What Jesus can teach you about research

Officiant: Christ be with you

Response: And also with you.

Officiant: A reading from the Gospel of Mark. (Chapter 8 - "The Message" Translation)

27Jesus and his disciples headed out for the villages around Caesarea Philippi. As they walked, he asked, "Who do the people say I am?"

28"Some say 'John the Baptizer,'" they said. "Others say 'Elijah.' Still others say 'one of the prophets.'"

29He then asked, "And you—what are you saying about me? Who am I?"

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Does any of this sound familiar? If you're a promotions professional, it should.

Bet you've gone to church your whole life, probably heard this passage, and never realized you were listening to Jesus performing his own market research...

That's right, the Son of God took time to assess his brand. So why don't you? It's the only way to measure your effectiveness. John Wanamaker, the famous department store giant, once said, "Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted. Trouble is, I don't know which half." We live, however, in a much more sophisticated age, where you can get that half down to a much smaller percentage, and it's all done through market research and brand testing.

It's not often you can refer to the Bible for advice on how to promote or build an audience. But considering I am a minister's boy, I guess it's only right I spread some Gospel. (I say this knowing someone reading this considers this blasphemous. That's not my intent - I believe very firmly in the value of the Bible as a collection of life lessons, both personal AND professional. Rather than judge, pray for my soul.)

Mind you, I am not a blind adherer to research. Research has its definite pitfalls. I won't even bother making the arguments against research. Charley Holland did a brilliant job of that here. But the (rampant) problems Charley describes are a matter of bad research design.

Research - done properly - is still useful. If nothing else, it gives you the baseline on what you're doing right and what you're doing wrong; what's cutting through about you and what isn't. In a time of diminishing returns, too many of our businesses have let go of tracking market reactions to their products. But why? A carpenter from Nazareth knew better, but multi-million dollar operations don't?

Notice the simple, yet profound, nature of Jesus' questions... "Who do the people say I am?" When's the last time your organization really asked that question?

Believe it or not, brands can be impaired or run down like any piece of equipment in an overworked factory. They can fizzle out. Worse, they can die. Just because your brand research from 5 years ago says "X" doesn't mean "X" is still relevant.

This is not a time to drop research, or to settle into assumptions about your brand. Now, more than ever, we need to all keep our ears to the rail. We need to spend time data-mining, and analyzing our brands' life cycles. Among the champions of research, promo folks should be the chiefs.

Now, I know that can be tough. Jesus had twelve good buddies in the trenches with him offering up their insights. Most stations, by contrast, have someone who you rarely see, who rarely does anything, and rarely wins any arguments for the value he/she can provide. As a result, these people get treated as little more than industry overhead - there to manage the Nielsen relationship, make some one-sheets for Sales, and quietly await retirement.

It shouldn't be that way, though. We promotions folks should be rattling that person's cage by bringing them interesting questions to data mine answers to. We should extol their worthwhile contributions. And we should actively decry any management that seeks to stifle useful research. If we're ever to find out which half of the advertising dollar is wasted, then the "bean counters" need to appreciate the dollar return that research can bring.

One more point: Notice Jesus flips the question on his inner circle while he's at it. Sometimes the most useful research you can do is internal. It's important to measure external reactions to promotion and your brand. If, however, people don't get the brand from the inside, your efforts could ultimately be self-defeating. It's not helping if you say your organization is community-friendly, but the rank and file think it's okay to funnel viewer complaints to an answering machine, aka the "viewer hotline".

If the people within an organization don't understand and believe in the brand, they will never live up to it or spread the gospel. Jesus got that. That's why, in Matthew's account of this same conversation, Jesus makes a big deal and praises Peter for getting the brand.

That's another key point: Take those people who embody your brand internally and make them your company's superstars. Brands work best, and gain the most traction, when they are embodied consistently. Employees learn to embody the brand when they're offered examples of behavior consistent with that brand. Somewhere in your organization - and sadly, it's usually NOT in management - your brand's living embodiment lurks. Find that person and turn them into a big deal. When others take on similar characteristics, make a big deal out of them, too. The "Gospel of Your Brand" will follow those apostles within and without your organization.

Now, if I could just solidify my thoughts on what Moses can teach you about differentiation....

Parting thought:
"[Christ] would be a national advertiser today, I am sure, as He was a
great advertiser in His own day. He thought of His life as business."
-Bruce Barton, Founder of BDO and author of "The Man Nobody Knows"