The World Is Noticing AiG

Who says Christian messaging has a hard time competing with the secular media? Who says Christian creative materials aren’t as excellent as others in the media?

Certainly not me! At AiG we’ve always had an attitude that we must deliver excellence and creativity in all of our materials. It’s been an AiG hallmark for years. So many (including the secular media) tell me after visiting the Creation Museum that they are amazed (and often thrilled) at the quality and professionalism. Sadly, the Christian world has been stereotyped as often doing things in a low-quality and unprofessional way. The AiG ministry (and Creation Museum outreach) has greatly been helping in changing this.

There is no doubt that the rest of the world is taking notice of what is happening at AiG and the Creation Museum!

I wanted to take a few moments and share something I’ve become increasingly thrilled with over the last few months. As most of you know, all of us at AiG live the words of the AiG mission statement in “Proclaiming” and “Relating” the authority of God’s word and “Obeying” His call to deliver it. This paraphrasing of our mission statement has “evolved” :) into our tagline of “Believing it. Defending it. Proclaiming it.” You see this tagline on our website and most of our materials.

Part of the “Go PRO” mantra has been the marketing effort for not only the Creation Museum but for the ministry as a whole. In partnership with our friends at Joseph David Advertising, under the leadership of partner and creative chief Beckie Manley, we’ve developed a new logo and the tagline mentioned above, produced our museum television commercials and billboards, printed new brochures, and completed many other strategic advertising-related items.

In the most important measure of their efforts, the Creation Museum has exceeded projections at every benchmark. We’re on pace to have 400,000 people through our doors in the first year, nearly double the early projections and well beyond what many thought was possible.

An unexpected but pleasant surprise has been both the number and regularity of awards recognizing advertising excellence that AiG and the Creation Museum have won. I believe this is important for two reasons. Number one, it means that our work, which is being judged side by side with the best advertising for ALL secular and non-profit and faith-based products and services, is not only being viewed as being “as good” as secular messaging, but as BETTER. We have said very little publicly about these awards, but I thought I should share this with you so you can also praise the Lord of what is happening at AiG, and to show you investments prayerfully and financially are making an impact not only on the church, but on the world. Yes—the world is noticing AiG.

At a recent Addy Awards competition (the Addys are the most comprehensive and among the most sought-after advertising awards), AiG’s Interactive Multimedia Campaign (which included our AiG branding commercials and web strategy) won Best of Show! That same campaign won the Mosaic Award for representation of ethnic diversity (though we know there’s only one race) in advertising.

More recently, our television commercial for the Creation Museum not only won Best of Show in an Addy competition but was also selected to be featured in Animafest, the 18th World Festival of Animated Film to be held in Trebon, South Bohemia in early June. The animated portion of this commercial will also be competing at the national level against material from the best and biggest advertisers in the world. And then, to top off our recent award recognition, this same commercial for the museum was recognized by the NRB (National Religious Broadcasters) as the Best Commercial of the Year at their annual convention in Nashville, Tennessee.

Just as important to realize in all of this recognition is that our work is not simply worthy of broadcast or publication, but that our material is award-winning. It’s breaking through the clutter of the over 6,000 advertising messages a day that the average person is exposed to. I even think about the judges in these competitions who may be hearing our message (or any Christian message) for the first time. They obviously recognize its excellence. I also know their hearts may open to its power.

Our list of awards continues to grow. Just a portion of it is below (and I have included a photograph of just a FEW of the many rewards AiG has received in recent times):

2008 Best of Show Broadcast—Television Eden

2008 Gold Addy Award Collateral Material Brochure, Four-color Creation Museum Brochure

2008 Gold Addy Award Out-of-Home Campaign (Billboards) Prepare To Believe

2008 Silver Addy Award Consumer or Trade Publication Spread, Multiple Page or Insert, Four-color Garden of Eden

2008 Gold Addy Award Television Regional/National TV, Single Spots, Consumer Services, Travel/Tourism Eden

2008 Silver Addy Award Elements of Advertising Logo Believing-Defending-Proclaiming

2008 Gold Addy Award Elements of Advertising Animation or Special Effects, Video, Film Eden

2007 Best of Show Interactive Multimedia Campaign

2007 Mosaic Addy Award Consumer or Trade Publication, Campaign, Four-Color

2007 Gold Addy Award Consumer or Trade Publication Campaign-Four Color

2007 Gold Addy Award Interactive Media (CD/DVD)—Interactive Multimedia Campaign

AiG IN WISCONSIN

By the time you read this blog, I will be in Wisconsin to speak at the VCY America Radio Rally.

DEVOTION

“Beholding we are changed”

(2 Corinthians 3:18) But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Our salvation alone did not make our transformation automatic, we are changed by the Holy Spirit only AS we behold/worship the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Ken