Church Marketing in Canada
Church marketing is different from country to country. Actually, in large countries like the USA and Canada it may be different even across regions of the country. What works to market a church in Atlanta may not work to promote a church in Seattle. What works in Vancouver may not work to market a church in Halifax.
Cultural Diversity
I have experienced this church marketing diversity first hand. I had the opportunity to be a part of church communications/marketing team in Toronto ten years ago and I help manage the church marketing and promotions for a young church in Halifax now. The techniques I have used over the past four years are different than the techniques I used a decade ago. It goes beyond the advancements in marketing technology available to churches today. Toronto is a very multicultural urban centre where Halifax is less culturally diverse and is primarily suburban.
Churched Culture
You may have heard stories of new churches starting in big urban centres like Los Angeles – where they send out 10,000 post card invitations to the surrounding community by mail and a week later several hundred people show up for the church service. That doesn’t happen in Canada (for the most part…and it certainly has not been my experience). I have a theory why. In America, the culture for the most part (especially in certain areas of the country) is still a churched culture. By that I mean that the Christian church is still an accepted and integral cultural institution. People accept that you go to church (whether religiously or not). The United States is still a Christian nation. Canada has culturally seen a dramatic shift in its acceptance of church and Christianity in the last three decades. Canada is no longer a Christian nation.
So, when a church sends out an invitation or employs another form of mass-media advertising (newspapers, radio, TV) in Canada it has little to no impact or residual effect. If the campaign is consistent and prolonged it might have over time, but for the most part, these types of regular advertising avenues do not work well in Canada…where they still have impact and are viable in many areas of the USA.
Church Marketing Trust
People in Canada tend not to trust churches. So, by far and away, the most effective church marketing strategy in this country (regardless of region) is a strategy of relational marketing. People investing in people. People connecting with the people in their sphere of influence…in their circle of trust. If people who are trusted invite their friends a church has a far greater probability of that kind of church marketing being successful. People will accept the credibility of their friends before they’ll accept the credibility of a church. So, with that in mind a church in Canada really needs to resource its people for representation. I have found that church business card-sized invitations work very well to equip church members to invite their friends…when the opportunity presents itself.
I am guessing that is probably a best practice strategy for almost any culture.
What are your thoughts? If you are a Canadian, have you seen mass-media advertising work for churches? If you are an American, would you agree that mass-media still works as a strategy for American churches?
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http://triunedesigns.com/blog Leo Wurschmidt
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http://triunedesigns.com/blog Leo Wurschmidt
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http://navigateyourmarketing.com/ David
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