Jeff W. wrote in the comments to the last post,
Maybe UU churches should try marketing themselves with banners that say “Come join the freakshow!â€
How would you market UUism online? This question has gone around the UU blogosphere before, so let’s make it very specific this time. We’re talking viral advertising, not broadcast.
1. Target it to these specific groups: underemployed urban hipsters, fortysomething Morissey fans, single moms getting an MSW at night classes, or Dragoncon ticket holders. They must be freaks, geeks, outsiders, or otherwise square pegs.
2. Or come up with your own obscure demographic group, and tell us the keywords that would pull up the ad on Google. So “Decemberists” would work for urban hipsters, and “Zachary Quinto AND Spock” for hard core trekkies.
3. Tell us what you’d have it link to. Like the YouTube ads that David Wallace Croft linked to in the comments.
4. The clincher: It has to work as a Google text ad. A headline of 25 characters or less plus two lines of body text, each 35 characters or less. (More or less.) You can write a new ad for each demographic, or use the same one if you think it’ll work. Here are some examples in the sidebar. Be clever, outrageous, snarky, fun.
5. Or if you’re not the ad writing type, tell us whether or not you think this marketing strategy is worth it.
I’m looking to do some web ads for my congregation next year, so shoot to score—your idea may give birth to a real live Google ad.
Well, I feel disempowered.
Though a Morrissey fan and unemployed the first four months of the year, I am on 38.
I guess I don’t belong!
You think you’re disempowered? I didn’t understand a word of your post!
hmm, I have been a guest(!)at DragonCon – so that’s what qualifies me as an UU?????!
Scott, I’m all about micro-demographics, but there can’t be more than a half dozen other thirtysomething Morissey fans, right? And we already have you, which seems like pretty good market saturation.
Kim, just nod and smile. You don’t want to see an upset Morissey fan.
StevenR, yes!
Hi Chutney,
It makes a lot of sense to target to specific demographics, as you are suggesting. However, we need to go deeper than just mentioning a favorite band or other cultural touchstone. We have to really offer a message that we believe will attract and nourish a given group.
I also think it is a bad idea to market ourselves as some kind of freakshow. First, because we are not. Second, because it excludes many people who may not think of themselves as “outsiders.” Third, it doesn’t really have anything to do with our beliefs or commitments or way of being together. Our approach to theological freedom and pluralism is actually very mainstream, shared by many people who might currently identify as “spiritual but not religious.”
In light of all the “freaks, geeks, and loners” comments, why do so many people accuse us of thinking ourselves “superior”? Could it be they are projecting?
1. Well, Chuts — if there are only six other thirtysomething Moz fans (and I reject this reality) I lucked out by marrying one.
2. And there was the nice couple whose wedding I did. The first song at their reception was “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out.” I hope the parents weren’t paying attention to the lyrics.
3. Don’t tease Kim like that. You know all Morrissey fans are perpetually upset.
Thank you to Shelby. My congregation is not made of up freaks, geeks or weirdos and it’s WONDERFUL. We accept weirdness, sure, but by and large we’re pretty normal. I think this is related to our explosive growth.
Shelby, I’m totally on board with going deeper. My examples of groups are just that, examples.
I’m not actually proposing we market ourselves as a freakshow—I’m just playing off of Jeff’s joke.
I’ll write more soon about why I think we should be marketing to these kinds of groups, as opposed to mainstream audiences.
um, because it works? microtargeting is what successful marketing campaigns have been doing for years. it’s what those snazzy little discount cards at the grocery store are about, and it’s why the Republican political machine has been able to turn the county-by-county US map almost entirely red. they don’t have to come up with a message that hails everyone, they send a message about public education to the middle class mothers who work outside the home, and one about a strong military to veterans who are also NRA members. it requires a lot of data, but ultimately it’s both easier and more effective. win-win, eh?
creepy, yes, but i like it that netflix and amazon tell me stuff that i might like based on what i have looked for before, you know? and i’m all for kroger sending me coupons for kitty litter, veggie burgers and organic cheese. whereas, i don’t want coupons for diapers, dog food or hemmorhoid cream. saves me time, saves them money because they aren’t wasting messages on me that i’m not likely to be interested in.
personally, i’m a lot more likely to click on a link that speaks to me than a generic “deep” message. oh, and i’m a *twentysomething* morrissey fan — put that in your pipe and smoke it. (ok, i’m almost 30, but still.) :P
making personal connections with others is how we get them in the door and how we make them want to come back. this is especially important to young people who don’t know that you can be progressive, nerdcool and also religious.
a sign that says “hey you, whoever you are, there’s a place for you here” is going to have a different effect than a sign that says “hey there, prius-driving young professional couple contemplating having children soon, there is a place for you here.”
Rather than self-label (a notoriously unreliable activity), I’d suggest that we consider what it is that appeals to would-be UUs who find us. The UUs in the fold aren’t the folks being targeted; remember that.
At the risk of making myself gag, I’d observe that there’s a significant element of “Have it your way” in the incoming UU. They’re willing to put up with some organizational rules because organizations need them. But they want to know that they’re not going to have to adopt someone’s dogma….
A better way to frame this might be the idea of clothing. What do you want? You want something that fits well, that doesn’t cramp or pinch, and leaves you room to move comfortably. You want something that “fits” you, that looks good. You want something that wears well… and is in fact extremely durable. Something that’s responsible, that hasn’t fouled the planet or caused harm to others in your being able to get it.
That, I think, is what we might market.
“You don’t wear ugly clothes that don’t fit.
Shouldn’t your ideas meet that standard?”
Probably the simplest and cheapest way would be to start geek-related rumors. Hey, I hear that Spock is a Unitarian-Universalist! So is Yoda! And Morissey’s got a new album coming out titled “She Doesn’t Really Love Me, and There’s So Much That’s Depressing in the World, But Still I Do Take Comfort in the Right of Conscience and the Use of the Democratic Process in Our Congregations and Society at Large.”
We should probably also have shirts made up that say:
Martin Luther “The priesthood of all believers.”
James Luther Adams: “The prophethood of all believers.”
Unitarian-Universalism: “The 18th-level cleric of your own personal theology of all believers.”
Or maybe one with William Shatner saying “Our Whole Lives taught me everything I know about seducing green women”
Or maybe just “Unitarian-Univesalism: I’m My Own Dungeon Master”
If we do graduate to television/YouTube spots, I recommend a riff on the Mac/PC commercials. We’ll have a scowling man dressed in uncomfortable Puritan garb playing “Mainstream Religion” and a slightly unkempt but friendly and approachable person playing “Unitarian-Universalism.” Ah, what light-hearted fun they’ll have together.
Hmm. “I’m my own dungeon master” is catchy — but these suggestions make me feel like I’m in my own generation’s nostalgia trap. Are my fellow geeks still grooving on their ninth-grade passions?
(Okay, I’m in the midst of listening to the audiobook version of The Lord of the Rings, but still…)
Here’s the thing: I get the sense that UU marketers are targeting “cultural creatives” because they’re boomers thinking about the boomers they know or want to know. And here we are, Gen Xers, thinking of reaching out to folks who can get nostalgic about the ’80s. And maybe that’s as au courant as we should aim to be — since 30-somethings and 40-somethings have a slightly better chance at feeling welcome in the average UU church than a twenty-something urban hipster.
I’m pretty sure that today’s young freaks don’t listen to Morrisey, didn’t play D&D, and didn’t watch Star Trek. Sadly, I have no idea what they’re into. Can someone help me understand my own Facebook account?
“Or maybe one with William Shatner saying “Our Whole Lives taught me everything I know about seducing green women  this is SO FUNNY! Granted a VERY inside joke, but funny.
You could reach the teen and young adult crowd perhaps with “My church talks about sex in a good way… does yours?” I always thought that if we were more vocal about our sex education we would get many more young adults. Who wouldn’t want to learn that masturbation is healthy and a good thing? I know other churches are saying something really different.
Sorry, I digressed… freaks and geeks… marketing… I’ll think about that!
David, I’ve always been uneasy with the way UU boomers cast the whole religion in their own generational image, and I’m not sure I’m any happier having it recast in mine. Oh no! We’ve become the new boomers!
I’m not making this up: Earlier this summer, I was visiting friends in another state and walked by the local UU church. The sermon title for that Sunday was “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” Maybe I was meant to feel welcome — how I loved that song! — but I actually felt that the church and I were just out of it and trying to feel cool. Kinda like boomers singing “Imagine.”
I don’t mind marketing to other Gen Xers — in fact, I think it makes sense — but there’s something odd about pitching the effort to things we enjoyed when we were in college.
that’s the point, though. for each generation, social group, whatever, there are certain activities or issues that that group has in common. it’s impossible to create an ad that would motivate all the people who are UUs (but don’t know it yet) to click, so why not create a dozen ads that focus on different cohorts that are likely to be interested in us?
okay, here’s my crack at the google ad, though it’s not at all snarky…by no means my funniest work, but it could work:
Atlanta Hipster Parent?
UUCA values peace, free thinking.
Come grow along with your children.
search terms: Atlanta, baby, child, parent, tattoos, candler park, play group, yoga, all ages show, organic, punk rock (and so on)
links to: UUCA’s RE page (if we made it cooler)
anyone else? you read the rules. headline of 25 characters or less, two text lines of 35 characters or less.
Howabout:
Jesus, Buddha, Spock?
Unitarian-Universalism welcomes all
Boldly sharing the religious trek
Over-educated, underpaid?
Check out Unitarian-Universalism.
Brains welcome, wallets optional.
Soul need a little magic?
Unitarian-Universalism welcomes you
Come join the religious adventure!
Frankly Mr. Shankly
All this dogma corrodes my soul.
I need Unitarian-Universalism.
I really should be working my my syllabus. But it occurs to me that Google ads are just one step away from haiku. Maybe we should be writing UU haiku ads and placing them in poetry journals.
Sign of the times?
A religion for your generation!
Burma Shave
Got bumper stickers?
Kerry/Edwards? Peace? Green?
UU is the religion for you.
Scott, we all know you use fancy shave soap and all that. You’re not fooling anyone.
And 4alarm, do we really need more bumper stickers? I think there should be a resolution at GA limiting us to four or less each.
Jeff W. for the win!! (But what’s the Shankly ref?)
but there’s something odd about pitching the effort to things we enjoyed when we were in college.
Not really: people tend to keep the styles and attitudes from that age. Lots of people never change their hairdos or taste in music after college age.
we don’t need more hippies either, but that doesn’t mean that more hippies wouldn’t be attracted to UUism. ;)
and kim is right, studies show that the average person’s musical taste does not change substantially after age 24. not that most people don’t discover new music, but that one isn’t likely to, say, switch from being into indie rock to being into pop country.
uh, are you joking about the shankly thing, chutney?
Hey, remember that there are fundamentalist blackout periods of my life where I have no knowledge of pop culture. Unless by pop culture you mean Amy Grant.