Allen Kendrick moved to Lexington, SC to start Vivid Church in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic. All the usual methods for starting a church didn’t really apply, and very little data was available for the situation they found themselves in. Historically, when a new church drops below 100 regular attendees, there is a 90% chance that the church will not survive more than 2 years. Using this historical data, along with the average rate of retention at approximately half of launch attendance after 10 weeks, Allen and his team set the goal for the Vivid launch at 400 people. Scheduled for September 20, 2020, an in person event coincided with their first Sunday worship. The challenge was meaningful communication with enough people to reach that goal in the midst of Covid concerns. Communication was key, and reaching people in a pandemic requires a more creative solution. To reach Vivid’s long term goals, Allen knew he needed massive awareness coupled with an authentic and effective church community. If Vivid exists serve people, then they needed to communicate with as many people as possible.

Vivid Church exists to lead people into the vivid story of God. In Kendrick’s words, “When your story and God’s story collide, that is the ultimate story for your life. Every story gets better when Jesus gets involved.”

“Deep marketing reaches our goal. I wanted to hear people say “Man, I see you guys everywhere!”” Kendrick said. To do that, he knew he needed a relatively low-cost, high ROI option that would take advantage of “many veins” of marketing. He enlisted the help of Black Rock Branding to develop a brand that not only conveyed the name, but the mission as well.  And then put that brand to work growing a community.

The plan was communication at all leverage points. If it would be seen, it carried the Vivid message. In addition to handing out pens, shirts, jackets, masks and plastic bags they also did things like “water drops” where they set up a Vivid tent with a Vivid table with multiple Vivid signs at high traffic points throughout the city and handed out branded water bottles along with the other launch informational pieces. The Black Rock Branding team walked the space with Kendrick and his team and together came up with signage and wall art that would solidify the brand, and also help people to navigate the space safely.

When launch day arrived, they did everything they could to lesson Covid exposure and fear. A branded sanitation station was set up, and masks were worn. There was a separate tent set up for volunteers. Gift bags were handed out with a sticker, shirt and pen. There were also gift boxes for out of town guests that included a shirt, mask, glass and sticker and special gifts for the founding donors with high end drinkware and leather padfolio. Launch attendance reached over 90% of their goal. Ten weeks after the launch, they are preparing for a Home for Christmas event for 150-250 people. Even though weekly attendance fluctuates, the Vivid community continues to grow.

Black Rock partnered with Vivid every step of the way, and continue to be a trusted resource for everything from planning and design to follow up. “The value of having a branding company on your team is indispensable,” Kendrick said. They continued to engage the community and focus on “Livin’ Vivid” in Covid and beyond.