$13,699 A Day: What the UMC Could Learn From McDonald's

The federal government may be using a lot of Monopoly money these days, but no matter how you slice it, $20 million is a lot of cash. That's what the United Methodist Church is spending on its ReThink Church campaign over the next four years. That's $13,699 per day, every day, until 2013. And if it works, it will be worth the money. Spending generously on marketing is a good investment if it's done correctly. But that's a big "if".

McDonald's understands the importance of advertising. The fast food giant recently launched a $100 million ad campaign designed to remove Starbucks from its coffee throne. That's five times what the UMC is spending on its campaign (and over a much shorter period of time). So why do I have more confidence in McDonald's than I do in our denomination's marketing efforts? Where do I start?

• McDonald's knows what it's selling. They have a quality product that has beaten the competition in taste tests. This ad campaign is about coffee. Not Big Macs, not salads, not shakes. Coffee. The campaign is focused. ReThink Church doesn't have that focus.
• McDonald's offers consistency. You'll find the same coffee drinks in every McDonald's. And the chain waited until it had the McCafé in over 11,000 restaurants before it launched a nationwide campaign. Not only does the UMC not know what it's offering, there is no consistency or quality control throughout our church. How do you market that?
• McDonald's knows its competition. It is specifically targeting Starbucks and other high priced coffee chains. The UMC doesn't really know its competition. Is it the world? Other denominations? Sleeping in on Sunday mornings? Not only do we not know what we're offering, we don't really know who or what we're competing against.
• McDonald's is promoting a product and an experience. Check out the McCafé website. The product is coffee, but they're definitely selling the McDonald's experience too. What is the UMC's product? If we had consistency and quality control in place, the product would be Jesus Christ, and the United Methodist Church would be the way people experience Christ. Go to the 10,000 doors site and type 'Bible' in the search box. No results are found. 'Jesus' brings only a couple of obscure entries. And I don't really see any kind of experience the site is offering. As a friend of mine commented, the 10thousanddoors.org site is "all sizzle but no steak".

Sleepless in Seattle is no longer just a movie title, it's now a phrase describing Starbucks executives who are probably awake at night wondering how a hamburger chain became such a fierce competitor. $100 million will probably be a smart investment for McDonald's. But without some changes, our $20 million will likely be money wasted. And what a shame because ReThink Church actually has a certain coolness about it.

Comments

[UMJeremy]

McDonalds is part and parcel to consumerism. Of course it will be more effective, it better integrates into the system that it is spending money into.

[Blake Huggins]

It is indeed a big "if." I think this campaign has some great potential. But I'm not necessarily holding my breath.

[State Sen. Clay Davis]

Shorter Raynor: Although I don't like the organization as it is, please do not try to change it.

How helpful!

[Joe Tognetti]

I think the UMC campaign does know what it's selling: it's selling "Church." The problem is, as you pointed out, it should be selling Jesus. I've taken a look at the website a few times, and it would be a great campaign if it were a "ReThink Jesus" campaign. Such a campaign could have many of the same multimedia/information the current site and campaign does, just with the emphasis that this is how we put our faith in Jesus Christ into action, not just how we re-define church.

Such a campaign would also solve the "competition" problem: the UMC would be evangelizing to those who either didn't grow up Christian or who were disillusioned by Christianity for one reason or another.

[Creed Pogue]

The dampaign promises something that we can't deliver and perhaps shouldn't even if we could.

If all we are offering is a different way to do good (however micro or macro you want to define it), then we are doomed to continue to lose members. After all, there are plenty of other organizations that "do good." In fact, the Salvation Army also adds faith to the mix.

If we are trying to bring people to Jesus, then we would say different things than the campaign does so far.

[Jack Burden]

Prediction: "Rethink Church" will have no discernible impact whatsoever on the continued decline of the UMC.

We are so pitifully confused as a denomination.

[Daniel]

Is this campaign going to replace "Open hearts/minds/doors" or is it an additional campaign? At least this slogan includes the word "church" - there is a bit more implied content here...

[Bob Milsom]

Although UMCom is just doing their job to provide resources and build bridges of name recognition, I agree that it may just lead to some more disappointed seekers. On any other day but Sunday, what percentage of our churches are just peeling buildings, with locked doors and unkempt yards? Many of them still have rusty directional signs from the "Catch the Spirit" campaign of the 80's. Since we have merged in 1968, we have enjoyed a perfect, unbroken four decades of membership losses. Not one year of growth. Yet nobody, nobody has the presence or power to recognize that the system itself is designed for failure, and it needs to be de-chartered and recast into smaller, movement-driven bodies. It's time to do something, and this economy and social climate may be the breaking point we need, if anyone is willing to open their eyes.

[CArl Thomas]

Do a search for "salvation." Not very encouraging.

[Jim]

Methodists certainly don't offer better coffee than Micky D.

On a serious note, this shows how desperately inept the UMC has become at evangelism. The fastest growing churches in my community don't do things like this. They don't have to, because they have something real, substantial and definite to offer hungry souls.

I just can't help asking, why only 10,000 doors? What is the magical significance of that number? Some kind of secret numerology? Or did the ad agency focus-group numbers and come up with that? Why not 7 x 70 doors? Forgive me, I forgot, that might require bringing up Jesus.

[John B]

UMCom can't mention Jesus, that would be exclude anyone who doesn't want Jesus. The last thing we UM's want to do is make anyone feel excluded!

McD's coffee ads aren't directed to those who don't like coffee. Rather they are directed toward people who are looking for a good cup of coffee & have thought the only place to find it is at Starbucks.

Maybe if the UMCom's ads were directed toward people who already have some interest in Jesus they would be more effective. However, that could set them up for a false advertising claim, since a person won't find Jesus in many UMC's.

[Bryan]

I don't generally agree with you much, but this post struck a cord.

Jesus - and by extension the church - doesn’t need to be marketed. That's not our problem. The church needs to be re-vitalized, re-formed, re-created, re-invented. Marketing does little to address the fundamental problems in much of the church.

Everyone in my community knows that my church is there. It's not a lack of knowledge that keeps them away. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Though I seldom agree with them, I often appreciate them.

[Roland]

All the campaign can do is raise awareness and therefore hopefully get people to visit their local UMC.

After that, it's up to the local church.

For the two churches I do communications/marketing/evangelism for, what the state and national conferences do doesn't really affect me.

So, I guess my comment to everyone slamming the campaign is what are YOU doing to get people in the door and deepen their discipleship?

It's easy to blame a national organization for the woes of the denomination, but the local church is going to rise and fall on the strengths and weaknesses of the local church.

[Jim]

This isn't the place to gripe about my church. All I will say, John Wesley Hardin, is that visitors to my church rarely, if ever, return. We've been designated the district's "retirement church."

[gavin richardson]

if only our umcom can play nicely with the gbod (vice versa as well) then we can market something on the outside with another entity working on the insides.

but our agencies seem, to me, to only want to herald what they have done under their rooftops. playing well with others seems to be discouraged

[Joseph Louthan]

I don't mean to be oversimplify this at all but what if the UM (and all the other mainline denoms) would simply preach and proclaim the gospel of God and preach the Word of God as though the Word is all about God.

If the following is true:
Ephesians 5:23b (ESV) ... Christ is the head of the church...

... then I could only assume that Christ will open up new churches, grow existing churches and shutdown other churches according to His will.

What would His will? Partially but one of Christ's last commands before leaving to go back to heaven would be Matthew 28:18-20 and Mark 16:15-18.

I mean, would it hurt to at least try?

[Bruce Ferguson]

All interesting comments. I agree that there's "no quality control". But what is it we are to be QCing? Is it style of worship, correct words used in sacraments, the right "brand" of Sunday School curriculum, the correct church organizational chart, with the right gender and age balance on the church council? Or is it...
I agree that "if[we] would simply preach..."
I vaguely remember that I was asked some "historical" questions when I was ordained. Something about "doctrine". But nobody has ever checked to see what doctrine I do preach. (sigh)
“I am not afraid that the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist either in Europe or America. But I am afraid lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power. And this undoubtedly will be the case unless they hold fast both the doctrine, spirit, and discipline with which they first set out.”
QC indeed.

[Jack Burden]

Bruce,

Bingo. It ain't rocket science.