The General Conference (GC) of Seventh-day Adventists unveiled a new brand positioning architecture to the GC Executive Committee (EXCOM) members and invited guests in attendance at the LEAD Conference held in Silver Spring, Maryland, on October 10, 2024. The framework is the first resource of its kind and defines each audience served by world church media entities, ensuring each brand’s content is tailored to its intended audience.
The brand positioning architecture is meant to enhance collaboration among Adventist global media entities and serves as a tool to support administrators in better allocating resources by minimizing the overlap between media ministries.
Media Synergy Summit: A Vision for Unified Mission
During the introductory presentation, Paul H. Douglas, GC treasurer, shared the foundation for this new branding architecture, which was laid during the Media Synergy Summit held in the fall of 2022 in Virginia, USA. GC administration recognized the complexities of communicating in today’s world, where traditional media and online platforms intersect.
“When we looked at the landscape of our media ministries, it became clear that we were operating in silos, leading to duplication and missed opportunities for collaboration,” Ted Wilson, GC president, emphasized. “We brought the Media Synergy Summit together to address these issues and find a way to work in a unified effort to proclaim the Three Angels’ Message to the world.”
During the summit, the Media Synergy Taskforce was created, focused on ensuring the Church’s media brands, which include at the General Conference level: Adventist World Radio, Hope Channel International, Sharing Hope, Seventh-day Adventist Church, Adventist Review, Adventist Mission, Ellen G. White Estate, and Revival and Reformation. The goal is for each to collaborate together while maintaining its unique strengths.
“Tremendous effort led to the development of strategies that allow our media brands to integrate while still preserving their unique identities,” explained Erton Köhler, GC executive secretary. “It wasn’t just about eliminating duplication—it was about creating true unity in mission. Through integration, we can combine our strengths and have a greater impact in proclaiming the Three Angels’ Message to the world.”
Following the Virginia summit, each major media brand began to meet together regularly, at first six times a year, and now holding quarterly meetings. Working together, they came to an understanding in terms of where their expertise should lead, who their primary audiences were, and how they could collaborate to create unity in both mission and message.
From the work in these meetings, the new global brand positioning architecture was created.
Introducing the New Branding Architecture
“Our message is clear, but we have had many mediums through which to share it,” noted Paul H. Douglas, GC treasurer, during the introductory presentation. “This model now allows us to work closely together to more effectively and efficiently deliver this message to the world.”
Following the introduction and background behind the Media Synergy Taskforce, Sam Neves, associate director of GC Communication, explained the new brand positioning architecture. Neves explored how it strategically assigns specific roles to each media brand and is designed to guide individuals on their spiritual journey—from discovering the Adventist message to becoming fully involved in the church’s mission.
Using an illustration of a funnel, Neves outlined how the framework is built around five key audience groups, each with a specific media brand assigned to serve them. According to the architecture, Hope Channel and Adventist World Radio would focus on introducing non-Adventists to the Adventist Church, while Adventist Review supports current members in deepening their faith.
By clearly defining each brand’s role, the Church can reduce redundancy and ensure its media efforts are unified and complementary. “The goal is to move people from the furthest distance to full engagement in the mission of the church,” said Neves. “This architecture provides the structure for doing just that.”
Implementation of Branding Architecture
The new branding architecture is currently being implemented across GC media entities. “We believe our mission will be completed when God’s church works together as one, empowered by the Holy Spirit,” shared Richard Stephenson, GC associate treasurer. “Accordingly, this branding architecture isn’t just for GC media ministries, although we understood we must address our own struggles first.”
To address the clarity the architecture has brought, Stephenson facilitated a panel discussion with leaders of these media entities. He stated, “We are beginning to see the power of working together as a global media network. We’re able to now move forward as one church, with one mission.”
Stephenson gave the leaders an opportunity to share how the framework has helped them maximize impact and eliminate overlap. Vyacheslav Demyan, president of Hope Channel International, described how the channel has embraced its role in reaching non-Adventists: “We no longer spend resources on internal church communication. Our mission is now 100% about bringing new people into the Church and introducing them to the Adventist message.”
Adventist Review has similarly adjusted its strategy to focus on nurturing the church’s 23 million members. “We know our lane,” said Justin Kim, editor of Adventist Review. “Rather than trying to do everything, we’re focusing on revival, mission, and discipleship—helping our members grow from passive attendees to fully involved in the church’s mission.”
Adventist Mission shared its focus on moving audiences from awareness to action. Mwamba Mpundu, an editorial assistant of Adventist Mission, explained, “Our goal is to lead Adventists to full involvement in mission.” Through initiatives like Mission 360° magazine and the Mission 360° TV program, Adventist Mission works to bring awareness to members of global mission opportunities while inspiring them to take action.
Historical Precedent
In the 1890s, the Seventh-day Adventist Church faced significant organizational challenges as it expanded its global mission. Multiple independent auxiliary organizations had emerged to handle publishing, education, health, and missionary work, leading to duplication of efforts and inefficient use of resources. As noted in the Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists, “these organizations were legally incorporated as independent bodies with their own officers and executive boards or committees.” This fragmented structure resulted in competition for limited denominational resources and attention, with different departments often working at cross-purposes or failing to collaborate effectively.
The confusion stemming from overlapping responsibilities and unclear lines of authority hindered the church’s ability to respond quickly to new mission opportunities, particularly in sending missionaries to unreached areas of the world. These organizational issues necessitated a major restructuring of the denomination between 1901 and 1903.
According to Neves, “Adventist leaders today face a similar imperative to restructure church brands to effectively reach people in the digital realm. Just as we needed to optimize our organization for sending physical missionaries in the early 20th century, we must now adapt to deploy “digital missionaries” in an increasingly online world.”
The synergy between these media entities marks the beginning of a new era for the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s global communication strategy. “It is our ongoing prayer that this new Brand Positioning Architecture will provide a blueprint for unitedly advancing the Gospel of Jesus,” emphasized Stephenson. “It is our hope it helps guide every effort and resource to support the mission for maximum impact. The framework is here; the challenge is yours to implement it where it matters most.”
By Alyssa Truman, GC Communication Department
References: Oliver, B. D. (2020). The Principles and Process of Denominational Reorganization, 1901–1903. In Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. Retrieved from https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=DC19
16, October 2024, Wednesday.