Everything is Marketing – Making Money With God
Turning to religion to reposition a brand.
By Luke Sklar and Amber Hudson
Religion.
I know you’re all “(sigh) you had to go there, didn’t you.”
What sparked this thought was a recent article in Business Week. While I hardly follow their careers, I was surprised to find out C-list celebs like as Stephen Baldwin, Kirk Cameron, Kristy Swanson and Kim Alexis have all found resurrected careers in the world of Christianity. When Hollywood closed the door, rather than call it a day they packed their bags and made the trip to the spiritual. 
Take Reverend Run (formerly of Run DMC). He’s another celebrity who turned to religion. He was ordained as a Pentecostal minister and has since starred in a reality show about his family life, published a parenting book and frequently provides inspirational and biblical quotes on Twitter. And in 2010, the Reverend and his wife opened…wait for it…a strip club in Sunset Blvd. Huh?
The proverbial elephant in the room is the question: are they truly religious, or did they just see faithful dollars in a welcoming market?
The marketing lesson: we applaud repositioning. In fact we whole-heartedly embrace it. In an earlier post we talked about knowing when to kill the dog. Before proceeding to the afterlife some brands could in fact explore a second life (cue angels and organ music):
- Perhaps there is another market segment to consider? Who else out there could show you the love?
- Bring something new to the congregation that will get those hands waving.
- Come across as legit, the real deal. If Baldwin’s new faith-based market got a whiff of non-belief he’s toast (hello Jimmy Swaggart).
This is the Everything is Marketing blog. We are here to prove that every single issue in life, every person, story or event, has a marketing lesson. And we want you to join in the conversation. So crack those knuckles and weigh in on the discussion, share your thoughts and ideas, agree or disagree. Bring it on; we want to hear from you! And if you like what you read, click on a button below to share.
April 19, 2011 This entry was posted in Blog, Brand Positioning, Resource Centre and tagged Market Segment, Religion, Repositioning. Bookmark the permalink.
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Jennifer Smith
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Amber
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Jennifer Smith
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Sarah Major