Barfing Information

I could not agree more with what Ben Arment is saying here:

We get a lot of requests at Catalyst to promote social justice causes. And most of them arrive in one of these forms:

• A lengthy e-mail with a link to a website
• A DVD with the whole thing explained if we’d only watch it
• A folder with tons of reading in it… and I mean tons of reading
• A challenge to buy “widgets” for a cause

Of course, they’re all very good causes. And deserve tons of recognition. But with so many organizations out there, we can get a little numb to them all. So here’s a PR tip for any future comers…

Find a strong symbol for the cause… and send the symbol.

A stack of papers makes very little impact. But a symbol… whether it’s a whistle, a bag of coffee or a pair of shoes… a symbol makes an unforgettable impression.

While I don’t work for the uber-cool Catalyst, I do work in ministry and can assert that we find the same things in the church world.

• So-and-so has a great ministry event coming up and they’d like to promote it.
• Organization XYZ is taking a missions trip and wants to announce it during the service.
• ACME Christian Business sends a page-short-of-a-phone-book length “pamphlet” explaining why they should be the ones to get your next order.

Simple is better. Ask Kem Meyer. If you get our attention with something simple, we’re more apt to seek you out and ask you to be a part of what God is doing in our organization.

Don’t “info barf” on me. Most of us have enough on our plates where we need to see something that “stands out” before we can even consider having you join us.