October 28, 2004 | Read Time: 1 minute
Branded Nation: The Marketing of Megachurch, College Inc., and Museumworld
by James B. Twitchell
“Branding” — a popular marketing term — should be thought of as a type of storytelling designed to make products stand out from the competition, says James B. Twitchell. In this book, he examines how such efforts are used not just to promote commodities like soap and soda, but also political parties, housing developments, hospitals, and nonprofit groups.
Mr. Twitchell, an English and advertising professor at the University of Florida, in Gainesville, focuses on religion, higher education, and museums to demonstrate how branding is taking hold across the nonprofit world. He argues that the “shopping mall” church that sees its congregation double in size every few years shows how a brand identity can be used to promote religion. These megachurches market themselves to the unaffiliated, providing amenities including live bands, child care, and enormous screens that serve as electronic altars.
As universities grow increasingly interchangeable, offering the same academic and social opportunities, their admissions officials and fund raisers have adopted branding to help prospective donors and alumni distinguish among them, the author says. And museums use branding in the form of logos, shops, and even franchises to cultivate a particular image.
While some critics are not sure the emphasis on branding is good for nonprofit groups, Mr. Twitchell disagrees. He argues that “having nonprofits behave like for-profits” may be “invigorating and profoundly democratic.” Commercialization can help expand nonprofit groups’ audiences and build a stronger sense of community, he says.
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 100 Front Street, Riverside, N.J. 08075; (212) 698-7000 or (800) 223-2336; fax (212) 698-7695 or (800) 445-6991; http://www.simonandschuster.com; 327 pages; $26; I.S.B.N. 0-7432-4346-3.
