| District's long-term plan nets grant for ads
By Michael Wacht
WEST PALM BEACH — The West Palm Beach District’s
plans to enhance the Igniting Ministry media campaign with local
advertising and training have earned it a matching grant of $48,355
from United Methodist Communications (UMCom).
Now, the district’s Igniting Ministry
leadership team faces the challenge of raising the other $48,355 from
local churches that are facing increasing health and property
insurance costs at a time when this year’s budgets are already set,
according the Rev. John Myers.
Myers is pastor of First United Methodist Church
here and the district’s campaign coordinator. He said the Igniting
Ministry campaign is a good start at giving the church exposure, but
it needs local participation to be fully successful.
“I think we’ve got a phenomenal opportunity
through what General Conference did with Igniting Ministry,” he
said. “It’s planting the seeds for churches to be more welcoming,
inviting and being more media savvy well beyond the campaign. It’s
important for churches to use the media and Internet to reach out to
people evangelistically.”
The district plans to buy advertising on local
network television stations to coincide with the schedule of national
ads airing during Lent, according to Craig Stephens, director of
communication ministries at Trinity United Methodist Church, Palm
Beach Gardens, and a member of the district committee.
“We are going to have Igniting Ministry ads on
NBC, CBS and ABC in Broward and Palm Beach counties during the evening
national news,” Stephens said. “We’re wanting to saturate the
area and people with Igniting Ministry commercials and get maximum
exposure right before Easter.”
The district is buying 63 spots over 10 days in
late March at a cost of $96,710, according to Stephens. Since the
district includes two major media markets, Miami/Ft. Lauderdale and
West Palm Beach, the ads will be seen on six television stations. The
team has decided to use the ads produced by UMCom and add a message at
the end saying the churches in Broward and Palm Beach counties
sponsored the ads.
Myers, who has an undergraduate degree in radio
and television from Purdue University, said repetition of the ads is
necessary to get the message across. “In television advertising, it
takes a minimum of six exposures before people get interested in a
product or project,” he said. “Beyond that, they start thinking
about buying the product. You have to have three to four months of
exposure to get measurable results.”
He said churches and districts must have a
long-term media plan in order to get results and that local church
television advertising is “an emerging part of the strategy” for
the district. His church’s media director, Jon Lutz, who has
experience with Nike, CBS, Disney and others, has offered to help
other churches create their own ads. The district has also been able
to secure an 80 percent discount on advertising on local cable
networks. Churches can purchase those advertising slots for $5 each,
Myers said.
“Advertising can be made affordable, and it
doesn’t just favor the large churches,” he said. “With cable,
you can target specific zip codes and get really specific with your
target audience.”
The district is also working with Steve Perry
and his Creative Services Group to provide four advertising packages
churches can purchase based on their budget and goal.
Perry is a member of Christ Church United
Methodist in Ft. Lauderdale. He shopped local media outlets to get the
best value on several different media, Myers said. The first package
is the door hangers available through UMCom. The second adds a direct
mail card. The third adds newspaper advertising to the card and door
hangers. The fourth package includes radio advertising, and the fifth
adds television advertising.
Myers said the district is also encouraging
churches to do local training in welcoming, inviting and discipling.
“It can’t only be done at the district level, but it has to be
embraced at the local church level,” Myers said. “Pastors, lay
leadership and staff will benefit from this.”
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