“Together” is a marketing campaign designed to raise awareness and extend an invitation to readers and seekers to explore all Episcopal parishes within the Episcopal Church in Delaware. With a focus on young adults, the campaign aims to cultivate connection, community, and spiritual discovery. All components of the campaign directed individuals to explore our parishes via the diocesan website, www.delaware.church. Within the diocese, this campaign was referred to as the One Church Campaign: Together.
This video provides an overview of the campaign. As the campaign approached its conclusion, it was shown at the annual convention and shared through the weekly eNewsletter and the website.
Four Campaign Components:
Third-tier outfield sign at Frawley Stadium
Northern Delaware
Beginning in mid-April a third-tier outfield sign at Frawley Stadium (home of the Wilmington Blue Rocks — a minor league baseball team) was placed for a two-year duration. With over 225,000 stadium visitors in 2023, including a significant percentage of families (63%), this signage offers valuable exposure. It is one of two third-tier signs at the stadium. In addition, this sign can be seen as you exit the parking lot and from I-95.
Billboard on Highway 9
Southern Delaware
A strategically placed billboard on Highway 9, between Harbeson and Georgetown, will be placed for the summer months, through the height of baseball season. Sports at the Beach is a family friendly destination for travel teams featuring the most affordable Youth Baseball Tournaments on the The East Coast. This billboard targets traffic traveling towards the facility and surrounding areas.
For 13 months, our message reached thousands of moviegoers on all 14 screens. Two full-size digital slides were prominently displayed every 12 minutes before and after every movie, ensuring maximum visibility. This strategic placement in a key geographical location allowed us to engage a diverse and expansive audience, amplifying the campaign’s reach and impact. This is the only multi-theatre cinema between Rehoboth/Lewes and Ocean City, Maryland.
As part of the “Together” initiative, we launched a focused social media campaign featuring 15 video reels posted and boosted over two months on Facebook and Instagram. These reels reflected the campaign’s core message and visuals while amplifying the theme through powerful stories from parishioners across the diocese. Set to the energetic and timeless music of Lean on Me by Bill Withers, the reels were designed to resonate with the younger audience we had been targeting throughout the campaign. Centered around “Stronger Together,” “Stronger Together in Service,” and “Stronger Together in Faith,” these stories brought the message to life, cultivating connection and engagement while significantly expanding the campaign’s reach online.
How the campaign worked:
Diocesan campaign media directed readers to the diocesan home page, where they would see the
- same image (indicating they have arrived at the right place),
- same message
- with obvious one-click navigation to the parish webpage, the reader will find two ways to view all churches: 1) by county and alpha parish listing or 2) parish image. Either opportunity provides the reader with the parish web address and physical address. The campaign social media reels were also included on this page.
Individualized parish banners directed readers directly to the parish website. Parishes were provided with images customized for their website.
How we prepared:
Packet for
Parish Leaders
The above packet was sent to all rectors, senior wardens, junior wardens, and administrative assistants. This packet introduced the campaign and provided an overview to include campaign components, details, project retrospective, and the churches role in preparing for the campaign.
Offered to all churches to provide information and help needed for:
Website optimization: Enhance parish website and ensure it adheres to best practices for churches. Most importantly, make sure the information there is always current and inviting!
Facility upkeep: Maintain the welcoming atmosphere of churches by continuing efforts to improve facilities, making them welcoming and accessible to all who enter.
Share the hospitality of Christ: Make sure you a team is ready to invite, welcome, and connect with every individual who walks through your doors.
Goals:
The “Together” campaign aimed to achieve the following goals:
Raise Awareness: Increase visibility of Episcopal parishes within the Episcopal Church in Delaware, making them more recognizable and inviting to the broader community.
Connect: Inspire a sense of unity and shared purpose among parishioners, while reaching out to spiritual seekers and those unfamiliar with the Church.
Amplify Inclusivity: Highlight the church’s welcoming nature and core message of being stronger together in faith, service, and community.
Strengthen Engagement: Utilize targeted marketing strategies, such as cinema advertising and social media, to engage audiences in meaningful and modern ways that resonate with younger demographics.
By focusing on these goals, the campaign sought to connect parish communities while expanding the church’s reach to new audiences.
Audience:
The “Together” campaign was crafted to engage a diverse audience, with a particular focus on young adults seeking connection, purpose, and belonging. This group includes spiritual seekers, families, and individuals who may be new to church life or looking to re-engage with a faith community. The campaign also aimed to resonate with current parishioners, encouraging them to deepen their sense of unity and service within the Episcopal Church in Delaware. By emphasizing inclusivity and shared values, the campaign sought to inspire and invite all, regardless of where they are on their spiritual journey.
Metrics:
- Frawley Stadium outfield board: 225,000 fans
- Facebook reels (boosted): 3,700 average reaches
- Instagram reels (boosted): 7,200 average views
- Website traffic: periodical increased traffic
- Parish banners: 72% participation of churches