Churches are increasingly using online video as part of their communication strategy, either for delivering news or sermons. Online video has given churches new opportunities to communicate with people and a lot of churches are grabbing this opportunity with two hands.
One way to increase video engagement and brand recognition is to create a production logo, also known as a video bumper.
A production logo is an animated logo that is played either at the beginning or at the end of a video to reinforce brand. And production logos are as old as video itself.
Production logos are commonly used by movie production companies such as Fox, Disney and Warner Bros:
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They’re also used by bloggers including Darren Rowse and Michael Hyatt:
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I’m sure that you will instantly recognise some, if not all of these production logos, and their very existence is testimony to how a production logo can increase brand recognition for your church. Sure, you may not have the viewership that these companies boast. But you’re church still has an engaged audience who watch your videos, and building a production logo can reinforce the brand that your church creates.
Here are three examples of Christian organisations with production logos:
Mars Hill (Logo at 2:36)
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Sydney University Evangelical Union (Logo at 1:27)
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St Barnabas Anglican Church, Broadway (Logo at 1:08)
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Each of these production logos is regularly played at the end of videos created by these organisations, and the use of these videos increases the brand awareness.
Do It
So how can you create a production logo for your church that you can be proud of? Well I think there are three levels of quality that you can aim for: beginner, intermediate, advanced.
Beginner
At the very least, use your churches existing logo and stick it at the end of any video you create. Even better, add a gentle Ken Burns effect (camera zooming out) which can easily be done in a video editing program such as iMovie. This will at least increase the brand awareness for your logo.
Intermediate
Do it yourself. Using software such as Apple’s Motion or Adobe’s After Effects, animate the individual elements of your logo with a fancy entry and exit. A simple animation like this can really add a level of professionalism to your videos and again, increase brand recognition.
Advanced
Hire a professional. Spend some money and hire a professional to create a production logo for your church. Sure this may cost a bit, but you’ll use this animation on every video you make, and all you’ll need to do is copy the file onto the end of each video. Easy.
Concluding Remarks
I hope I’ve convinced you of the benefit of creating a production logo for your church and that these tips will prove to be practical in doing so. Remember that video is a great way of communicating with your audience, and that using a production logo will enhance brand recognition for your church.
Michael Garner says
If you are looking to hire a professional, please check out http://www.bigchurchmedia.com We are a company of church media guys who know that world and would love to help you with your project. Use our contact form and let us help your ministry grow and reach new people.
Eric Dye says
You should consider advertising with us 😉