What comes to your mind when you hear the word “Brand”? Most people probably think of a brand as a design given to livestock either by applying a super cooled piece of iron to the skin of the animal or a super-heated piece of iron that melts through the hair in skin. No matter the delivery, even after the skin is healed and the hair grows back, the animal is left with a manmade design permanently emblazoned on its body. Branding livestock can be traced back to the ancient Egyptians but was made popular in the US by European immigrants. A brand is unique to each farm or ranch and its purpose is to tell the world that this particular animal belongs to this particular farm. Unlike ear-tags which can be cut out, branding is permanent and serves a couple of purposes; 1) it deters thieves from stealing the livestock because selling cattle with a brand that isn’t yours can be a challenge. 2) it tells everyone who looks at that animal exactly who owns it or what farm it originally came from. In our area, the Peterson’s have a farm called “Rocking P Farm” and their brand is a capital P sitting on a rocker. When you see a black cow or bull with a “Rocking P” on the side of it, you know exactly where it came from.
A similar concept is used by companies and organizations all around the US. You might not consciously notice it, but next time you are at a large store or restaurant, pay attention to the signs, advertisements, colors, clothing, and just the general look and feel of the establishment and you’ll probably notice how well it coordinates. You know just by looking at a sign, advertisement, or informational flyer, which business it is affiliated with; this is considered corporate branding. A brand can have several components but most commonly are logos, colors, and fonts. Branding is so important to organizations that they are usually copyrighted to prevent other organizations from imitating their likeness. A brand is the outward display of an organization’s identity and shows the world who they are. At the December business meeting, the Broad Run Baptist Church congregation voted to create their brand with the help of Aboundant. The website committee worked to assist Aboundant in understanding who our church is and how we want to be perceived by the public. They wanted to know what symbols and colors best represented our church and were given pictures of the church property and members to help visualize who we are. The end result is a “Brand” that we can be proud of and truly represents us. There are two main components to our brand: 1) the Colors and 2) the Logo.
- The Colors: Red, Purple, and Gold/Bronze were picked as the colors that best represent the church. The Red is reflective of the building color itself, the pew coverings, the carpet, and even the offering tray inserts. Purple can be seen in the paraments often used in the front of the sanctuary and throughout the stained glass windows. Finally, gold/bronze was used as several decorative pieces of the church including: the cross, candlesticks, offering plates, and flag stands and finials. While the red and purple are the primary colors, the gold/bronze is available along with an orange, a different shade of red, and white.
- The Logo: From Aboundant: “With a name like “Broad Run” you should have a broad logo. People will subconsciously connect the two making the logo more memorable. The logo contains two crosses, one that leads towards your entrance and one that makes up the valley where you baptized people in the creek. That cross connects to the foundation of your church. Both crosses have strong theological/Biblical symbolism. The path that cuts through the hills to your entrance is a sign of welcome and denotes that it doesn’t matter whether you come from the hills or the bottoms. The breaking up of the hill also points to our inherent brokenness, redeemed in Christ. Nobody’s perfect. The back hill can also been seen as a rising sun.”
You might have some questions and I’ll try my best to answer them here, but feel free to contact me and let me know if something else pops up.
- Why do we need a brand? From the Rocking P to the Golden Arches, branding allows organizations to better market themselves to potential clients; or in our case potential supporters/attendees. A brand helps tie material together to make publications and advertisements look more uniform and professional. Subconsciously, after the public begins seeing our brand used throughout the community, they’ll start to associate it with our church.
- Where should we use our branding? Our branding should be used on every piece of material that is produced by our church. From bulletins to newsletters, advertisements to signage, websites to social media, and physical promotional products to mailing labels, our brand should be applied anywhere we can stick it. We don’t have to change everything at once, but as we replace an item, we need to think about how the replacement can incorporate the brand.
- Can branding change? Branding can change with the times when organizations want to freshen up their image, need their brands to reflect company changes, or there’s a new medium that needs their brand which can’t be met without changing. Similar to fashion styles, branding goes through trends and what works today might not work ten years from now. Most of the time organizations rebrand, its usually an evolutionary change instead of a revolutionary change. Sometimes you might not even notice a company has freshened up their look until you see an old logo floating around. See the example for American Airlines below.
- Can we just use any shade of red or purple? No, if you want to use the colors, it’s best to enter the hex code to get the exact shade. See the Branding Guide for the hex codes.
- What about font? Font is included in the Branding Guide. Please use “Georgia” or “Lato” in all written material.
- Where can I get logos to use for my material? The church secretary and pastor have all of the logo files. Derek also has them available. When using the logo, do not modify it in any way other than resizing it diagonally (this locks the aspect ratio). Do not distort it by adjusting it vertically or horizontally and do not change the coloring or the text. It is very important the logo be used as designed. There are several variations available depending on how it will be used.
Check out the attached brand guide.