Church Leaders: 3 Reasons Your Communications {Marketing} Director is Crucial to Your Campaign’s Success

I once had a college professor tell me that marketing is from the Devil himself, and if you didn’t believe that to be true, you needed to pick a different major. (Yikes, young and naive 19 year old me was not expecting that!) He said the world of marketing, in a nutshell, just lies to people; it convinces people they need something when they actually don’t. So, if you want to spend your lifetime lying to people, you were in the right place. Ironically, this was at a Christian University. Even more ironically, 11 years later I found myself directing all communications for a very large multisite church in Texas. By definition, a megachurch. It’s funny how life works out, right? God certainly has a sense of humor.

Upon taking the role of Communications Director, I’d dipped my toes in just about every aspect of digital marketing, working my way through a handful of both digital and traditional advertising agencies - one of them even specialized in influencer marketing. (Speaking of convincing people you just HAVE to have something! HA!) Needless to say, when I began directing all the communication efforts at the church, I thought, “How different can it be from my previous roles?” {Narrator: it was in fact, very different.}

I quickly learned that the dynamics at play on a church staff were like nothing I’d ever encountered. In short, it was culture shock. The best thing to compare it to is when a student transitions from public school to a private Christian school. (And I experienced this too, going from a public high school straight into a very conservative private Christian University!) Sure, the bad apples are still there. But, the environment by its very nature is worlds apart. And this unique environment inevitably translated into unique decision making, processes, and org. structure differences.

Similar to my experiences working in for-profit companies, non-profit organizations, and even boards, the biggest pain point I regularly came face to face with was lack of clarity for what my role was, did, and could be. What exactly was my sandbox? What were my parameters? Did my role even matter? Did leadership know how to utilize my role? Was communications seen as a priority? The Communications Director role is one of the most misunderstood positions in the modern church. And, its value is often the most overlooked. (For clarity's sake, I’m not talking about a church admin who also happens to manage the bulletin or the Facebook page. Communication Directors at large, multisite churches are swimming in much bigger ponds than that, folks.)

The person responsible for leading a team of creatives, such as designers, writers, videographers, social media managers, etc. is, in fact, a key decision maker - whether you are using her/him in that way or not. (And maybe it’s a Creative Director, if your org. chart is aligned in such a way.) Let that sink in. This person must be in your inner leadership circle if the church is going to rely on creative elements to communicate your mission and vision. Don’t fool yourself into thinking your leadership will simply relay important information downward. It needs to happen at the forefront. (Playing grownup “Telephone” is never a good idea.)

I’d like to start this series by sharing with you, Executive Minister, CEO, or Senior Leadership team member, 3 reasons your Communications {Marketing} Director should have a seat at the table when making BIG decisions, specifically when launching a capital campaign or fundraising appeal.

Finding the intersection between marketing and ministry can be tricky, but I'm confident my once-professor was wrong. Marketing, as a whole, isn't from the Devil himself; marketing done with the wrong intentions, is. Here’s why. Humans find a way to ruin everything. And in the space where we tend to do our human thing, we must have good, clear, consistent communication - at the very least. This is done by leaning firmly into your shared leadership. Here is your truth, when the God-given gifts and talents of your Communications Director are in full display, the success of your campaign(s) knows no limit. At the heart of the Great Commission in fact, is the command to spread a message. And you can’t do that from two rooms down the hall when decisions are made. (I'm convinced Jesus was the OG influencer anyways.)

So, here are 3 reasons that you, as the leader of your church (or organization) NEED to invite your Communications Director into the room prior to launching a major capital campaign or fundraising appeal.

1. Devil’s Advocate. An experienced and knowledgeable Communications Director will be able to poke holes in the plan and offer up the alternative solutions your ministerial staff may not have considered. Communication Directors are great at asking questions that may otherwise go unasked – that is, until the marketing collateral is in the hands of your stakeholders. A CD, ideally, is synonymous with a “Marketing Director,” and frequently has more experience in the marketplace than others on your executive team. They understand that at its very core, their position is the gatekeeper for the story your organization is writing. And more than anyone else on your team, they want to ensure it is written logically. Anyone willing to swim in the waters of church communications has thick enough skin to survive the biggest bites, even if those bites are from senior leaders. Let the communications leadership ask the questions that no one else will – you’ll be thankful for their counsel/perspective/etc.

2. Timing & Execution. A CD’s brain works in a unique way. They are high level but detail oriented. They can see the full picture, from start to finish, while also having the knowledge of how to execute all the baby steps, in the correct order. Just like that famous scene in A Beautiful Mind where Russell Crowe’s character cracks the code at The Pentagon, they can mentally calculate all the tasks required and how to delegate it all.

In other words, they know what it will actually take to execute and deliver on a project. Their involvement from day 1 is critical to ensuring the necessary teammates actually have bandwidth to get the job done. To lead all organizational communication, CDs don’t live in the clouds. Other leaders can get by with vision and ideology only. But not CD’s. They are often Enneagram Type 1’s or 3’s, and possess Galvanizing and Tenacity Working Genius types. Sure, they can dream when asked to dream, but CDs are also realists. In order to make a campaign successful, you need both - the dreamer/visionary and the realist.

3. Marketing. You could have the best campaign in the world, but if you don’t have the strategy to get it in front of people, then the campaign doesn’t matter. Leaders have to know how they’re going to tell people about the campaign – and not just how, but also, where. Here is a taste of a CD’s internal messaging dialogue: “Which channels are the most appropriate for that message? Are we going all digital, or will there be print pieces involved? What is the narrative we’re planning to tell, and how will we keep it consistent? Are our other staff members equipped to talk appropriately about the campaign? How will our people hear our message, and are they hearing what we want them to hear? What action steps are we giving our people and are they clearly defined? Are those assets ready to go? What is our budget?” Ultimately, your church’s (or your organization’s) brand and image is at stake more than ever when you ask people for money.

At the end of the day, it is always wise and responsible to bring counsel into the room who knows a particular landscape better than you. Let marketing be a blessing to your church, not something evil. Your desire to grow the Kingdom or increase the footprint of your organization’s mission is noble and honorable. Lean into {communications} marketing, trust your teammates who have giftings in it, and you will not be disappointed.