If you have been following the news at all recently, then the name of singer Amy Winehouse should ring a bell.The much troubled singer doesn’t want to go to rehab. Perhaps one of the reasons is that Ms. Winehouse really doesn’t want to face up to her stuff.
When it is all said and done, I am not sure you can blame her. After all, unpacking what’s not working for you and finding out the real, underlying reasons that you are where you are rarely would be termed fun.
So, you ask. What does Amy Winehouse who is far removed from circles that most churches hang out in and your church brand have in common?
Think of your church brand and then compare it to some comments recently attributed to Ms. Winehouse regarding rehab…
- “The old me was just fine. Let’s forget about all this change and transformation!”
- “No one will notice…I’m too busy to change things right now.”
- “Other people come out of rehab and go to a secondary facility. I got out and went to parties. I am fine”
Do any of these sound familiar when you are thinking about your church’s brand?
If you have come this far and are attuned to pop culture at all, perhaps you have watched either City of God, 28 Days, or the movie Clean and Sober . If you have caught any of these flicks, you may have come to understand that just like rehab, providing your church a new brand is not a “28 days and you are done” deal. Far from it. 28 days is just the beginning!
However, more churches than I care to think about have the same attitude regarding rebranding themselves (even if you don’t think you have a brand currently, unfortunately you do) that Ms. Winehouse has when it comes to rehab.
You can always stay with the brand you have. Yea, that’s been working, even if it is out of touch with today’s society, doesn’t have you authentically showing up in the community and is not properly reflecting who you are as a church. Yes, after all…”No one will notice..”
When your brand is not reflecting properly how you show up and who your church is, then it is not surprising that everything else suffers.
A brand that is out of whack with who you are and what you want the community to understand about your church creates misunderstanding and disenchantment. And you wonder why you are not attracting the people you are seeking?
I have an issue with churches who like Ms. Winehouse want to stick their head in the ground like an ostrich or just pretend that everything’s ok. Because chances are, they are not. Is your church thriving or merely surviving? Or is it not even doing that? If you aren’t thriving, check yourself in for a brand rehab.
John Panico is the author of this article. He has consulted with literally hundreds of companies in different capacities. He is the General Manager of Local Guys Equities, LLC, a company through marketing built a multi-million dollar portfolio in less than 12 months. He consults real estate investors at REI Minute. John also runs Unity Church Marketing and is in regular attendance at his home church. His latest project is Unity Church Music, think iTunes for New Age Music.
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Filed under: Brand, Church Marketing
