I received call from two megachurch pastors this week, both in regard to sub-branding. This is an entirely missing concept and discipline in the church! To start the conversation let's consider a retail example that anyone can study any day. Starbucks recently launched a fruit blend drink called Vivanno. So then, the marketing people at Starbucks need to figure out how to design the sub-brand of Vivanno. How does it fit into the corporate brand? How will the design edify the vision, the brand promise and the feel that Starbucks already represents as well as generating excitement for a new initiative? (Note: churches only ask, "how do we create new energy?" and then every initiative fragments and distracts from what came before; thereby diluting and polluting a unified vision and brand.
So let's look at too leading fruit drink brands verses the new Vivanno. In comparison to Jamba Juice and Smoothie King, which one of these brand fits the starbucks environment? While there are many observations to be made, the most obvious is that Jamba and Smoothie King both use realistic photography. (Yet these use it in very distinct ways.) That would never fit the starbucks environment. A second observation is the use of color. Jambas color palette is too bright, and Smoothie Kings red and yellow "power brand for the hard-core" misses the cafe feel altogether.
Everyday designers are creating graphics in the church without any regard to real sub-branding. It's time to raise the bar.
