Bus Ad for Islam Until I saw this ad, hadn't really considered religion from a brand perspective. Because a brand is the sum of all of its carriers and interactions, many religions have brand issues outside of its core believers which becomes a growth issue.
Most religions have all the elements of a real brand with the exception of the last, imho: design and message consistency, a core belief system; self-aware and planned; patience/in it for the long haul; moves/taps into emotion; proprietary and ownable; a story that's never completely told; relevant; leads and invents the category. If you accept religion as brand you can point to the last area of innovation being an area of need. There's also the issue of associations from poor actors under the brand umbrella where the highest human values of the brand have been over thrown. So, in San Francisco, Islam is taking their message to the streets on these bus ads. The challenge the have, I believe, is that their issue isn't just one of consideration where a message may create re-appraisal and result in the desired outcome. There are some functional issues with a religion brand that consideration can't address to result in conversion. That would argue that advertising may not be the best approach, unless this is more about keeping those in the fold close and looking busy versus trying to create real change and conversion results. BTW, not calling out any specific religion on approach, merit, etc. Simply exploring the issue framed within the context of brand and marketing. Appreciate Islam for inspiring this meditation. CommentsWould you like to comment?Sign up for a free account, or sign in (if you're already a member). |
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kfair68b says:
I've always felt that religions are the biggest and most pervasive brands in the world, dwarfing Nike, Bud and all the rest. Religious ritual, in my opinion, is all about establishing and reinforcing the loyalty to the brand. Imagine if you got people to gather once a week to chant WASSSUP for an hour and a half, or to watch commercials telling people why that brand is good for them for that whole time (comparable to attending a football game perhaps).
Some may argue that organized religion is much more than a brand and comparing it to consumer brands is like comparing apples and oranges. Aside from the fact that apples and oranges are much more similar than that expression gives credit to, it's actually like comparing watermelons to grapes (religion being the watermelon). Consumer brands promote the purchase of a product or service. Churches do also. The collection plate may be voluntary, but really, who's kidding who.
Religion takes brand loyalty to an extreme. Would a Coke drinker go door to door to try to convince people that Coke is better than Pepsi? Would Mac loyalists join an army to crusade against PC users? Would fans of U2 or Coldplay strap bombs to their chests and head out to a crowded market? I don't think so.
Even atheists have gotten into the game. There are competing campaigns of bus ads in Alberta argueing over whether God exists. It all started in Britain, but it seems to be catching on elsewhere (including Toronto). Atheists however are late to the game and need some help with their branding. There's no recognizable logo, no spokeslizard (or messiah), and no jingle (unless you count secular christmas carols). Most don't try to recruit other atheists, although that seems to be starting to change.
I'm not trying to suggest that organized religion is all bad, nor am I suggesting that brands are bad. Coke, Bud and Apple computers are fine but a good 'consumer' is one that understands when they are being marketed to and makes decisions and judgements based on an understanding of what's behind a brand and not what's being sold to them. Then again, there wouldn't be much of a future in branding if we were all good consumers.
In closing, religion has also become the only brand where people get offended (real offence, not the "49ers suck" kind of offence) when their chosen brand is "attacked" or challenged. To brand loyalists reading this, please don't be offended. That was not my intent. Just exploring the issue.
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )