Monday, March 7, 2011

Brand Names

Our son Tim is a brand shopper. He never just buys soup, he buys Campbells soup. It doesn't matter if the local store brand is cheaper, he always heads for the brand name. If he hasn't seen it on TV it must not be good.

I thought Tim would change his mind once he started paying for his own groceries. But that is not the case. He has changed a little, but not to the extent that I thought he would. He is willing to buy an off brand flour or sugar, but he will not eat off brand candy. Tim says that with brand name goods, he knows what to expect. He knows that the texture, taste, color, will always be the same. It takes clever branding to get him to change his choices. But if he is convinced that something else will better meet his needs, he will change.

We have been challenged to "brand" Mt. Carmel, so people will know what to expect when they come to worship with us. And, even more than that, so they will be able to choose us from all the other church brands out there because we can better meet their needs. Although we don't like to think about it, churches are in competition with one another . In the past, when church membership was passed down in families from generation to generation, all that mattered was location. If your family was Lutheran, you went to the closest Lutheran church. Now, not so much.

To brand Mt. Carmel, we need to identify those attributes that make Mt. Carmel special. While what makes Mt. Carmel special to one person may differ from what makes Mt. Carmel special to you, there are attributes that we can agree on. Please take time to post your choices. We will create a list of the top 20 and you will be given an opportunity to vote on your favorite.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I think Mt. Carmel is characterized by relationships, inclusive relationships

Unknown said...

Forward-looking values rooted in tradition.