A reflection on Mara Einstein's The Evolution of Religious Branding.
Branding. The marketing people, along with their co-conspirators, the PR people, have taken over and infiltrated just about every facet of society. Certainly every facet of society that brushes up against the media. National folk heroes - our sporting organisations - and folk devils - politicians - are pre-occupied with their image, with teams of advisers seemingly perched on both shoulders whispering in their ears the importance of staying on message. Staying on message, another awful term introduced by these whisperers. To stay on message is to protect the personal brand, the brand of their employee/party and of course, to validate the employment of said whisperer. Like player agents, they've created roles for themselves and convinced those using them that they're indispensable.
Meanwhile commercial media waits, ready to pounce. "In the public interest!" they cry as they expose and humiliate some poor fool caught unaware. Perhaps it is, perhaps it's not. However, these commercial media outlets have their own fallible stable of 'stars' and their own teams of marketers and PR people, to massage any indiscretion to cause the least amount of damage to their brand. It's a game, and a fairly ugly one at that.
And now, with a sense of if you can't beat them... the church, in the face of dwindling attendances and an ageing congregation has too bought into this game. The youth demographic, whether Gen Y or younger, have been raised in this media driven era, where both information and the individual exists as a commodity, so it makes sense for the church, in trying to reach a younger audience, to do so through channels most likely to reach and resonate.
From the privatisation and corporation style structure of the Hillsong Megachurch, to Scientology running a sophisticated on-line awareness campaign, the determined push of marketing and branding into religion has had initial success. But what kind of success? And at what cost?
By targeting such a young demographic, the hope is that the individual will identify with a particular religious brand, and 'spend' both their actual (by way of donations, purchasing merchandise) as well as their spiritual (being an ambassador, getting involved in the community) wealth there. It will be hoped that families become engaged and new generations of worshippers continue to become involved.
In that sense, it has the makings of a long term plan. But it still seems to be a long term plan that hinges in no small part on the continued engagement with youth culture, and youth cultural trends change significantly over the course of if not a few years, then certainly by the decade. People move on.
That's not to suggest that church going is like 80's outfits, or grunge music. But if it begins to be marketed in the same way that more seasonal products and styles are, or governed in the same way that football clubs and FM radio stations are managed, then it risks being devalued to the same level.
Perhaps it goes hand in hand with corporate governance and transparency. Or return on investment. But as much as I love my football team, and some people must love the breakfast crew on Nova, it's a shame that our spiritual lives, too, are exposed to the market.
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