The brand positioning and image of a religious organisation: an empirical analysis

Abstract

Brand positioning and image development are important topics for any religious organisation wishing to provide an effective service to the public. It follows that in a world with increasing religious options, the position strategy decision and the brand position statement are essential aspects of a fully responsive religious organisation. To investigate these issues the author presents the findings of a study that compared the brand position of a Catholic shrine in Portugal, i.e. the sanctuary of Fátima, with the image of the shrine as perceived by its pilgrims. The paper also attempts to offer a definition of religious marketing and explores some possible antecedents of effective brand positioning within this particular field. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Marketing through sport: a case of a religious organization

“…Regarding brand image, the Unification Church can convey positive image by not only being associated with sport, but also, importantly, showing diverse social marketing themes using sport. Social marketing by religious organizations can enhance or reinforce their brand image in society (Abreu 2006). Thus, this church marketing generates a positive impact on both the church itself and society.…”

“…However, the Unification Church sponsoring the Peace Cup can be understood as a form of a brand position strategy. Brand position strategy by religious organizations is important topic as it helps effectively reach the target markets and attract more people to the organization (Abreu 2006). A sound brand positioning strategy using sport may allow the Unification Church to outcompete with other religion in the global market and communicate with the public with respect to its goals.…”

“…Given the fact that religious organizations are facing even more heated competition in the market than before, they have been adapting various marketing techniques (Abreu 2006;McDaniel 1989;Vokurka and McDaniel 2004), and marketing has been believed to be essential function for the religious organization (Angheluţă et al 2009;Kotler and Anderson 1996;Baimbridge and Waiman 1997). Presently, different marketing techniques have been employed by the religious organizations to achieve various their own marketing purposes.…”

“…Competition is inevitable in our society, and even nonprofit organizations including religious organizations are not immune from competition (Abreu 2006;Miller 2002). The presence of competition in the world of religion may be adequately demonstrated by a market situation the world of religion is facing.…”

The Role of Brand Orientation in Church Participation: An Empirical Examination

“…Over the past two decades, an extensive number of studies have examined the application of marketing techniques in churches within the realm of nonprofit (Santos & Mathews, 2001;Sargeant, 2005;Abreu, 2006) and services the implementation of branding techniques in the church context has been discussed in the literature, there has been little examination of the effectiveness of the techniques in encouraging church attendance. The majority of previous studies have focused on the application of branding within the church context, rather than its impact on church participation (Webb, Green, & Brashear, 1998;Abreu, 2006).…”