Marketing

There can be fear that the message will sound too pietistic if faith is included, or that it will put off non-Catholic people. Yet this need not be so, and indeed part of the art of the Catholic marketer is to explain honestly the university’s faith position and its welcome of all who believe they can flourish within that position. Authenticity, accurately capturing who we are, matters. It also appeals to those from other traditions who are open to consider a Catholic environment. People who are not Jehovah’s Witness can still respect the authenticity of their street missions. Long-term, then, there is good sense, and business advantage in presenting authentically.

In addition, it is perfectly possibly to be orthodox in theology and commitment but not conservative, old-fashioned, staid in communication. Catholic university messages can have the colour and appeal that comes from today’s youth world – particularly the vast and colourful world of Catholic youth media and events.

And speaking of colour – part of marketing is also images.

There is a whole theology of colour within the Tradition (green for Ordinary, black or deep purple for Lent and Advent, blue for the Virgin Mary etc). And then beyond colour, there is in iconography a set of beautiful, simple images associated with particular saints or events. These are common Catholic messaging tools that Catholic audiences worldwide will pick up on, including subliminally which is how these have always been used. The combination of meaningful colour, iconographic links and the colour and vibrancy of Catholic youth events gives a wonderful pallet for Catholic marketing.

More philosophically, marketing helps us raise the existential question of why we have Catholic universities at all.

The first institutions we would identify as universities were set up by Catholic authorities to take advantage of specialist teachers, in particular the then-new Orders of Dominicans and Franciscans, and to democratise the insights they brought by sharing their words more widely with future priests, lawyers, doctors, clerks. Specialism, expertise, students, shared minds, professional training, theological development, practically all of the elements of Catholic universities today, were there from the start.

To maintain these in today’s complex world involves the skill of the marketer to capture in word and image both a tradition and a future; to bring together worldly realities with youthful ideals; to open up moments we all remember fondly from our youth to those whose youth is still emerging. Catholic marketing then is a great work of harmonising faith and reason; not just selling but in marketing’s own way ‘spreading the word’. And for all of us working in a place of words, under the Word which was there from the beginning, our marketing is a public statement of our self-understanding and so is of immense value to us all.