Book tells businesses how to market to church crowd

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When it comes to reaching Christian consumers, burritos and baseball just might work better than boxing gloves.

In recent years, businesses have tried to capture the faith-based market that created blockbusters like The Purpose Driven Life and The Passion of the Christ. While some companies have connected with the church crowd, more have fallen flat.

Consider the Rocky loves Jesus campaign, used to promote the 2006 Sylvester Stallone film, Rocky Balboa. Marketers created church study guides for the film and mailed thousands of boxing gloves to church pastors. They even held conference calls with Stallone, in which he talked about his spiritual journey. The message didn't work.

"I remember being on the conference call with Stallone and wondering, what does this have to do with Jesus?" said Brent High of the Third Coast Sports Foundation, which promotes faith nights at sports events.

High is featured in Faith-Based Marketing, a new book aimed at helping businesses reach the church market. Authors Greg Stielstra and Bob Hutchins say that, in a fragmented media environment, churchgoers offer great opportunities for businesses that want to reach a large audience.

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