Some Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the program that the UUA is making
available?
- Why are you doing this? And why now?
- What does the Uncommon Denomination program
consist of?
- Have you tried out these materials anywhere
yet?
- My congregation doesn’t have a lot
of money—we just want to reach more people. What can we do?
- Can I get some of these ads to run in our
local papers?
- What's the first thing our congregation
should do if we want to attract more people?
- You did a test of this program in Kansas
City. What were the goals you had?
- What did you do? What did it cost?
- What did you find out?
- What will it cost our congregation to
use these resources?
- Is there any risk to my congregation in
this?
- What are the criteria for success? If
my congregation wants to grow our faith through marketing and
hospitality what should we know?
- How can I find out more?
1. What is the program that the
UUA is making available?
The resources we are making available are about congregational health,
growth, vitality. Vital congregations reach beyond their walls and
nurture spiritual development, helping all members deepen their
faith, and inviting newcomers to join in. “The Uncommon Denomination”
draws on our best information on attracting and welcoming new people,
and on practices that enhance congregational involvement and vitality.
In addition there are a wide variety of media resources tailored
for congregational use and at various levels of financial commitment.
2. Why are you doing this? And why
now?
There are many people across our country who are looking for the
kind of spiritual home UUism offers. Many people have been raised
without a religious tradition. More and more people search for churches
on the internet and in non-traditional ways. And increasingly,
- Congregations ask us for marketing materials and advertising
and promotional aids to help them reach out and share their good
news.
- Congregations want to welcome visitors more completely and
intentionally.
This program links these two goals together and, with creative
and market-tested media, offers them to our congregations for the
first time.
3. What does this program consist
of?
“The Uncommon Denomination” provides users of any Tier
of the program with:
- an overview of the program, its goals, guidelines and covenant
- a series of guest/newcomer welcoming tools
- assessment tools for analyzing your guest and newcomer welcoming
and follow-up patterns
- a Public Relations Manual
- a variety of materials using “The Uncommon Denomination.”
design and theme, including:
- newsletter masthead
- stationery layout (letterhead, envelope, mailing labels)
- lapel button and name tag designs
- order of service covers
- yellow pages/community directory ads
- opportunity to order bumper stickers already produced and
available for purchase
- t-shirt design
- web site graphics
- signs for your Wayside Pulpit, event banner
Additionally, congregation/clusters engaging in the program who
make an increased financial and organizational commitment will have
access to additional materials to support public service and paid
media promotion.
We are using this Tiered approach because we know that congregations
have different needs and different financial resources to dedicate
to these efforts.
4. Have you tried out these materials
anywhere yet?
Yes. From January to June, 2003 the UUA conducted a test of this
campaign in the greater Kansas City market (Kansas and Missouri),
with four UU congregations of varying sizes participating.
5. My congregation doesn’t
have a lot of money – we just want to reach more people. What
can we do?
There are many things that you can do to increase the health and
vitality of your congregation. In fact, we actively encourage you
to do those things before you even think of committing funds
for a media campaign. Click
here to read more about the ways in which you can focus on building
your congregational vitality and welcoming practices.
6. Can I get some of these ads to
run in our local papers?
This is not a program that sells ads to congregations. We want participating
congregations to think about the larger goals of becoming healthy, vital, outward-reaching
congregations. We encourage you to read and engage
in the “Tier 1” and welcome/inclusion parts of the program to
get started on the road toward building your outreach and in-reach!
7. What's the first thing our congregation
should do if we want to attract more people?
Define your vision for Unitarian Universalism in your city or town!
Working from that vision, talk to members of your congregation:
what does The Uncommon Denomination. mean to you? What unique gifts
does your congregation offer to people that make your congregation
special and important to you, to your members, to your community?
Those are things you can build on and use, as you consider engaging
in this program.
8.. You did a test of this program
in Kansas City. What were the goals you had?
We sought to increase awareness of Unitarian Universalism and its
principles, to increase understanding of what it means to live by
those principles, and to increase participation in UU events, services,
and programs.
9. What did you do? What did it
cost?
The media test process included:
- Research, information gathering, creation of messages and graphics
- Pre-campaign awareness research
- Pre-campaign focus groups on messages and graphics
- Pre-campaign work with the area congregations including meetings
with congregational leaders, open meetings for congregation members
and meetings with staff and leaders to assess congregational capacity
for welcome and inclusion
- Selection of congregational campaign coordinators and an overall
coordinator
- Reporting of prior years data on guests and new members
- Reporting of current year data, visitor interviews, phone/email
contact reporting and other information gathering
- The media campaign
- Post campaign awareness research
- Debriefing and assessment by congregational coordinators
- Data reporting as related to goals of the campaign test
- On going reporting of congregational data through December 2003
The UUA invested just over $200,000. This money was available thanks
to the generosity of donors to the UUA’s two capital campaigns.
10.What did you find out?
Lots of things. We found out that we can increase public awareness
of UUism with strong messages and a multiple media strategy. We
found out that people who haven’t heard about us yet, and
who were interested, loved our billboards (six of them around the
greater Kansas City area)—even though UUs aren't supposed to
like billboards! We held seven public events, and learned what it
takes to reach a wider audience than our own membership. Guests
and return guests increased by more than 25% in the participating
congregations compared to the previous year. Congregations changed
patterns of behavior around welcoming, and welcoming back, guests,
and much more—deep changes that are lasting, and that reach
through every part of the congregation.
11. What will it cost our congregation
to use these resources?
That depends on which Tier of the program you engage in. Here are
some more details about each one.
Tier 1 is about building
“in-reach” in the congregation – developing a strong relationship
among all parts of the congregation toward the goal of reaching out to those
yet outside the door. It is about being proud of being a Unitarian Universalist;
knowing how to share our own individual “elevator speeches” about
what we believe and who we are. We have many resources to offer you which
will not cost you a lot of money but which can make deep and lasting changes
in your congregation and its members.
Tier 2 is about building
outreach, raising awareness in the community about our faith and inviting
guests to visit. These resources will be available to congregations whose
boards have reviewed and endorsed the program and allocated sufficient funds.
Tier 2 resources include (in addition to all Tier 1 and welcome/inclusion
resources):
- ad templates for newspapers and magazine
- generic public service announcements
- public service announcement that include recorded music and
voiceovers
The congregational cost is largely determined by your marketing
plan and the cost of buying media in your market.
Tier 3 is designed as a
major marketing campaign. These resources will be available to congregational
clusters and large congregations ready to commit significant funds, with both
governing board and congregational endorsement for the program. Tier 3 resources
include (in addition to all Tier 1 and 2 and welcome/inclusion resources)
- large-space print ad layouts for magazines and newspapers
(4 x 6 col. Inches)
- institutional radio messages in various lengths
- institutional tv ads in various lengths
- five billboard designs, with space for your congregation/cluster’s
website url to be inserted
- music beds and varying lengths
- templates and guidelines, as well as a series of generic stories/photos
illustrating aspects of UUism, for a tabloid insert into a major
daily newspaper.
Costs will depend on the specifics of your marketing plan and
the cost of media in your market. The Kansas City market is reasonably
priced and the media buying budget for that area was $135,000
for a four-and-a-half month campaign.
12. Is there any risk to my congregation
in this?
Professionally guided marketing presents almost no risk. But when
approached unprofessionally, marketing efforts can be counterproductive.
Money can be spent in ways that have little or no impact—or
even negative impact. The aim of this effort is to make professionally
developed marketing materials and strategies available to member
congregations and to ensure that your congregation is able
to participate in the program using the resource Tiers that fit
you best.
13. What are the criteria for
success? If my congregation wants to grow our faith through marketing
and hospitality what should we know?
Remember that hospitality must always come first. That, and honest
assessment of your congregation’s ways of welcoming and including
newcomers, are essential.
Second, sharing our good news of UUism and inviting folks to visit
their local congregation is most effective with a consistent message
shared in many ways over time. Work to develop a strategy that will
keep our values and our open invitation present in the community.
Finally, “The Uncommon Denomination” is a package of
high quality, professionally designed and developed, tested and
easy-to-use hospitality and media resources. If you engage in this
program, partner with us by using these resources responsibly and
well.
14. How can I find out more?
Contact the UUA’s Director of Congregational Services, Tracey
Robinson-Harris. She can fill you in on the details. Telephone:
617-948-6462. Better yet, send Tracey an email, uncommondenomination@uua.org
, to find out more!
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