cable has
only 71 of the homes in Lucas County three out
of ten homes do not see any commercials on the
cable channels! Buckeye CableSystem reaches 36
of the entire DMA, missing two-thirds of the
homes. Satellite services account for 17 of
television delivery. only broadcast television
delivers 100 of the homes!
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The Power of WTOL.com

• 66 are Age 35
• 83 are Age 25-54
• 75 are homeowners
• 83 research a product online prior to purchase
• 86 search for retail information online
• 74 have purchased a product over the Internet
• 76 visit from their workplace
• 78 say WTOL.com is their primary local news
  weather website

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Coverage Map
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Campaign Strategy

• Position All are welcomeand heres how to
  find us in your neighborhood.
• Strategy Create awareness and desire to attend
  a neighborhood UCC Church by continuous use of
  the national ads, tagged with local information.
  Drive those seeking more information to WTOL.com.
  

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Action Plan Whats Next
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16x 30 commercials on WTOL per month50 of
placements guaranteed in Peak TimeFree
Production of three commercialsShare in unsold
airtime and upgrades WTOL.com Tile Ad2,500
per month (If each of the local congregations
share in the cost, it would breakdown to 208.33
per month.)
Summary

• Commercial Placement
• Peak Times
• 4x - Mornings (M-F/530a-9a)
• 4x - Evenings (M-Su/5p-1135p)
• Non-Peak Times
• 4x - Daytime (M-F/9a-5p)
• 4x - Late Night (M-Su/1135p-135a)

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Mainstream Churches take a Leap of Faith into TV
AdvertisingSource Christian Science Monitor

• There's a new kind of preaching on television.
  But this time the preachers are seeking their own
  salvation. Faced with little growth, or in some
  cases decades of declining membership, America's
  mainline denominations are set to pour hope and
  millions of dollars into TV advertising. A
  technique once regarded as distasteful
  self-promotion has become an accepted necessity
  to save aging buildings, costly pension plans,
  and the increasingly rare work of missionaries.
• Two weeks ago, first-time commercials for the
  United Church of Christ (UCC) began airing in six
  areas from Sarasota, Fla., to Oklahoma City in a
  bid to boost name recognition and worship
  attendance before Easter. Monday, the Unitarian
  Universalist Association began a national
  campaign to buy airtime for their "Uncommon
  Denomination" ads, first tested in Kansas City
  last year. This summer, the United Methodist
  Church will hear proposals for expanding what has
  been a four-year, 18 million campaign to
  replenish dwindling congregations.
• For church marketers, TV ads have been the
  missing link between congregations with much to
  offer and individuals in search of a place where
  they feel welcome.
• "It may well be that the church we created in
  1957 is just right for today's people, but they
  don't know we exist," said Ron Buford,
  coordinator of the UCC's campaign. "The medium
  for today is TV. You don't exist if you're not on
  TV."
• Yet for scholars of church trends, the dawn of
  mass marketing suggests that quest for church
  unity has given way to an ethic of survival of
  the fittest.
• "Ecumenism, which was the heartthrob of the
  mainlines, is just not where the action is
  anymore," said Darrell Whiteman, dean of the E.
  Stanley Jones School of World Mission and
  Evangelism at Asbury Theological Seminary in
  Wilmore, Ky. "What you have here is catch up from
  the mainline churches saying, 'If we don't do
  something, we're not going to be here.'"

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Mainstream Churches take a Leap of Faith into TV
AdvertisingSource Christian Science Monitor

• Article continued
• The numbers paint a picture of 40 years wandering
  in the wilderness of empty pews. Membership in
  the UCC, for instance, has dropped every year
  since 1965, from 2.1 million then to 1.3 million
  today. Methodists, known for heartfelt
  discipleship and care for the needy, can barely
  field a team of missionaries, whose ranks have
  thinned from 2,000 before 1950 to just 93 in
  2004. Unitarians have seen what they term
  "modest" membership growth at 1 percent per year
  for the past decade.
• Despite ever-slimming budgets, each of these
  three denominations hired professionals to market
  their denomination, through focus group research
  and targeted slogan-writing to strike a chord
  with the public. The religious body would be sold
  to the masses just like any other product except
  in one regard This product would have to
  overcome a bigger than usual image problem.
• "They at the ad agency told us they'd never had
  a product that conjured up so many negative
  feelings" as the idea of "church," Mr. Buford
  said. Many in focus groups said they'd felt hurt
  or rejected by the church, so "unconditional
  acceptance" became the target message.
• In a UCC spot that aired last week, two
  muscle-bound bouncers stand in front of a church
  where they decide who is "worthy" to enter. Then
  the tag line "No matter who you are, no matter
  where you are on life's journey, you are welcome
  at a United Church of Christ congregation."
• This leap of faith into TV advertising reflects a
  notable attitude shift. Unlike their evangelical
  counterparts, these churches have taken a low-key
  approach to recruitment to show sensitivity
  toward others' religious beliefs.

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Mainstream Churches take a Leap of Faith into TV
AdvertisingSource Christian Science Monitor

• Article continued
• "Unitarians have historically had the idea that,
  'We're here, and if they want to find us, they'll
  find us,'" said the Rev. Tracey Robinson-Harris,
  director for congregational services and
  organizer of the ad campaign. "But now we're
  willing to make our presence known.... There's a
  feeling that this is our moment. We're not
  looking to draw people away from a religion that
  they find meaningful. But for those who are
  looking for something, we believe they will be
  more likely to find what they want and need if we
  are brave enough to tell them what we're about."
• Still, to justify even the 212,600 spent on the
  Kansas City test project, Ms. Robinson-Harris has
  needed to show a bang for her buck. Her evidence
  100 people joined Unitarian churches in Kansas
  City last year as a result of the mass media
  campaign.
• "If each new member contributes an average of
  1,000 for FY04," Robinson-Harris writes in her
  cost-benefit analysis, "the total new income to
  the congregations is 100,000. In 16 to 18 months
  their contributions have more than 'paid back'
  the cost of the media buys.
• Methodists report a 6 percent increase in worship
  attendance where ads have run during high seasons
  for newcomers Lent, Advent, and back-to-school
  time. Some in the church harbor hopes for the
  "open hearts, open minds, open doors" message to
  steer viewers toward a better way of life.
• "This gives the church a voice of public
  witness," said Larry Hollon, general secretary
  for United Methodist communications. "It provides
  an alternative on the screen to the culture of
  individual consumption that distorts human values
  and does not provide for those concerned with the
  spirit."
• Not everyone, however, sees advertising as simply
  the newest form of the ancient practice of
  evangelism.

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Mainstream Churches take a Leap of Faith into TV
AdvertisingSource Christian Science Monitor

• Article continued
• "This is not evangelism. This is marketing their
  brand" of Christianity, Mr. Whiteman said. "It's
  marketing a comfortable form of religion that
  won't cost you a lot but promises the church will
  be there for you in times of need."
• In prior times, the notion of denominations as
  "brands" would have struck church officers as a
  pejorative swipe at their God-given mission, but
  no more. For a generation that responds better to
  brand identities than pass ideals of
  denominational loyalty, Buford says, branding is
  here to stay.
• "Call it what you will, but churches have a
  brand," Buford said. "It may be that financial
  crisis has led us to look at this, but it's not
  unlike trouble that turns you to prayer. The
  urgency is not about church growth or raising
  money. It's about the individual who is
  committing suicide because they don't know there
  is a safe pasture someplace."SOURCE CHRISTIAN
  SCIENCE MONITOR 3/16/04