I am always game for a little Seth Godin goodness in my inbox.
It almost always seems like something that can be applied to all sorts of marketing and communication — for my business or the church.
In a recent post, Seth Godin outlines the difference between a logo and brand:
“Spend 10,000 times as much time and money on your brand as you spend on your logo.
Your logo is a referent, a symbol, a reminder of your brand.
But your brand is a story, a set of emotions and expectations and a stand-in for how we think and feel about what you do.
Nike spent $250 to buy a swoosh. Probably a little more than they needed to. But the Nike brand, the sum total of what we think and believe and feel about what this company makes–it’s now worth billions.
The swoosh is just pixels.”
Church Logos
It’s easy to get caught-up in Photoshop and Illustrator and think that it’s the church logo that’s going to make all the difference.
Church logos, websites and media are important—sure—but we need to be asking ourselves:
- What is the brand’s story?
- What emotions may or may not be associated with it?
- What do you expect people to feel or think when they see it?
This should always be our starting point.
Even if we have the crappiest logo—if those who know the work of your church are moved by its actions—you have already succeeded in the work of His hand.
The Cross
As for the global Church, we need to think long and hard about the story and emotions that are associated with the image of the cross and make the proper course correction—starting with our own self.
[Jesus Saves sign image via Grant MacDonald via Compfight cc]
Timothy says
Feel free to delete this comment, but I wanted to kindly point out that there should not be apostrophes in the title; they’re plural words, not possessives.
Love your site and your content. Keep up the great work!!
Eric Dye says
Thanks man! Appreciate it. 🙂
Christopher Battles says
Thank you Sir.
This is a great reminder for church and even for our personal dress.
Yes, it can worked on and updated, but is the message consistent.
Thank you taking Godin’s message here. I had read this blog of his when it first came out, but did not take it to sense of the church.
Eric Dye says
You are very welcome. Thank you for reading, Christopher! 🙂