Image, identity and brand...

Your Image refers to how your parish or school  is perceived by the community around it; it tells people who you are.

Your Identity is meant to evoke the perceptions of your people about their parish or parish school. It represents their feelings.

You already have a brand... how you leverage, manage and communicate it can make a difference

A specific church’s or school's image and identity in the community will help mold and reinforce its mission–it satisfies curiosity and engenders a sense of pride and ownership in its members.

Strong parish image and identity is attained through branding. Branding is a process that encompasses the collection of symbols, messages, associations and experiences recognized both by parishioners and your larger community. Branding is very important for parishes, schools and organizations because it results in message clarity and unity.

Parishes celebrate their sense of community and invite others to experience and learn about it.

A branded message is always clear and consistent; it is planned and given great attention. It evokes feelings and reaffirms for people their values and the meaning of their membership. In many ways, it describes their relationship.

“Roman Catholicism” is a brand, and probably the world's oldest. The Pope has a brand. In his time, so did Archbishop Fulton Sheen. Notre Dame is branded as “America’s Catholic University”. (Boston College, Marquette, St Thomas, St John’s and Georgetown might disagree and counter with their own brands!)

Marketing is the planned communications strategy of presenting your brand–your unified message–to the public at large and your members specifically. It generates much of the content for your website. It is a series of very public statements with sometimes-subtle undertones.

We Catholics exhibit strong denominational loyalty; being Catholic is part of our own identity. Being Catholic underscores a real feeling of belonging. As Catholics, we share a universal link to the billions of fellow believers–past, present and future, to the Vatican and the Pope, and to our church. Together, we believe in a Trinitarian God, Jesus Christ and his salvific mission, the work of the Holy Spirit, the Sacraments and the Roman Catholic Faith. It includes our traditions, evangelization, ministry and mission work. (That’s all part of the brand.)

Roman Catholics already have a number of images that are unique graphic symbols: the papal seal of arms, the crucifix, the rosary, the saints, Catholic university symbols, etc… Your own church will point to favored stained glass windows, statues, art and icons that take pride of place in parishioners’ eyes. Cultivate that loyalty by cultivating a media persona which they already recognize, and own, and love.

Parishes and Schools often find their brand in a logo presented consistently throughout their communications: on their website, in their printed letterhead, on shirts and caps, and the 10,000 other items on which people display their membership and brand loyalty. Logos are graphic: they should be distinctive and bold. Important choices for your design include size, font type and size, images and color. (If you don’t already have a strong logo, Transfigured Communications offers exceptional design services.)

Logos are everywhere and people like seeing them. And they like wearing them. They’re almost boastful. Your parish logo is great for youth and young adults. It’s perfect for schools.  And it’s accessible to every generation. Your parish and school should show that logo that symbolizes their brand, and the unity it represents with the parish community at large.

Your brand, then, is the total promise that a parish or school makes to its own people; it represents–in shorthand–what you say and do as a fellowship of believers.

If you are interested in learning more about what is involved wtih branding your parish or school feel free to contact us.