“Pop Goes the Church,” by Tim Stevens, is an awesome read. I definitely reccommend it.
Ultimately, the book encourages The Church to get out of its comfort zone, and leverage pop culture to “reach out to people in the language of their lives… with words, sounds, and images that speak to them.”
A letter to Joe Burnt-By-The-Church
Throughout the book, Tim writes short letters to a fictional guy named Joe. Joe is someone who has been burnt by church and religion.
I was inspired by these letters to brainstorm a potential billboard campaign.
A letter to your community - on a billboard?
I have read about a couple of successful billboard campaigns that had a ongoing-letter-between-folks approach. In other words, commuters looked forward to driving past that particular billboard to see what the next letter or response would say.
What if you adapted some of these letters, in “Pop Goes the Church,” to work as a billboard conversation between your church and “insert target demographic here?”
Inspiration
Check out these excerpts from several letters found in “Pop Goes the Church.” Imagine the possibilities.
Just so you know, I’m not trying to to change your mind. You think what you think because of the people you’ve met and the experiences you’ve had. The only thing that will change that is new experiences.
If you have been hurt by churches full of people who seem to be talking to themselves and showing no interest in you, I want you know that all churches are not like that.
Probably my favorite short quote:
It doesn’t make sense for us to continue making the same mistakes over and over. You matter too much.
Other great letters, to gain inspiration, are found on the following pages: 18, 21, 28, 47, 57, 88, 104, 114, 143, and 224.
More successful billboard stories
What successful billboard campaign ideas has your church used, or you have heard of?
Do you think there is such thing as a successful church billboard campaign?
Please share your thoughts below.
Hmmm is the ROI very good on billboards? I’ve felt like they’re really expensive…
But i like the quotes.
Steven,
That’s a great question.
Billboard advertising can be less expensive than other forms of mass media, depending on who you go through.
In addition, ROI varies based a lot of factors including location, billboard type (digital vs vinyl), one-off vs targeted campaign, etc. Usually the billboard company you go through should provide this information.
Here’s a new excerpt I found, from Extreme John, after a quick google blog search. He owns several businesses in Florida.
“All though billboard advertising is not available in every city, and not every billboard offers great exposure, if you have an excellent sales rep and you take the time to pick your billboard location billboards can generate a tremendous amount of buzz in a very short period of time. Billboard advertising is still one of my favorite forms of advertising that I still continue to use.