Twenty-four-year-old IMC alumna Ms. Tiffany Orbien combines fun and faith and conveys them to Australian youth. After working for the World Youth Day (WYD) in Sydney last year, she now handles the marketing and communications efforts of the youth arm of the Archdiocese of Melbourne. In the interview below, Ms. Orbien explains how her UA&P education is helping her enjoy life advancing the Faith.
How exactly do you create a “Catholic consumer experience”?
Most young people have been baptized Catholics but never really discover more about the faith outside their religion class or Sunday Mass. What our office tries to do is make sure that young Catholics learn more about their faith through as many varied experiences as possible. An example is the Catechesis Series with Bishops that our office is offering to parishes and schools across Melbourne. We recently held one in a city church where one of What sort of work do you do? Our office aims to provide as many oppor- our bishops discussed the topic: “Can you have tunities as possible for young people (primarily Jesus without the Church or the Church without Jesus?” Obviously the answer is no(!), but 16-35 years old) to develop and deepen their young people today want to know why—and in Catholic faith, from youth events to an online resource. It’s a fairly unique job, since I haven’t a language they can relate to, rather than just through textbooks! It helps having a person of taken the usual route of entering the advertising or marketing arena (that most graduates do), but instead I’m using my knowledge in marketing communications to promote the Catholic faith to young people. I see myself as a brand manager of the Catholic faith, and it’s my job to create a meaningful and enduring “Catholic experience” for my young customer. I need to make sure that the faith is promoted in a way that young people can relate to—so I also do a lot of graphic design, website production, writing, and event planning.
authority (the bishop) talk to them and answer their questions directly. A positive experience like this then spurs the young people to think more about their faith and how it is relevant in their life. It’s then our office’s responsibility to make sure they’re given as many ways to discover it more, moving forward.
How has the IMC experience helped?
Most people don’t really know how to react when I tell them that I do marketing and communications for the Church! The Church, like any major corporation that wants to remain relevant to its consumers, needs to be able to communicate its message in a clear, appealing, and professional manner— “Tiffany Orbien: Communicating the Faith...” continued on page 49 >>
TIFFANY ORBIEN
Communicating the Faith Down Under
Is it hard promoting the Catholic faith to the youth?
I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a constant challenge. In a first-world country where Catholicism currently has a following of less than 20% of the total population, it’s easy to become disheartened. But if the half a million young people at WYD has shown us anything, it’s that young people are eager to learn more and experience the Catholic faith. It takes a lot of faith on my part too.
Have you ever had a challenging work experience?
In the lead up to WYD, I remember feeling really frustrated when we’d try to promote the event to potential sponsors but get shut down once they found out it was a Catholic event. In a highly secular country where Catholicism isn’t even the main religion, it’s hard to promote
Part of the problem of trying to get the youth... more involved with the Church is that many only see rules, unbreakable traditions, and the scandalous deeds of a few. But beneath all that is a simple message: God loves each of us and wants us to be happy.
////////////////// any kind of religious event. But what frustrated me was that, in hopes of attracting more interest, some people on the team tried to “water down” the Catholic element by not stating the word Catholic at all! I’m all for “generating interest” but to leave the “Catholic element” out is ridiculous. I had to speak up and tell them that honest marketing is good marketing. Young people respond to honesty. I’d rather have the youth come to an event where they will be challenged... than to have them come under false pretenses and watch them leave disappointed once they learned the truth.
SCM alumna Ms. Tiffany Orbien (foreground) joins friends in welcoming the Pope during the World Youth Day in Sydney last year. P H OTO C O U R T E SY O F M S . T I F FA N Y O R B I E N
UNIVERSITAS November 2009
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