Honors Theses
Date of Award
2013
Document Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Department
Marketing
First Advisor
Melissa Cinelli
Relational Format
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
The objective of my thesis is to examine the church and its efforts to market to the consumer-centric society that is America. In the United States, churches have evolved and changed in many ways since our ancestors came to America. In what we call the “Bible Belt,” the area from Texas to Florida, there is a church on nearly every comer. The question becomes “Is variation a necessity?” One might say that all religions offer the same transaction in that they exchange the meaning of life for some investment by the believer (Twitchell, 2004). My intention is to focus specifically on Christianity in the context of America. There is evidence that in order to solidify good brand equity, there must be a memorable story, but brands do more than tell stories, they create community. What is so interesting to me about Christianity is that there are so many different brands for what is ultimately the same story of Jesus Christ. Through a survey as well as in depth literature review, I address key issues in today’s current church market by analyzing consumer trends and opinions. Apart from my literature review, I conducted in-depth interviews with leaders in different churches and with non-religious people in and around the community of Oxford, Mississippi. This has given me insight into how the local church markets and brands itself to people. The research completed also consisted of a survey that was administered IV electronically that obtained information about how people are affected by the church in various ways. V
Recommended Citation
Gregory, Joshua David, "The Marketing and Branding of the Church in America" (2013). Honors Theses. 2015.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/2015
Accessibility Status
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