Gospel Industry Tip Of The Week 7/26/10
Welcome to Branding Part 3
We’ve lived with branding all of our lives. For at least the past century, products have been sold and bought as the result of increasingly sophisticated forms of advertising, designed to lure us—-the customer—-away from one product to another similar product. Whether it was the cola wars (Pepsi vs. Coke), the burger wars (Burger King vs. McDonald’s), the coffee wars (Dunkin’ Donuts vs. Starbucks), the computer wars (Mac vs. PC) or the countless other rounds of competition between product lines, the goal has been to unseat some “number one” to become our new favorite product by way of branding.
We’re used to this. In fact, as consumers I would dare to say we look forward to it. If you have any doubt, ask yourself why the commercials during the Super Bowl each year have become a spectacle of their own, sometimes making the game a mere backdrop.
What’s new in this digital age is the notion that due to the overwhelming number of product choices we now have in every area of our lives, branding is more than a sales method. It is, quite simply, a necessity if we are ever to distinguish any one product from the countless, nearly identical others available to us.
Likewise, in today’s music industry there are more new artists and new music being released each year than ever. According to an article in Billboard magazine, in 2008 there were 100,000 new music releases in the United States alone! For our music and messages to stand out in such a large crowd we must become skilled at branding.
Now clearly the message of the Gospel is neither to be bought nor sold. There should also never be a spirit of competition among artists. Nevertheless, we do have a responsibility to persuasively declare the Gospel in a variety of ways in a very noisy world.
For the artist with a commitment to that calling there is a further obligation to effectively communicate his or her unique sound and distinct message to the appropriate audience. It is not enough to simply shout that message loudly in the overcrowded global marketplace and hope someone somewhere hears it. If we are to be effective in declaring the truths of the Gospel and the message of the Kingdom to a global community in dire need, we must be accomplished in the skill of rising above the noise. Branding is a tool for that very purpose.
Before we can utilize the methodologies of branding, we must first take the time to establish our brand.
Here then is your homework assignment. Feel free to consider it step one in your journey to the next level in your calling. Ask yourself a series of tough questions intended to help you to be the first to understand how your gifts, talents and calling differ from those of your fellow artists and ministers.
Begin with these four questions:
• What are my core values (as a person, as an artist, as a minister)?
• What is my distinct message? (To learn more about this concept, please refer to The Beginner’s Guide To The Gospel Music Industry, pp 42-46).
• What are the elements of my unique sound?
• Who is my target audience?
Please remember this is not a competition. On the contrary, it is part of your personal journey to accurately reveal, understand, embrace, and declare the unique way in which God has shaped you. He only made one of you and He did so with a specific goal. If you are called to global ministry, He has also ordained for you a target audience——a specific group of people who need and will be changed by your message.
With those things firmly in mind, I am encouraging you to spend some real time thinking, praying, and meditating on those questions. Then go one step further: As you begin to hear thoughts and ideas from the Holy Spirit, write down what you hear. Keep those revelations somewhere close where you can refer back to them, adding new information as He continues to speak.
The next level begins today with this small step. More to come next week…
Published: July 26, 2010 | 0 Comments
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