What do you think of when you think branding? Logos? A set of colors? A tagline?  All of these can play a key role in the development of the branding of an organization or church. They each play a role in connecting with the head of your audience.

However, I believe there is one aspect of branding that too many organizations, especially churches, are overlooking. Logos and tag lines can all communicate to the head, but what about the heart? How are people connecting emotionally with your brand? Most likely, when someone thinks of your church or organization, they are not thinking about your logo. They are thinking about how you make them feel. Great branding connects the heart of the audience with the heart of your organization.

Nothing puts this concept on display more than Super Bowl commercials. It’s the one time during the year that I’ll use my DVR to go BACK to a commercial instead of using it to quickly fast-forward through commercials. But on Super Bowl Sunday, it’s different. This is a time when the brands of our country are on display to get noticed and create a lasting impression.

Not so long ago, you knew where your front door was. It was the door everyone entered on Sunday morning, on the way to your service.

Not so now. Today, most people “enter” your church or organization through your website, which functions as your new front door.

Within minutes people will make a decision whether your brand is connecting to their heart. For that reason, your website is just as important as your Sunday service ~ perhaps even more so, because what people see on your website will determine whether or not you’ll ever see them on a Sunday morning.

If your website is outdated, disorganized, or incomplete, people who find it in a web search are going to get the impression that your brand and church is, too.

Your brand is more than your logo. Your brand is the stories you tell, and the way that you tell them. It’s the way you make people laugh, cry, smile or feel.

I believe we have the most powerful and life-changing story to tell in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It’s incredibly easy to be consumed with how we connect our brand and information with the head of our audience. There are events to promote, services to communicate at, and things to be created. All of those are important. But none are more critical than how we’re communicating to the heart of our audience. Great branding connects the heart of the audience with the heart of your organization.