Does Advertising Work
to Grow our Faith?
Kansas City
The First Experiment

4 Month Media Test Spring 2003




$130,000 Media Buy,
UUA Capital Campaign- Funded
“Uncommon Denomination” Creative
 Focus Groups with UUs and non-UUs
Hospitality & Belonging Training for
Congregations
 Focus on using advertising campaign to
leverage congregational change
Pre – Post Awareness Research
Kansas City
The Numbers



Average Growth of Congregational Adult
Membership in 3 years prior to test → 2% per year
Adult Membership growth during and after the test
 Test Year
+ 13.2%
 Year 2
+ 8.0%
 Year 3
+ 4.4%
 3 Year Total
+25.6%
 National 3 Year Growth +3.0%
Total New Adult Members
 Test Year
93
 Year 2
64
 Year 3
38
 3 Year Total
195
Houston
The Second Experiment

4-Month Media Test Spring 2005



$212,000 Media Buy, Major Donor-Funded
 More Effective Media Buy/Cooperation of
Houston Chronicle
Improved Creative
 “Imagine A Religion”
 More Heart / Less Head
Hospitality & Belonging Training for
Congregations
 Improved based on K.C. Experience
Houston – The Numbers

Average Growth of Congregational Adult
Membership in 3 years prior to test →
1.7% per year

Adult Membership growth during test →
6.35%

Total New Adult Members → 107
Houston vs. Kansas City
Kansas City
Houston
Difference
Media
Buy
$130,000
$212,000
+63%
Size of
Market
1.1M
Metro Area
4.7M
Metro Area
+427%
Cost per New Adult Member
Kansas City
First Year
3 Year
93
195
Expected growth w/out advertising
(14)
(48)
Growth attributable to advertising
79
147
$130,000/79 =
$1,645
$130,000/147 = $884
Total 3-year adult membership
growth
Cost/New Member
Cost per New Adult Member
Kansas City
Total 3-year adult
membership growth
Expected growth w/out
advertising
Growth attributable to
advertising
Cost/New Member
New pledge income to
congregations (new pledge
units* x average pledge**)
Months to recoup media
costs
*new pledge units = 60% of new members
**average pledge increased 14% during 3 year test
First Year
3 Year
93
195
(14)
(48)
79
147
$130,000/79
= $1,645
$130,000/147 =
$884
47x$1,205 =
$56,635
88x$1,205 =
$106,040
27
21
Early Reports from Orange County,
South Bay & Long Beach

100,000 Media Buy

Growth 3 prior years = 1%

Growth this year = 11.3%
Early Reports from Orange County,
South Bay & Long Beach
Rev. John Morehouse, Pacific Unitarian Church
“The ultimate testimony to the campaign’s transformative nature
can be summed up in one short story. About three weeks ago a
lesbian couple showed up for our worship service. They had seen
the insert in the LA Times. After the service they asked to speak
to me and told me they wanted to have a union ceremony to bless
their domestic partnership. Just the other day, one partner stopped
me after church and asked to speak to me. She told me that her
partner was dying of cancer. ‘You see,’ she said, ‘while that is sad,
it so wonderful we found this church. At least we will be blessed
by this community, at least she won’t die before she knows that
there is such a religion for us.’ We have a world waiting to be
saved. This campaign was a brave step into that work.”
Some Simple Minded* Projections
Growth Goal
1%**
2%
3%
4%
5%
Incremental New
Members
Required
1,600
3,200
4,800
6,400
Acquisition Cost
using K.C. 3 yr
cost as basis
($884)
$1,400,000
$2,800,000
$4,200,000
$5,600,000
New Pledge
Income to
Congregations
$1,152,000
$2,300,000
$3,456,000
$4,608,000
*Simple minded because media selection and cost must be market specific.
**Our growth has been a steady 1%/year for over 20 years.
Does advertising work to grow
UU congregations?
Fringe Benefits

Congregations work together
 Basis for future growth efforts (for instance, a
Kansas City emerging new congregation)

Congregational culture change

Happy donors with capacity for significant
future generosity

Increased awareness of Unitarian Universalism:
Unmeasurable - but perhaps central!
We Are Still Learning

Role of PR tied to ad campaigns
 Southern California Success

Media selection

How much do we have to spend?
 Impact of market size
 Did we under-spend in Houston?
 Did we over-spend in Kansas City?
Conclusions

Advertising is not a panacea, but where
conditions are right it can be a powerful tool for
growth and should be a part of an overall
growth plan.

The fringe benefits are impressive.

The costs are substantial, but not beyond our
reach. A single typical mid-size church can
easily raise $150,000 for a minor renovation.
Conclusions

In Kansas City and Houston our advertising
had to do two jobs:



Create awareness (effectively -0- prior to the ads)
Generate visitors/members
A modest national awareness campaign might
well multiply the effectiveness of market-based
outreach campaigns.
Together
Let Us Grow Our Faith!