Agile Marketing for the AVL Industry

Reaching the house of worship market with your marketing message requires a new set of marketing skills and tools that have been widely adopted by software technology companies, but relatively few that I’m aware of in the Audio, Video, Lighting (AVL) manufacturing and distribution firms. To take full advantage of the combination of social, search, […]

Agile Marketing for the AVL Industry

Trends and Data Point to Church Market Opportunities

To prepare for the future trends in the house of worship market as it pertains to Audio/Video/Lighting (AVL) technology, one must glean insights from the past. There may be no better way to do that than to survey the technical staff of churches actively involved in AVL technical production, which was done earlier in 2016 […]

Trends and Data Point to Church Market Opportunities

Top House of Worship Ads of 2016

In the third year of this round up of my pick for the Top House of Worship Ads, 2016’s contenders were few and set far apart from the white noise of bland and ineffective advertising that continues to saturate the church technology vertical market. If anything, it seemed to me that there might have been […]

Top House of Worship Ads of 2016

The Four Uses of 4K Video in Churches

I made a prediction in 2014 here at rAVe that 4K video would start to become the normative in large, multi-site churches by 2020. I think I’ll still be accurate with that prediction, though I’m now dividing that future-glance into current realities and applications where 4K — at least in part — can be a […]

The Four Uses of 4K Video in Churches

Attendance Growth Surging to Mid-Size Churches

A new 2015 study showing attendance at mid-size churches growing rapidly is big news for a vertical market known mostly for the extremes of tiny and massive congregations. This study confirms my own anecdotal findings that have been presented here on rAVe for years, suggesting a shift for the House of Worship (HOW) market towards […]

Attendance Growth Surging to Mid-Size Churches

Fewer Large Installations — More Frequent Small Iterations

I used to make my living as a consultant focused on the large building programs of churches investing millions of dollars at a time. It was not difficult to allocate 10 percent to 15 percent of a $20 million dollar budget on audio, video and lighting and make a very comfortable living. Many of my […]

Fewer Large Installations — More Frequent Small Iterations

Thou Shalt Know Thy Audience

A casual perusal of the house of worship facilities and technology magazines is enlightening: the majority of advertisers push marketing pablum to reach every church, yet fail to identify with almost all of the audience. Their failure is not the inclusion of church lingo or boring stock photography, but in missing the first maxim of […]

Thou Shalt Know Thy Audience

Vision Drives Church Budgets

“We’re a church with a limited budget. How much budget do we need for this gear?” “We have ‘this amount’ of budget, what technology do you recommend?” Or, my least favorite, “We need to set a budget for our audio, video and lighting. What’s a good amount?” I hear these question from well-meaning people who are […]

Vision Drives Church Budgets

The Future of Selling to Churches

As an entrepreneur, I’ve discovered, lived and taught that change is a constant. When I started consulting with churches, the focus was on audio, video, and lighting system design. This tech-centric focus increased with the addition of teaching and speaking opportunities where I was able to rattle off the latest model numbers and point people […]

The Future of Selling to Churches

The Day the AVL Industry Changed

One need not envision a distant future of me-too products and companies vying for market sales when considering the future of the AVL industry. Our future is upon us and the end of features and benefits has already slipped past, like a buoy fading with the Doppler effect of time on the sea of sameness. […]

The Day the AVL Industry Changed

An Open Letter To The A/V/L Community

I want to start with an explanation and end with an apology. As a veteran of the A/V/L industry and the house of worship market as a former pastor, I wanted to express my thoughts on how a very small group of the overall church community has been lacking in attitude and actions towards the […]

An Open Letter To The A/V/L Community

Social Media – Digital Word-of-Mouth

In the not-too-distant past, I knew of a systems integrator that boldly listed their “Top 10” clients on the back of their sales sheets. They were 10 churches that most pastors in the house of worship market would know. All were previous clients of this firm. The implied assertion of listing these ten churches was […]

Social Media – Digital Word-of-Mouth

The Buying Cycle of Churches

Who do you sell to at a church? Who are the influencers and who makes the final budget decisions? From senior pastors to tech directors to volunteer leaders, churches have a wide range of influencers, recommenders and decision-makers. It’s important to understand when you’re talking to a buyer — or not — when working with […]

The Buying Cycle of Churches

Rants and rAVes – Episode 81: All About Houses of Worship

I am joined today by Digital Projection’s VP of Business Development, George Walter, who explains their Good, Better, Best approach to the HOW (Houses of Worship) market and what they have to offer as they have three lines of products specifically aimed at HOW installs. Here’s their HOW line: http://www.digitalprojection.com/MainNavModule/HousesofWorshiptab/tabid/173/Default.aspx Having trouble listening to the podcast […]

Rants and rAVes – Episode 81: All About Houses of Worship

DAS Adds White Paint Option for HOW Installs

D.A.S. Audio told rAVe today that it’s taking aim at the HOW market by adding a white paint finish for a variety of its most popular products. The white color option will facilitate the integration of the D.A.S. systems in the décor of permanent installations such as houses of worship, auditoriums and multipurpose venues. The new paint finish will be […]

DAS Adds White Paint Option for HOW Installs