When the CEO of Ford, Nassar, spent $9 billion to purchase Volvo and Jaguar, he didn’t receive
factories, inventories, or people. He bought two logos.
Think about it. Volvo and Jaguar had spent a lifetime of investment developing those two logos and names. What did they develop behind the product? A promise. The Volvo promises safety, the Jaguar, performance.
So that means that when it comes to branding, our logos, positioning statements, are the things that make our promise.
So tomorrow as people come to your church, what promise have you made that you’re prepared to fulfill? Can you articulate it? Can you say it in a few sentences? Can you print it on a t-shirt and deliver it with great passion and preciseness on the elevator from floor one to floor two? That’s about all the time you have.
Remember, tomorrow your church has made a promise. People are going to trust you enough to come, expecting you to fulfill that promise. When they leave, and you’ve fulfilled that promise, you’ve created goodwill. Do that often enough and these people will become our primary marketers.
At The Gathering, our promise is to create an environment to which imperfect people can come to discover the love of an awesome God. We promise non-religious types that we’ll help them connect to God and each other; not just give them more information or make them smarter sinners. We’ll provide an environment where people can experience the love of God in the real world with real problems, in the midst of other real people who are no more perfect than they. We promise not to jump on them or jerk them around. We promise to make them feel wanted and welcome, but not watched or worn out.
Make a promise, keep the promise, create goodwill, and over time; you have a brand worth something.