Diet Pepsi, originally uploaded by Roadsidepictures.

The picture above is old school Diet Pepsi. I need to make a confession, Diet Pepsi is my favorite thing to drink in the whole world. You might say that it’s unhealthy. I would try not to look at you in the eyes when you say that to me….

But there was a report that came out last week saying that sodas contribute to pancreatic cancer. Which is bad. It also contributes to obesity and diabetes but apparently those aren’t as dangerous in our minds as cancer.

So there have been a ton of articles on this very subject, that because of their dangers will they become the new cigarettes? Dangerous product tax it so people will be discouraged to use it.

Where do you stand? How would you feel if a 12 pack of your favorite soda cost around $13-$15? As someone in #kidmin, are you going to fight against it or sit this one out?

iSlate UI Concept, originally uploaded by celipovideos.

So we’ve all heard crazy rumors about this very device.

iSlate
iPad
iTablet

and I’ve even got a good friend who thinks that it’s going to be something totally different.

But here’s what I think. I think Apple is designing a new way to look at a computer. They want a family device to take media consumption to a whole new place. Think of art, reading, games, television all on one device with the ability to be all-in-one but also peripheral device.

Seems to be an incredible technology upgrade to me.

But what do you think? What does Apple have up their sleeve?

Web 2.0 Landscape, originally uploaded by vincos.

So I can’t get this off my mind. Someone in #kidmin world I need your help!

I am trying to develop and Integrated Web Strategy for BrookwoodKiDs and frankly can’t find any examples. Please point me to this somewhere.

Basically I’m trying to create a guide on how we use the web focusing on three areas:

Kids
Parents
Volunteers

How do we communicate to each of these groups on the web?

Hit the tweet button to spread the word, unless you know then drop me a comment!!!

Thanks in advance!

Now usually I’ll give you my own personal insights but I really want you to go check out this post by Kem Meyer. And if you don’t already subscribe to her and you are loving this Marketing Series, then you would be hurting your growth in this area if you didn’t subscribe to her blog.

Now she goes very corporate to give you a picture of what the Identity Crisis looks like with brands. However, when you look at your church, can you say that all aspects from Communication to Assimilation to Environment to Content to Message are all unified in their apparent purpose?

If they aren’t then what does that communicate to prospective “shareholders”? What are you leaving out of the loop when it comes to the heart, core, nucleus of what you do? By leaving that thing out does it communicate something different than the message you intend for people to receive?

I’ll give you an example for #kidmin that most of us probably never think about. Preschool-check in. What value do our preschoolers get from checking in to a desk where they can’t see the attendants and they have nothing to occupy their attention?

Where is an area that you think the church might not be considering when trying to communicate the heart, core, and nucleus of what they are about?

Maybe you don’t feel like you can totally take on the brunt of change in your ministry and the way they market themselves? Would you like a very easy and practical way to get started without having to just totally destroy any bridge you might have by asking for a total overhaul? Or would you just like to get your feet wet a little bit? Or are you just ready to get past the overly utilized, yet classic infomercial introductory question time?

Then the SWOT analysis is for you!!!

But seriously a great place to start is a SWOT. Contrary to what you might think this has nothing to do with slapping anyone’s wrists or destroying insects, but instead has everything to do with gaining a little focus for your ministry.

Simple Overview Time!

SWOT = Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

Ask yourself some questions about each of these.

Strengths:

• What would the community say are the strengths of our ministry?
• What assets do we possess? (financial, property, key relationships, or maybe just awesome people)?
• What needs are we meeting in the community?
• We are incredible at…

Weaknesses

• What would the community say are some weaknesses that are present?
• Do we have any liabilities?
• Are there some needs that are obvious that we are not meeting?
• We are pretty much bad at…

Opportunities

• Are there trends in your community that you can support, be a part of, or contribute to?
• Are there needs in the community that we can meet that no one else is?
• What opportunities are there in the community that align with out strengths?
• We could really do…

Threats

• Any community trends that could hinder your impact?
• Long Term Plans?
• What is the plan after this leadership is gone?
• We could do this, but…

Again this is a pretty basic SWOT. But it’s a great place to start the process and gives you some nice ideas with where to go from where you are now!

Hope this helps you out. Have you ever been a part of a SWOT analysis? Give me some details, let me know what the process was like.