I wish to relate an incident from when I worked in the
Marketing Department of The Quiet Hour Christian ministry in Redlands,
California.
I was tasked to come up with an advertisement for our
Ministry for one of the magazines produced by the denomination. I got together
with my Graphic Artist and I came up with two concepts.
The concepts were designed to be different than what every
other ministry provides as advertisements for their ministry. I said if our
advertisements look the same as everyone else’s we do not appear different or
special. We just blend in and go unnoticed. I also said if we run a half-page
ad then we are the only ad on that page but when we run a one-third or
one-quarter page ad there are other ads from other ministries and we got lost
in the shuffle.
I asked my Graphic Artist to come up with two concepts.
First was to design people in the shape of numbers and the second was to design
people in the shape of sheep. In the first ad the wording would be: WHILE OTHER
CHRISTIAN MINISTRIES TREAT YOU AS A NUMBER THE QUIET YOUR TREATS YOU AS A
PERSON. In the second it was: WHILE
OTHER CHRISTIAN MINISTRIES TREAT YOU LIKE YOU ARE ONE OF THE MANY SHEEP IN THE
FLOCK THE QUIET YOUR MINISTRY TREATS YOU AS A PERSON.
Our Management personnel told me our advertisement concepts
were stupid and to do what everyone else does. I protested and was told to do
as they say so we did. Do you want to know what happened when we produced a
one-quarter page ad that looked like the ads of all the other ministries that
posted ads?
When the magazine came in I went page by page looking for
our ad and I did not find it. I went through the magazine again and again and
again and still was unable to find our ad even though I knew what it looked
liked. Finally I had to go on each page of the magazine and X out every ad and
finally about three-fourths of the way through the magazine our ad was the only
one not X out.
We got lost in the shuffle because old stuck in a rut
Management people refused to believe me that being special and unique and to
ensure you don’t look like every else would work.
