Salem Baptist Church
Brand Strategy, Website Design, Logo Design, Storytelling, Video Production
How does an organization stay abreast with changes in its community and transformations within? For Salem, it required an integrated strategy to unify and align all brand communications.
Salem Baptist Church in Apex, North Carolina is a church driven by love for others. Their quaint 1840 meeting house has evolved into a 22-acre campus with members from many ages and stages of life. Over time, as Apex transformed, Salem has evolved to meet the needs of its growing community.
The Challenge
When I came on staff at Salem Baptist Church in 2017, I had three primary functions: unify and align all brand communications, tell the story of Salem, and support the marketing communications of diverse ministries.
Salem has a rich history and a growing list of ministry areas. Each ministry brings something unique to the mission of the church. The kids ministry points kids to Jesus in loving and safe environments. The women’s ministry encourages women to live like Christ through life’s incessant struggles. These unique qualities had to come through in our marketing, but in a way that supported the overall trajectory of the church.
A Unifying Brand System
I developed a brand system to unify and align all brand communications at Salem. The style guide outlines the corporate mission, how to use the logo lockups, which brand colors are permitted, and even what email footers should look like.
I also created a unified set of ten ministry logos using a family branding model. Whereas an individual branding model may incorporate unique typography and colors, the family branding model helps individual ministries feel distinctly “Salem.”
Finally, I filmed and edited videos that walked stakeholders through each section of the style guide. This provided a primer for anyone managing Salem’s visual identity, both paid and volunteer leaders alike. The style guide, brand assets, and videos were all included in a shared cloud folder for easy access.
Decisions for brand applications were simple with a brand system in place. I created sermon graphics, camp logos, event branding, and letterhead that supported Salem’s overall brand identity. I also created story videos of members fulfilling Salem’s mission that gave visual examples of how to live it out.
The brand system, story videos, and cohesive branding all helped to unify and align Salem’s brand communications. Those marketing efforts also strengthened Salem’s legacy going forward.
