In 1994 the Diocese of Southern Ohio partnered with the Episcopal Media Center (at that time known as the Episcopal Radio & TV Foundation) to use a clever TV and print advertising series to attract new members.

The ads were good, designed by Darcy, Masius, Benton and Bohls of St. Louis -- the same creative folks who were winning awards with their clever Super Bowl ads for Budweiser beer. They also were expensive to place (the ads themselves were low-cost). This was no free televised Public Service Announcement running at 2 a.m. every other Tuesday. This was real TV.

Over several months, we raised the necessary money, let parishes know what we were doing and got to work for a six-week ad campaign running during Lent. The goal was to boost awareness of the Episcopal Church in largely Catholic metropolitan Cincinnati and get more people to attend our 27 regional churches through Lent and Easter.

We bought air time during the evening news, on Oprah, the Tonight Show and other high-rating shows attracting our primary market audience: college-educated, middle-aged family women who had lost their religious affiliation but not their faith. We designed and ran a series of print ads in area newspapers listing all of the local parishes, and we sent out press releases announcing the effort.

We tracked our results. Three weeks before the series, we enticed local church youth to do a random telephone survey of households, asking a few simple questions about respondents’ awareness of the Episcopal Church. The results were less than complimentary: We had a market share of 0.008 percent household recognition. Hardly noticeable; the locally produced dog food had better brand identity and recognition.

We plodded ahead. The ads ran. Episcopalians took notice and seemed pleased, although somewhat mystified about the campaign, even though it had been reported in the diocesan newspaper and in parish bulletins. Attendance tracking was not scientific, and increases were largely anecdotal, but one large downtown parish reported an 18 percent increase in attendance on Easter Sunday. Hurrah for us! We did it.

Our post-campaign telephone survey showed we had boosted awareness (not attendance) to just under 6 percent -- hardly commendable for market share but nothing short of phenomenal for awareness trajectory (almost straight up).

We proved it could be done. Using a mixture of clever media, we could increase awareness, we could get people to come to church at least once, and we could make ourselves feel proud of our church.

Awareness not enough

But ultimately we failed. The parish that saw an 18 percent increase had no retention of visitors from that Easter Sunday. Almost none of the people who visited came back beyond a week or two. The anecdotal evidence told us that visitors felt bewildered and unwelcome. Nobody said hello, no one invited them to coffee hour, or, if they went, they stood alone in awkward silence as everyone else enjoyed themselves.

We failed because we didn’t prepare the congregations to receive visitors. We didn’t help them feel comfortable making others feel comfortable. We didn’t encourage parishioners to be helpful with newcomers balancing a program and at least two books during an acrobatic service. Much of what we cherish in worship was a mystery or inconvenience for our visitors.

And we didn’t follow up. There was no welcoming plan, no phone calls, no plates of cookies, no visits to homes. It was as if we didn’t care.

Would I recommend doing it again? The answer is a strong yes -- with strong reservations. If your parish or diocese is really ready to be open to receiving newcomers -- and you have trained people, including clergy, on how to be welcoming without being overwhelming -- then go for it. If you have any doubts, don’t do it. Folks who don’t go to church are largely indifferent to what the Episcopal Church -- or any church -- offers.  But folks who come once and are turned off by a cold reception not only won’t come back, they’ll tell others why they, too, shouldn’t bother.

And word of mouth is still the most effective advertising.