I love reaching back to my bookcase and pulling out an old media book. Media years are much like what we often call “doggy years.” The media changes so rapidly that many books and texts can become obsolete quite quickly.

Often, however, you can discover nuggets of truth that shine from the darkness of obsolescence, illuminating ideas and thoughts that remain helpful today. For example, strategies for reaching an audience are a focus area for many, whether it involves radio, television, or even your local church.

Roy Williams is an advertising guru who has been dubbed “The Wizard of Ads.” (An obvious take-off of the popular classic movie The Wizard of Oz.) In his book, Secret Formulas of the Wizard of Ads, Williams wrote a chapter on “Who Is Your Customer?”

First, we need to identify our target audience. We don’t talk to everyone the same way. To be most effective in delivering our message, we need to understand who is out there. In Christian media, we often want to tailor our message to the audience we want to reach.

When asked, we usually say we want to reach everyone with the Gospel, which is true. That doesn’t mean, however, that we send the same message the same way to all the different people who may be in our audience.

Roy Williams talks about “overtargeting.” We say we want to “super-serve” a specific segment of the audience. Williams, who speaks to a secular advertising audience, says that if we aren’t careful, we will think our super-served audience exists in a vacuum. We may forget they have mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, bosses and supervisors who all play a role in their lives and in the decisions they make.

How do we evaluate these thoughts in light of our mission to share the hope of Jesus with a lost world? Here’s my take.

  • Understand your audience. Make sure the message you convey resonates with them. Select your words for maximum impact.
  • Understand who influences your audience. They may listen alone, but they do not live in a vacuum. How can you encourage them to share the message of hope with others?

The secular advertising man Roy Williams shared a truth that has value for us:

The best ads are those that impress someone…anyone…deeply.

Does your message make a deep impression? Or are you content to just fill up space or time with words without impact?

We have a distinct advantage when it comes to crafting a message tailored to our audience:

  • The world is looking for hope.
  • We serve the One who is the only hope for our world.

Let’s do all we can to effectively take that life-changing message to our neighbors.

God’s best,