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Washington Window
Vol. 73, No. 10, October 2005

The Diocese of Washington has teamed with 22 of its congregations to promote church growth through advertising.

“At the moment we’ve got two initiatives going,” said Jim Naughton, the diocese’s director of communications, who worked with Amy Elliott, the diocese’s Web master and designer to create and place the advertisements. “One is based in movie theaters and is basically a continuation of the cinema campaign we began last year around Christmas time. The other, is a kind of pilot program for future print ads. It uses newspaper ads and a Web site to promote fall dinners in Region 6.”

In initiating the cinema-based campaign, Naughton wrote to all congregations asking whether they would be interested in supporting an advertising project to be subsidized by the diocese at a cost ranging from $200 to $400 depending on the size of the congregation.

Fifteen churches responded. Advertisements began running in late August and will be on screen until around Thanksgiving. “Back to school time is one of the three best periods of the year to run church ads,” Naughton said.

The on-screen ads, which appear several times before the beginning of a film, direct viewers to wewelcomeyou.org, the diocese’s newcomers’ Web site. The site includes information on individual churches, links to their Web sites, articles on what to expect in Episcopal worship and the eight-minute movie about the diocese by filmmaker Hugh Drescher, which was originally shown at the Diocesan Convention in January.

Advertisements at Loews theater in Georgetown promote Christ, Georgetown; Grace Georgetown; St. Columba’s and St. Patrick’s. Advertisements at White Flint cinemas in Rockville promote St. Dunstan’s and St. Luke’s Bethesda. Ads at the Olney 9 promote St. John’s, Olney, while ads at the Kentlands 10 promote St. James, Potomac; St. Nicholas’ and St. Peter’s.

In Prince George’s County, the diocese has teamed with St. Barnabas, Leeland; St. Christopher’s; Nativity and Trinity, Upper Marlboro, to place ads at the new Magic Johnson theaters in Largo.
The diocese and parishes have split the $9,000 cost about evenly, Naughton said.

St. Margaret’s Church has been running a diocesan designed ad at its own expense at the Uptown Theater in the Cleveland Park section of the District since early summer.

“Advertising a church isn’t like advertising toothpaste. It isn’t something that people have to buy, and they are just choosing a brand,” Naughton said. “But we do know that the Web site has had 1,500 visits since the most recent batch began running, and people seem to be spending more time exploring the site than they did previously.”

The diocese is also working with the Region 6 clericus on a nine-church campaign to promote fall dinners in southern Maryland.

A three-quarter page ad appeared in the editions of the Gazette papers in southern and eastern Prince George’s county during the last week in September inviting readers to the fall fairs and dinners at St. Barnabas, Leeland; St. John’s, Broad Creek; St. Paul’s, Baden; St. Philip’s, Baden, and Trinity, Upper Marlboro.

A full page ad in Southern Maryland Weekend, which serves Charles and St. Mary’s counties, appeared in late September promoting dinners and fairs at St. Andrew’s, Leonardtown; Christ, Chaptico; Christ, Wayside, and Trinity, St. Mary’s City.

“The beauty of a dinner, or a fair, or any kind of social event is that they appeal to people who wouldn’t just show up to worship with you some Sunday morning,” Naughton said. “It allows them to get to know you in a comfortable atmosphere in which less is at stake.”

Working with the Rev. Julie Murdoch of St. Barnabas, Leeland, Elliott designed the print advertisements and a supporting Web site (downhomedinners.org) that includes information about the dinners as well as the Episcopal churches of Southern Maryland. The diocese and the parishes split the $2,500 cost.

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