Learning from Nickelodeon
A few years back, I wondered on this Journal if there was something the church can learn from VH1 and MTV. I believe there is. I just haven’t figured out the what or the how yet.
And now I have another observation. Churches could learn a lot from Nickelodeon, too. And no, I’m not talking about how to make goofy TV shows or what kind of animation kids like. It’s all about communication and promotion. It’s an art. And Nick has mastered that art. My kids, like many, watch Nick quite a bit. And when there’s some new event that they’re showing (i.e. the Kids Choice Awards, which are on right now), they promote it like crazy. You can’t flip on the channel without knowing what ‘big’ event is coming up. People like me get sick of hearing about it, but the kids certainly remember. And when the particular date and time arrives, the kids mention something about how they need to watch Nick that night to watch ‘Fill-in-the-Blank’s New Special Episode.’ They remember because they’ve been continually exposed and reminded.
There’s a lesson in that. There are a lot of times where promotion in the church constitutes a blurb in a newsletter and mentioning it once or twice in the weekly bulletin. And we wonder why people can’t remember when things are…if they even remember that something is happening. I don’t think things should be promoted ad nauseum, but as a whole, we need to do a better job of reminding people about when things are. I also don’t think that church is just about promoting one event after another (like Nickelodeon). Church is about life. But sometimes, life includes big events. Doesn’t it?
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