wfn.org | Church ad campaign, Sept. 11 cause jump in new attendance

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Feb. 5, 2002   News media contact: Tim Tanton7(615)742-54707Nashville, Tenn.
10-71B{039}

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - New attendance at United Methodist churches in
five cities increased an average of 108 percent for the first month of the
denomination's national television ad campaign, a result not only of the
commercials but also of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The number of new attendees at the churches increased 55 percent during the
first week of September, when the denomination launched its national
television ad campaign, "Igniting Ministry," according to a survey prepared
for United Methodist Communications (UMCom). Nashville-based UMCom is
managing the campaign, which includes TV, radio and print ads.

During week two, the number of new attendees increased 218 percent, followed
by 81 percent and 77 percent in the last two weeks of the month,
respectively, according to the study, prepared by Prince Market Research. A
new attendee was someone visiting a church for the first time or who hadn't
been to the church in at least six months.

The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks encouraged local churches to work even harder
to become welcoming congregations, said the Rev. Steve Horswill-Johnston,
executive director of the initiative.

"There's been a synergy between the local church efforts around welcoming,
the national advertising and Sept. 11," he said. "Instead of Sept. 11 having
the possibility of defeating the campaign, it has encouraged and fed the
campaign."

Prince conducted a national telephone survey of 1,256 non-United Methodists
in five test markets and also tracked attendance at 100 United Methodist
congregations, equally divided among the five areas - Baltimore,
Indianapolis, Portland, Ore., San Antonio and Raleigh-Durham, N.C. Those
surveyed were between the ages of 25 and 54 - a key audience that the church
is trying to reach. The calls were made between Sept. 26 and Oct. 10. The
survey had a 2.8 percent margin of error.

Igniting Ministry already had purchased the time for its ads on the cable
television networks, giving it access to national media that no other
denomination had at that time. When the attacks occurred, UMCom pulled its
regular ads and instead placed a reworked ad on several of the channels,
including CNN, TNT and Lifetime. Its message: "We as a denomination are
praying with you."

"We got thousands of e-mails," Horswill-Johnston said. "... People were so
impressed that we were able somehow to have access to this media."

People also appreciated the message, which was not the traditional "come in
the door and buy our product" type of ad, he noted.

While CBS aired the ads during the opening week of the campaign, NBC and ABC
had not accepted any of the spots before Sept. 11. Now, both networks have
indicated they will accept the ads, and Horswill-Johnston believes that
change was dictated partly by economics but also by the content of the ads
themselves.

The study is the first of what will be an annual look at the impact of the
ad campaign, Horswill-Johnston said.

Other key findings:
7	More than one-third - 35 percent - of those surveyed reported an
overall favorable attitude toward the United Methodist Church. "Given that
this number is based on non-UMC members only, many of whom are confirmed
Baptists or Catholics, this is somewhat encouraging," the report stated. 
7	Less than 5 percent of the respondents had an unfavorable view of
the church, and 60 percent were neutral or had no opinion.
7	Thirty-five percent expressed willingness to visit a local United
Methodist church, compared with 23 percent who were neutral and 39 percent
who were unwilling.
7	In terms of both aided and unaided mentions, 14 percent of the
respondents recalled seeing the ads, compared with 18 percent for ads by the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 12 percent for those by
Baptists, 9 percent for those by the Catholic Church and 6 percent for ads
by the Lutherans.

"The overall impression of the church ... is actually pretty encouraging,"
Horswill-Johnston said.

Improving the impression of the church will take years of commitment not
only to advertising but to becoming known for having welcoming
congregations, he said. "One year of advertising is not going to change
that."

The survey also showed that the local United Methodist congregations support
continued funding for the campaign by the denomination. General Conference,
the denomination's top legislative body, approved about $20 million in
funding for the campaign from 2001 to 2004. Other funding is coming from the
denomination's annual conferences and local congregations.

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United Methodist News Service
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