Church begins ad campaign featuring members in a central role
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(Video Profiles Below)
"Hi, I'm Rose Yvette. I'm a convert, an artist, a wife, a mother of four, and a Filipina American. I'm a Mormon." So reads a typical profile at the website mormon.org that is part of a nine-city ad campaign featuring unscripted members of the Church introducing themselves, describing their lives and declaring that they are Mormons.
Encompassing television, radio, billboards, bus platforms and the interior of public transit vehicles, the "I'm a Mormon" ad campaign runs through the end of the year in Minneapolis, Minn.; St. Louis, Mo.; Baton Rouge, La.; Colorado Springs, Colo.; Rochester, N.Y.; Oklahoma City, Okla.; Tucson, Ariz.; Jacksonville, Fla.; and Pittsburgh, Pa.
Based on past ad campaigns done by the Church, research suggests that just less than half of those studied knew little or nothing about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Scott Swofford, director of media for the Church explained, "We decided to focus this campaign on introducing Mormons to people who haven't heard much about us, rather than trying to change the opinion of someone who has set ideas about the Church. We figured out the best way to communicate that message would be through its members."
The results of the ad campaign are measured in a variety of ways such as public opinion, attitudes toward members, conversations with missionaries and number of teaching appointments missionaries receive.
"We would consider this campaign a success if we can move the needle on public perception," said Brother Swofford. "We want people to know that Mormons are a diverse group, but we all follow Jesus Christ."
Additional videos and online profiles featuring members can be found at mormon.org. To view the profiles on the site, it's not necessary to create an account or give out any personal information. You can search for member profiles by age, gender, ethnicity, former religion and continent.
Members of the Church can help with the campaign by adding their own profile to mormon.org. An LDS account is required. A Church member can write his or her profile, upload a picture and submit it for review.
"When you create a profile, keep in mind that the idea is to talk about who you are and what you do rather than try to teach a lesson," said Brother Swofford. "We have had a tremendous response to our website from our members. We worked with the Mormon Mommy blogger community around the launch of the site and had a great deal of help. The site has about 4,000 profiles up now with over 20,000 in the review or creation process."
On a personal level, one success story from the campaign is about a young man who is a pre-med student in Baton Rouge, La. He saw one of the ads and went to mormon.org. He chatted with missionaries and found out where to go to attend Church in his area and how to dress. He showed up on Sunday in a white shirt and tie. He was just recently baptized.
