Brand vs Branding

Every parish has a brand.

A parish brand is formed by a combination of influences including history, pastor, mission and ministries, culture and audience experience. The parish brand, and where it resides in an individual's mental hierarchy, has earned a value ranking which is determined by their personal experiences and expectations with the brand (parish). To represent the parish brand, an identity or visual expression – a logo – is used as a symbol of your community, mission and brand promise, and parish signature on all communication. To your audiences, it becomes the signature or visual representation of your faith community for those that both know and don't know your parish.

Designing and selecting the right parish logo is important. There are good logo designs and better logo solutions. Maintaining logo integrity in various media is essential, and one of my pet peaves. The bottom line is that a logo needs to be simple, descriptive and unique, and be able to be reproduced across media platforms without design compromise. Far too often I see new parish logos that are attractive and designed nicely, but they are too detailed. It's those details that may get lost in various parish branding applications, which compromises the integrity of the parish brand.

Parish branding is the ongoing process of articulating and communicating, visually and verbally the brand's attributes, personality, and promise to key audiences at all touch points. For a parish, this includes online, web and social media, print, flyers and posters, and digital monitors that may be posted in a gathering space or other church space where parishioners congregate.. With the goal of greater consistency and crisper presentations in parish communications, my advice is to keep branding simple. If the notion of branding is new to you, focus on some of the basic design principles of shape, color, font use and design to begin establishing brand standards and guidelines for greater consistency in your presentations. More than anything, be consistent.

People like brands and can have an emotional attachment to them. They live in a branded world and have their own brand experiences, preferences and expectations. Think of yourself and your own brand loyalties. People are powerful ambassadors for a brand when they share their experiences - both good and bad. Truth is, people love their parishes, have an emotional attachment, are very loyal and take great pride in their parish history, ministries, community and church building. Parish branding is the packaging and telling the story of parish life within your faith community. Any new branding and communication efforts that support the parish mission will be noticed and supported by parishioners.

Today, parishes need branding that aligns and reflects their mission, ministries, community and culture. A strong parish brand works to unify a faith community. It can work to advance your mission, build ministries and volunteer involvement, increase stewardship, and position the parish as a faith leader in the larger community. It's essential for new member recruitment, parishioner engagement and financial continuity, and it makes a great first impression on visitors and new members. Your parish logo and brand identity will become a source of parish pride if managed well and implemented strategically.

Strong parish brands just don't happen, they are intentional, and they require a plan, commitment and nurturing to grow, stay fresh, and focused on mission. Your brand is much more than a parish logo. The key to successful parish branding is keeping your message simple, engaging and focused, and presentations relevant, timely and consistent. The best part is that It doesn't take a big budget to do great branding, but it does take discipline. Take some time to look around at how other parishes are handling their brand communications. Basic branding should be the foundation of every parish communication ministry, and parishes are beginning to understand the value of promoting parish life rather than merely announcing it.