Sarah Joyce, MBA ’14: Using Common Marketing Approaches In Uncommon Places

TL;DR

To revitalize engagement with the Catholic Church, focus on reaching millennial Catholics through social media and direct outreach. Innovate the homily to make it more engaging and use mobile apps for continuous interaction. These strategies aim to re-engage young Catholics and maintain their involvement with the Church.

Transcript

you are the CEO of a large multinational company your company has $170 billion in Revenue it serves 1.2 billion customers and it employs almost a million people but it's not all good news for you in the past few decades your company has lost revenue and market share at pretty alarming rates your home markets of North America and Europe are the ones... Read More

Key Insights

• The Catholic Church faces declining engagement in traditional markets, offset by growth in emerging markets.
• Millennials are a key demographic, often becoming unaffiliated with religion despite being raised Catholic.
• Social media, including the Pope's Twitter account, is crucial for engaging younger audiences.
• Direct outreach can be effective by targeting life events, similar to marketing strategies used by companies like Target.
• The homily is a critical moment for engagement, but its effectiveness varies greatly among priests.
• Professional speakers and communication coaches could help standardize the quality of homilies.
• Mobile apps can facilitate ongoing engagement by offering features like prayer walls and online donations.
• The Catholic Church can learn from common marketing approaches to address its engagement challenges.

Questions & Answers

Q: How can the Catholic Church engage millennials?

The Catholic Church can engage millennials by leveraging social media platforms where this demographic is active, such as Twitter. Additionally, direct outreach during significant life events, like graduation or starting a new job, can be effective. The Church can also innovate the homily to make it more engaging and relatable to modern life.

Q: Why is the homily important for church engagement?

The homily is crucial for church engagement because it connects the Church's teachings to the modern world. A well-delivered homily can inspire and uplift the congregation, making them feel more connected to the Church. However, its effectiveness varies, suggesting a need for professional speakers or communication coaches to improve delivery.

Q: What role do mobile apps play in church engagement?

Mobile apps play a significant role in church engagement by providing continuous interaction beyond the physical church setting. They can offer features like prayer walls, event invites, and online donations, keeping the congregation connected throughout the week. This ongoing engagement is particularly appealing to tech-savvy millennials.

Q: What marketing strategies can the Catholic Church adopt?

The Catholic Church can adopt marketing strategies such as using social media to reach younger audiences and direct outreach during key life events. Additionally, improving the consistency and quality of homilies through professional training and utilizing mobile apps for ongoing engagement are effective strategies to revitalize church involvement.

Q: Who are the 'nuns' in the context of religious affiliation?

In the context of religious affiliation, 'nuns' refer to individuals who are unaffiliated with any religion. They may have been raised within a religious tradition but have chosen not to affiliate with any faith as adults. This group represents a growing demographic, particularly among millennials, posing a challenge for religious organizations.

Q: How can direct outreach be used in church marketing?

Direct outreach in church marketing can involve using demographic data to identify when individuals are experiencing significant life events, such as moving to a new city or starting a job. By reaching out during these times, the Church can offer support and engagement, similar to how companies like Target use data to predict customer needs.

Q: What challenges does the Catholic Church face in traditional markets?

In traditional markets like North America and Europe, the Catholic Church faces challenges such as declining revenue and market share. These are compounded by cultural shifts, with younger generations often becoming unaffiliated with religion. Addressing these challenges requires innovative approaches to engagement and outreach.

Q: How can the Catholic Church innovate the homily?

The Catholic Church can innovate the homily by employing professional speakers or communication coaches to enhance delivery. Recording effective homilies for wider distribution and using storytelling techniques can also make them more engaging. These innovations aim to create a more consistent and inspiring experience for the congregation.

Summary

In this video, the speaker discusses how she would approach the declining revenue and market share problems of the Catholic Church if she were the CEO. She explores the need to engage with millennial Catholics, use social media and direct outreach to attract them, innovate the homily to connect with their modern world, and utilize a mobile app to maintain their engagement. The speaker encourages viewers to apply a consumer marketing lens to any industry or problem they may be facing.

Questions & Answers

Q: What approach does the speaker suggest for addressing the declining revenue and market share problems of the Catholic Church?

The speaker suggests approaching the problem through consumer marketing lens and focusing on engaging with millennial Catholics.

Q: How does the speaker propose attracting millennial Catholics?

The speaker proposes using social media and direct outreach to attract millennial Catholics. She mentions how influencers, like celebrities and athletes, can play a significant role in reaching this demographic.

Q: Why does the speaker emphasize the importance of social media?

The speaker highlights that social media is where millennials are active, and leveraging platforms like Twitter can help reach and engage with this demographic effectively.

Q: How does the speaker suggest using data to predict when millennials may be going through significant life events?

The speaker draws parallels with a famous Target campaign that used customer data to predict when expectant mothers may need baby products. Similarly, she proposes using available demographic data to analyze when millennials may be going through major life events, making them more receptive to engagement.

Q: What does the speaker propose to innovate within the Catholic Church?

The speaker proposes innovating the homily, which is when the priest connects the fundamental teachings of the church to the modern world. She suggests hiring professional speakers, speechwriters, and communication coaches to ensure consistent and impactful homilies.

Q: Why does the speaker emphasize the idea of videotaping effective messages?

The speaker suggests recording and sharing impactful messages so that they can be accessed by the whole network, eliminating the need for people to travel to specific parishes or priests.

Q: How does the speaker suggest keeping millennial Catholics engaged beyond Mass?

The speaker discusses the use of mobile apps to share content, create a prayer wall, track attendance, and even accept online donations. She mentions that many parishes are already using such apps and highlights the need for the Catholic Church to adopt this approach.

Q: In what sense can this approach be applied to other industries or problems?

The speaker suggests that adopting a consumer marketing lens can be beneficial for any industry or problem. By thinking about the customer experience and finding innovative ways to engage with them, businesses can optimize their approach.

Q: What is the key takeaway from this video?

The key takeaway is that an uncommon approach can work in even the most uncommon place. By thinking differently, using modern tools like social media and mobile apps, and focusing on engaging the target audience, organizations can turn around declining revenue and market share.

Takeaways

The speaker's approach to addressing the declining revenue and market share problems of the Catholic Church involves engaging with millennial Catholics, leveraging social media and direct outreach, innovating the homily, and utilizing a mobile app to maintain engagement. This approach can be applied in various industries by adopting a consumer marketing lens and optimizing the customer experience. The key takeaway is that thinking differently and finding innovative ways to engage with the target audience can lead to positive outcomes even in unconventional places.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The Catholic Church is experiencing declining engagement in traditional markets, with millennials often becoming unaffiliated. To address this, the Church can use social media and direct outreach to engage young Catholics. Innovating the homily and utilizing mobile apps for continuous interaction are also key strategies.

• Millennials, aged 18-29, are a crucial target for the Catholic Church as they often drift away from their religious upbringing. Social media and direct outreach during life events can help re-engage this demographic, while professional speakers can improve homily delivery.

• Mobile apps offer a modern way to maintain engagement with young Catholics, providing features like prayer walls and online donations. By adopting common marketing strategies, the Catholic Church can better connect with its audience and revitalize its presence in traditional markets.