Hasta La Creative!

In a simple cartoon circulated online, Jesus looks at Peter and says, “No, I’m not talking about Twitter. I literally want you to follow me.” This is an apt depiction of the competitive relationship that has existed between media and religion, summed up as: “I’m God. Turn off the media and listen to me.” If modern technologies were used to further the faith — be it an advertising campaign or a televised sermon — religious institutions possessed a stranglehold on the content using a top-down, paternalistic approach to communication.

Forcing followers into submission no longer works — this is as true for the Catholic Church as it is for consumer-packaged goods. As marketers have discovered, trying to manage a brand in the age of social media requires a certain amount of letting go and letting consumers — even religious ones — own a portion of the message. Pepsi learned this when it allowed consumers to compete to create a new flavor of Lay’s potato chips. In turn, it gave the winner 1% of the profits. Eight million people actively engaged in co-creating with the brand.

Evangelical churches, too, comprehend the value of co-creation. Lifechurch is a good example: It provides multiple ways for congregants to interact with the church and each other, including services in Second Life, a Bible app and daily online church services complete with a live chat feed where visitors can relate to each other or comment on the sermon — creating, in essence, a virtual pew. This church understands that the worlds of religion and media have converged, and integrating media into faith is fundamental, particularly for younger believers.

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