DON’T GO THERE! This is not about politics. Neither is it about the personhood of President Barack Obama. We evangelicals have an insatiable thirst to be conveniently myopic and inhospitable to any sane conversation about ideas or topics without allowing them to be clouded by our own religious and personal proclivities. DON’T GO THERE!

I simply wanted to share my amazement over the capacity of Obama’s marketing strategy to raise the amount of monies for the primary and presidential campaign in the midst of an economy where we have officially been in a recession since November 2007. Granted, this feat is a part of a broader narrative that is significant. Despite the prevalence of massive foreclosures, loss of confidence in the stock market, endemic suspicion of the credit rating system, moronic lending practices, worldwide collapse of banking systems, volatility of energy prices, and irresponsible reckless spending, yet millions of people contributed modest sums of monies to a campaign they thought was worth the sacrifice.

But that, I guess, is not the only issue at stake here. The other troubling concern is the uneasiness some folks have with the marketing of the church and its mission.* There is absolutely nothing absurd about marketing. In fact, if we were to use the Merriam-Webster’s dictionary definition, which states that marketing “is an aggregate (sum) of functions involved in moving goods from producer to consumer,” we become a bit more comfortable. More to the point, marketing involves the management of other peoples’ perception of who we say we are. The term “marketing” should not be seen as the exclusive domain of the secular corporate world, because Jesus was, indeed, the marketing specialist.

How often have we read that “Jesus perceived their thoughts, and said…”? More than thirty times we learn that Jesus, having perceived the audience’s perception of him, set out to change their minds. Church marketing, therefore, is the church’s strategy to positively alter what the neighborhood and the non-churched think about the community of faith that gathers every Sabbath.

One of the most world-changing periods in history has been the Renaissance in Europe. Many credit the Medici family as the catalyst that made it possible by assembling a corps of creative academics, philosophers, entrepreneurs, scientists, and thinkers in the fields of literature, philosophy, art, politics and science from the 14th to 17th centuries. This convergence of innovation and ideas resulted in the great awakening in Europe, and the catalyst has since been known as the Medici Effect. The intersection of recognized disciplines and fields provided an explosion of creativity and ideas that were unprecedented.

It could similarly be noted that the marketing experiment of the Obama campaign was grounded in the Medici Effect as orchestrated by David Plouffe, manager of the campaign. The Obama team explored a wide expanse of marketing, communication, media, Internet, blogs, print, community organizing, television, radio, cell phones, social networking, and YouTube. The thoughtful and creative convergence of these various mediums shook conventional “political strategy,” turned it on its ear, and resulted in a new form of leadership that dominated the electoral market.

What are the lessons that church leaders and those responsible for institutional marketing could learn? I would suggest that there are 10 fundamental lessons that could be honed from this creative innovation.

Lesson 1— Diversify communication through usergenerated content.

One of the fatalities of modern day churches is the tendency to neglect the vast array of options available. The Obama team recognized that the electorate desired to be participative with whatever communication is being used. I received countless messages during the long campaign and was struck by the method of seeking user permissions and unambiguously telling consumers what they were opting into.

Lesson 2 — Communicate passionately to people what they care about.

All too often churches emphasize what its programs, projects, and priorities are, exclusive of the felt needs of the neighborhood. Obama’s team understood that the message to be communicated is that we should be sensitive to the problems that our target audience faces. The marketing technique that is effective will always be that which appears to solve the problems of those who do not presently belong to our tribe. People are moved to action by solutions. Obama often reminded the audience that it is all about them. If, in our marketing efforts, people suspect that we are only about enlarging our congregation, it will smell of selfserving.

Lesson 3 — Sustain lively communication through unexpected incentives.

My Blackberry was constantly tapped with e-mails from the campaign about opportunities to win a prize, attend an event, access to privileged communication, a chance to win a sweepstake, or to be the victor through a coupon. The managers of the campaign realized very early that short messaging service (SMS) could not solely be the instrument to motivate people to participate. Embedded in their strategy was the conviction that people respond to an intentional process whereby individuals are rewarded for participation.

Lesson 4— Design a simple message that is consistent, relevant, and focused.

Thematic constancy is an imperative for any marketing strategy. The branding strategy for the Obama campaign was “Change.” One of the legitimate accusations of Obama’s opponents was their struggle to maintain a consistent theme. Church leadership very often are victims of a cacophony of mission statements emanating from different entities in organizational structures – NYI, NMI, Sunday School, etc. Visitors to our churches should not leave without being struck by the clarity of mission and vision of the church.

Lesson 5 — Maximize the opportunities that the social media present.

The campaign utilized creative uses by the emerging opportunities evident through the social network of MySpace and Facebook. By so doing, Obama leveraged the financial power of millions of small donors who bankrolled the campaign. During the 21 months of the campaign, Obama tapped into a youth movement that had a very different communications dynamic than previous populations. From Twitters to YouTube, from Blackberry to podcasting, from teleconferences to texting, from phone banks to door-to-door contacts, the sum proved bigger than the parts and all coalesced to shape a formidable force to fuel a wellorganized winning campaign.

Lesson 6 — Establish a continued dialogical connection with the market.

Donors treasured the opportunity to have meaningful conversations with the campaign. It was never intended to be a one-way street. There was a seamless thread between the campaign and supporters. A critical element of the campaign was the need to garner ideas from constituents, and the rich pluralism of donors was mined with the intention that a plethora of views from the grassroots was respected and understood. The Obama blog allowed hundreds of thousands of people to post content they considered relevant.

Lesson 7 — Expand the marketing base to include the overlooked and underserved.

The Obama campaign was cognizant of the need to expand the base of the party by including those who were often neglected— the millennial generation, minority groups, techno-isolates, and new registrants. A huge factor in the success was the excitement that was visible among first-time voters who suspected that they might make history by participating in a historic phenomenon and process. Likewise, congregations could be energized by taking advantage of the opportunities to reach the underserved populations in their neighborhoods. While other campaigns were consumed by energizing the base, the Obama campaign spent time expanding the base.

Lesson 8 — Results must be constantly measured and evaluated.

Effective marketing can only be successful by constant measurement and analytical observation. The Obama campaign evaluated the results of commercials and ads. In spite of the vast financial reservoir the campaign constructed, they were careful to get the optimum bang for the buck. By monitoring the effect of ads, the campaign made effective midcourse corrections. Most students of marketing would agree that the mere collection of data must be followed by the use of psychographics, which analyzes the meaning and significance of said data.

Lesson 9 — Make branding a top priority.

Branding is the sum perception that is created in the minds of those you’re attempting to reach. One of the tragic mistakes made by churches today is the inclination to develop a brand for those who are already reached with the gospel. Obama’s campaign understood quite well that its brand must be simple and concise, as well as sending a message to those who were not yet on board. There were two tiers to the branding for the campaign – “Hope and Change” and “Yes, we can.” Every ad and commercial reinforced these two elements, and this consistency was demonstrated through all the eloquent speeches.

Lesson 10— Leverage the broad possibilities of the Internet.

The campaign produced a nationwide community by using the social technologies of the Internet, including blogs, texting, and viral videos. More than 2,000 videos were uploaded to YouTube, and Obama will become the first president to put his Saturday addresses on YouTube. The Internet was used to connect a citizens’ army of supporters as never done before.

Much has already been written about the Obama campaign’s masterful use of marketing and social media. The question raised by many is whether this was a means to leverage an election or an indication of what we can expect from an Obama presidency? If it’s the latter, I think we can anticipate an ongoing social media and social networking strategy that will have even more of an impact on communicating meaningfully with the masses, hearing and enlisting supporters, and helping people embrace and unite toward social change in ways we can’t now imagine.

Business and political sectors are already gleaning lessons from the Obama campaign. An important question is whether the Church and other faith-based groups will be able to see the possibilities and benefits of positively altering or enlarging how they are perceived in the marketplace. These lessons would hopefully encourage church leaders to evaluate their present marketing strategies, and to optimize efforts to reach more souls for the sake of the Kingdom.

by Oliver R. Phillips
Mission Strategy
USA/Canada

*Footnote: Currently, and for sometime, there has been considerable debate on the value and appropriateness of marketing vis-à-vis the local church. A recent discussion and exchange that demonstrates this tension can be seen in an online article on Christianitytoday.com and a series of rebuttals on ChurchMarketingSucks. com. Contrary to their name, which is tonguein- cheek, ChurchMarketingSucks.com is a website developed by communication professionals for the benefit of the local church. The Christianity Today article can be found online at http://www.christianitytoday.com/ ct/2009/january/10.20.html. The response and other rebuttals by ChurchMarketingSucks. com can be found online at http:// www.churchmarketingsucks.com/ archives/2009/01/marketing_jesus.html.