Launching a new church brand (or brand) is done for many reasons. The best reason? You’re connecting less with your congregation or your community. Your perception has become ignorable.
Done properly, church rebranding/branding provides a revitalized reconnection to a potential group.
Completing the components correctly with a well-planned launch is critical to your success. Remember, you want to encourage a targeted group to engage again! However, many things can go wrong. Here are 5 mistakes when launching your Church Brand or Church Rebrand:
- Not doing Demographic foundational work. Your brand/rebrand should get THEIR attention. If you don’t know their needs, concerns, and goals, you can’t use your brand to be known for solutions or paths to goals. Churches who simply want a new logo, don’t understand that they need to discover their thread (positioning) first and then make sure the design matches. The order is always: demographics, psychographics, thread, and THEN professional design and relevant content.
- Rushing the Branding Launch. There are MANY components to branding launch. ALL communication (signs, social, web, email, bulletins, swag, etc.) need to be changed. The bigger the emphasis, the more your congregation will value the improvements. Seek a special season to do the launch. Timing is everything. Better to wait for the “right” time than to rush.
- Not making it a Teaching moment. The best way to “start” a launch is with a sermon series. Emphasize why change is necessary. Point out the “why” and use scripture to remind your congregation how new branding has the potential of reaching more in the community. Control consistent messaging so your congregation will use your words to explain the new branding and thread to a co-worker who needs Jesus.
- Making it about helping Church Leadership. It’s easy to make this about curing issues that are on your minds. It’s a huge mistake to make your new brand about helping the church leadership’s problems though. This is NOT about YOU. Your rebrand is ENTIRELY about benefiting THEM. People adopt brands and promote them when they’re relevant and needed to THEM.
- Thinking it’s over after the launch. The big launch time arrives! Your sermon series showed scripturally why your church exists and how God is going to use your church’s perception (thread) for Kingdom building. And everything got updated: tools, channels, content, etc. You breathe a huge sigh of relief as people love your branding work. It’s done. NOPE, it’s only beginning! Now the onus is on you (and team) to tell stories that support your thread and rebrand. And regularly listening to your congregation and community to hear how they’re adopting the brand. An ongoing communication strategy will keep you improving around your thread and controlling language so everyone knows why they attend your church so they can share it with others.
