This Facebook book post reminds me of how important it is to confirm the message… How many do you know:
1. Brusha, brusha, brusha with the _________________.
2. You’re in good hands _________________________.
3. Plop, plop fiz, fiz _____________________________.
4. Can you spell encyclopedia without singing it?
5. I am what I am and that’s all that I am, I’m ________.
If you know the answer to these jingles, I know two things. First, you are old (like me). Second, you have a great memory. These jingles come from the late 50s and early 60s and have not been aired for decades! Yet, you remember them. Like the youngster being asked about a collar, an effective message is attached – forever to a memory.
Corporations spend million, no, billions to create those lasting memories. Most of that money is wasted, the memory does not stick. When I study marketing and branding, I realize one or more mistakes are made when we promote a product:
· Repetition is fundamental. If you hear or see something just one time, it doesn’t stick.
· It must be personal (and usually positive).
· It must be shareable (People want and need to talk about a positive experience).
· It must have something catchy (A tune, a logo, a cartoon character).
I wonder how ‘sticky’ FBC OIathe is? I wonder how we make ourselves memorable. I wonder how we can be more than a beautiful building on a main thoroughfare. I wonder what the community around our church knows about us. Do they know anything?
I know we have one thing the ad agencies lack: the power of Jesus Christ. Christ is calling people every moment of every day. He’s touching those who have little more than a glimmer of hope. Will they stop by our door? Will they find an answer? Will we create a memory?
Here are a few things I know create a memory:
1. If the Pastor calls on them within a week, they feel OK. If a member of the church, who met them calls, we have a memory!
2. If someone from the church sits down with them before the service and during the service, that feel good. If they are remembered by that person the next time they visit, we have a memory!
3. If someone from the church offers to go out to eat after church, even if they say, ‘No,’ they feel good. If they go to dinner, we have a memory!
One thing is certain, people who come uninvited to our church are either really looking for a church home, or they are really struggling with something in their lives. Sometimes both. The one thing we must offer is a memory! I wonder who might be willing to talk about creating Sunday Morning Memories? Stickie Moments?
Pastor Bill