Archdiocese Turns to In-plant for Brand Advice
Does a religious organization need a “brand” beyond the name of the church it belongs to? The Archdiocese of Detroit believes so, and with “Unleash the Gospel” as its tagline, it has created a branding strategy as carefully articulated as that of any major corporation — and the in-plant has played an important role in the process.
The Archdiocese even has a formal brand identity manual containing detailed instructions for reproducing its primary mark, a recently redesigned coat of arms; a palette of approved Pantone colors; and the typefaces to be used (Gotham, Franklin Gothic and Constantia) in all printed and electronic communications.
Mary Henige, strategic communications director for the Archdiocese, says the branding initiative took place in conjunction with Archbishop Allen Vigneron’s issuance of a pastoral letter — an open statement to the faithful — in 2017. The Cleveland, Ohio-based Boondock Walker branding agency was called in to create a new coat of arms and other stylistic elements for the branding manual, which the Archdiocese’s employees and vendors are expected to follow when designing visual materials on its behalf.
Integral to the success of the branding initiative was the support of the Archdiocesan in-plant and the extra care taken by Bob Pawlak, director of printing and mailing.
“We involved the print shop from the beginning,” says Henige. “We knew from experience that the former coat of arms didn’t always reproduce correctly. For example, the gold used previously often printed as brown.”
Pawlak worked to overcome issues like this from the start of the project, conferring with Boondock Walker’s designers and testing the recommended colors on a variety of paper samples. Once he’d made certain that the color palette and the marks would be easy to reproduce, he printed a supply of everything the Archdiocese needed in the new look of its reinvigorated brand.
“Our brand transformation is a great example of why having an in-house print shop benefits the entire organization and the quality of work,” Henige declares.
