Global Alpha Campaign Guide

Global Alpha Campaign 2016

JOIN THE ADVENTURE

OVER

27,000,000 PEOPLE HAVE ATTENDED ALPHA

FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER WE ARE COMING TOGETHER TO INVITE THE WORLD TO TRY ALPHA

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Global Alpha Campaign 2016

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Contents

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What is Alpha?

Bear’s Story

Your Alpha Invitation 2016

Finding faith on Alpha

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Join the Adventure The man behind the adventurer

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Customize Your Invitation

Why Social?

Promoting Your Alpha Digitally

Learn how to best train your team

Push your Alpha online

4 handy tips

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Why Use Outdoor Advertising?

FAQs

Key Steps

Put up billboards near your church

Frequently asked questions.

12 Steps to get you started

WELCOME NOTE Welcome to the Global Alpha Campaign Church Guide. This guide has been created to answer all you need to know about effectively launching the Global Alpha Campaign in your local community.

We have seen Alpha come to life across the globe as churches, new and old, run Alpha. To date, more than 27 million individual people have tried Alpha!

In 2016 we are praying for 1 billion people across the globe to be invited on Alpha and would love you to be involved.

“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?”

Romans 10:14

Alpha is a tool designed to encourage anyone to explore life and the Christian faith in a friendly, open and informal environment. alphausa.org

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What is Alpha?

What’s the story of Alpha?

Developed as a short course at Holy Trinity Brompton in London, in 1990 Nicky Gumbel took over running Alpha and found that many people outside of the church wanted to explore the Christian faith.

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Alpha now runs in every part of the global church, including the Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church and all mainline Protestant denominations.

Today more than 27 million people have tried Alpha in 169 countries, and it has been translated into 112 different languages.

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What is Alpha?

Why Alpha?

Alpha is a series of interactive sessions exploring the basics of the Christian faith.

Typically run over ten weeks, each session looks at a different question that people can have about faith and is designed to create conversation. There is no pressure or charge; it’s just an open, informal and honest space to explore and discuss life’s big questions together.

Alpha is based on a pattern you find in the New Testament of people bringing their friends, family and work colleagues to meet Jesus.

Everyone is welcome, but Alpha is designed specifically for people who would not describe themselves as Christians or church-goers.

There are a wealth of resources that help you run Alpha via Alpha Builder (alphausa.org/run) or your Regional Alpha Office.

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• It’s straightforward to run. Alpha follows a simple format: Food, Talk, and Discussion.

Food to socialize over, a talk on the Christian faith and discussion in small groups for guests to bring their questions.

• It’s relational. Alpha is based on genuine friendships that develop over a few weeks and often last for years afterwards.

• It’s reliant on the Holy Spirit. We realize that it is only God who can change people’s lives; we just introduce Him.

What is the Global Alpha Campaign?

The Global Alpha Campaign is going to be the most visible, widespread and exciting invitation we’ve produced yet because we are launching globally for the first time ever.

Working together with internationally recognized and respected British adventurer Bear Grylls, we aim to reach 1 billion people across the globe, and we need your help in doing so.

• It’s real. Alpha presents the reality of who Jesus is. People are welcome to ask questions and look for answers, with no pressure to contribute and no follow up if they don’t come back.

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BEAR’s STORY

“Alpha is a chance to ask some of the big questions and, for me, that was really important.”

I did Alpha with Shara when we first got married and it was a really low-pressure,

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cool, mellow, fun chance to ask some of these questions. It doesn’t matter what you say, you’ve just got to be yourself and be honest. It’s an amazing thing to be a part of and it’s an amazing thing to have done. I’ve seen it help so many

people find that kind of quiet, simple, straightforward faith. For me it’s easy to recommend because it has helped me.

See the full story, available from September 1, 2016 on alphausa.org

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Join the Adventure

Bear has become known as the face of adventure and outdoor survival. He has climbed Mount Everest and ventured to the depths of Antarctica. With 1.5 billion viewers worldwide, he is recognized from New York to New Delhi, and his fastest growing market is now China. Bear has a new primetime television show on NBC called, Running Wild with Bear Grylls. He has also authored six best-selling books.

As well as this, Bear is a former Alpha guest and describes his greatest adventure as finding a simple faith that empowers his life.

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His message At Alpha, we feature real people with real stories as the face of our invitation.

Bear is passionate about Alpha and having been a guest himself, he knows what impact it can have on a person’s walk to faith.

Bear is the voice challenging the guest to be bold and try Alpha.

“I’ve crawled onto the roof of the world...

But finding a simple faith? That’s been my greatest adventure yet.”

Through the campaign video and materials, Bear will challenge the perception of being a fearless outdoor adventurer by sharing an untold story of his inner adventure to faith.

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Wake up Log on Film Series Holder #RunAlpha Access tools you need to run Alpha for free. Register today.

alphausa.org/run

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Customize Your Invitation Invite Invite people to Alpha.

Alpha makes it easy to invite people to explore questions about life, faith and God. As you invite your friends to Alpha, check out Alpha Builder. We offer a variety of promotional tools that will make your invitation to Alpha easy and affordable.

Print Shop All of our promotional resources can be found at the Alpha Print Shop. We have prepared preprinted promotional tools that can be customized for you to use. These are professionally designed and printed at an affordable price for you. It takes just a few simple steps.

Once you pick your favorite promotional piece, we can customize it with your specific Alpha information and send it to your home. It’s easy.

Customize your promotional materials. print.alpharesources.org

New Mailing Services 1.

2.

3.

4.

Choose the postcard you want to mail.

Let us know how many you want to send.

Choose your list. We can provide you with one that is a radius to your church, or if you have one, we can send to your list.

We create a proof, which you approve, and it’s in the mail.

Call 800-362-5742 for more information.

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why social?

It’s easier to love someone who loves you back.

If people engage with your social media… engage back! The church is the best representation of community. In a world that is increasingly going digital, with over 2 billion active social media accounts worldwide, the best way to invite people into a conversation is by being truly social and truly human. On social media we have the opportunity to show even more clearly how inviting, how generous and how open the church really is.

Next Steps August: • Encourage the congregation to start thinking about who they will invite to the Alpha launch party.

• Post quotes, pictures, videos and stories from previous Alpha guests.

• Share the key details for your Alpha: start date, time, location.

September - December:

In the lead up to the launch of Alpha at your church, there are a number of simple things you can do to start a conversation and invite people to #TryAlpha.

• Download Alpha social media assets for Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at alphausa.org/run.

• Join the #TryAlpha and #RunAlpha conversation by sharing highlights, photos and quotes from your Alpha.

• Share the Bear commercial on your church social media accounts.

• Encourage the congregation to invite their friends by sharing the campaign video on their personal social media accounts.

• Retweet people in your congregation who are talking about Alpha.

• Respond to questions from potential guests who want to try Alpha.

Who will you invite?

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook @AlphaUSA

Download the Share Alpha app. alphausa.org/app

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promoting your alpha DIGITALLY

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Log on to alphausa.org/run. If you have never created an Alpha in Alpha Builder, build a custom Alpha for your context today. It’s free.

Click on “Invite” from the four word menu below the grey banner. Choose the first tile called “PROMOTE ON ALPHAUSA.ORG.”

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Once your Alpha is created, in the red bar across the top of your home page, you will find your Alpha (click the drop down if you have multiple Alphas). Click directly on the name of the Alpha you want to promote on alphausa.org.

Review on alphausa.org/try to make sure your Alpha is searchable in our global database.

Log on

Select the Alpha you want to promote

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Click “PROMOTE”

Now search

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Why use outdoor advertising?

“The easiest thing is to react. The second easiest is to respond. But the hardest thing is to initiate.”

- Seth Godin

The number one way guests come to Alpha is through personal invitation.

Although billboards may not convert anyone directly, they can provoke thought and maybe lead someone to walk through the doors of the local church.

The idea of organizing outdoor advertising can be daunting. We want this to be fun! Stand out. Experiment.

Do something different. There is a church in Brooklyn that plans to invest in posters and cover the city in Bear Grylls. It’s all about the people you are trying to reach.

Go where they are and invite them to #TryAlpha.

Where do I start?

1. First, connect with your Regional Alpha Office. They will be excited to support you as you get started.

2. Work and pray with other churches in your Area who are running Alpha. You can multiply your efforts to invite the city to #TryAlpha.

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3. Take a car ride around your local community and identify the top strategic advertising spaces. For paid advertising space, you should see the name of the media owner on the frame who you can contact.

4. Initiate a fundraiser in your church.

Inspire your congregation to donate a small amount each day for a specific time period. This will also stimulate a sense of ownership and involvement leading up to your Alpha launch.

5. You can order your print resources and customize advertising space from the National Alpha Office: print.alpharesources.org

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What size billboards are available?

Sometimes, media owners will ask you for the size of your advertisement because advertising space varies. We can customize for your needs. Just contact the National Alpha Office to create the right size “sheets” for your billboard.

Recommended timings Book a billboard from September 1 for as long as you can afford. This is when we will be launching globally, which should increase the impact. You can also have waves of advertising before every Alpha launch throughout 2017.

Things to note when dealing with media owners 1. Always ask for additional, free of charge exposure. Media owners often have unsold space, and it’s good to ask for it.

2. Check to make sure the locations suggested by your media owner are good quality. It is rare, however some media owners will recommend you buy a poster that is on the side of buildings, parallel to the road, or hidden by trees, i.e not REALLY visible to your audience.

Design, print and production

How much do they cost?

Costs depend on the following factors: size, location, how long you want it in position for, and how far in advance you book the space.

How do I go about booking advertising space?

1. Find the media owner. Outdoor “panels” (or space where

Once you have booked your outdoor space, you need to deliver the artwork to the media owner. Guidelines and assets will be available to you from the National Alpha Office.

Ask the media owner for the delivery deadline and technical specifications so you are prepared to translate and send files for delivery.

Results

the billboards go) are owned by various media owners. You will see the name of the media owner underneath the billboard advert.

The local media owners should supply you with the estimated reach and frequency report of your campaign free of charge, and it’s best to check with them what measurements they have available.

2. Contact the media owner. Google their name and contact them directly for information and pricing for outdoor space in your market. Treat your local media owners as specialists and seek their recommendation.

Check with your local media owners whether they will be able to supply you with photos of your ads when your campaign is live.

3. Book well in advance. Spaces are booked very early for

Plan to get some photos of your billboard to share with your congregation, donors and on social media.

outdoor advertising so ensure you contact them 3-4 months prior to starting your campaign to ensure prime positioning.

It’s worth noting that there can be last minute sales on spaces though, so be sure to ask your media owner to keep you informed of those special rates as well.

4. Mention you are a church and ask for a charity rate.

5. Ask what the dimensions are for each panel.

6. Check whether the price for your advertising space includes printing. (This is sometimes added as an additional cost after you receive your quote.)

7. Ask what tracking and measurement is available to know the expected impact of your booking. It’s normally free!

Location, Location, Location If you only have one billboard the importance of location cannot be overstated. The purpose of this advertising is to drive people towards trying Alpha at your church, so try to find the most visible billboard near your church. If you are working with multiple churches across your region, try finding one billboard in a high traffic area or multiple billboards near the churches themselves.

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Q1 FAQs

When is the Global Alpha Campaign launching?

The Global Alpha Campaign will launch to the guest on Thursday, September 1, 2016. This means all websites, social media, billboard advertising will go live on this date and not before.

Q2 When can I order materials to promote my Alpha?

The Global Alpha Campaign church assets will be released in May 2016.

How should I plan this campaign for my local church?

Q3 When can my church start using these promotional materials?

All the campaign materials are available as digital files free of charge so churches can access, download and use them. Here’s a breakdown of how you can participate in the campaign with any budget:

You can start using print materials in May 2016. However, all digital materials including social media assets or posts and imagery on your church website is prohibited until launch in September 2016. There will be images made available to use which won’t include Bear.

Example Budget ($0)

Q4

Download the digital assets for use on your social media platforms and website.

Where can I order my materials from?

Example Budget ($10-$70)

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Download the digital assets.

Print postcards, posters (a few small hard copy items) etc to hand out to potential guests.

Q5

Example Budget ($100+) Download digital assets.

Print a few small hard copy items.

Buy an Alpha banner for your location.

Example Budget ($1000+) This is for churches who want to participate in local advertising for the global campaign.

What am I allowed to say and not allowed to say regarding the campaign and Bear Grylls?

We are allowed to say we are preparing to launch our first ever Global Campaign featuring Bear Grylls in September 2016. Apart from this message, please do not communicate anything else, at this point, about the campaign. This includes all previous Alpha photography and non-Alpha photography featuring Bear Grylls until September 2016.

Got more questions?

Please contact marketing@alphausa.org

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THE CHECKLIST

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Key Steps for Alpha Launch

STEP 01 Agree date for Alpha launch event / start

STEP 02 Fix date for Alpha weekend / day away

STEP 03 Register your Alpha at alphausa.org/run

STEP 04 Check Alpha is promoted on alphausa.org/run

STEP 05 Order Invitation resources from alpharesources.org

STEP 06 Order and download course materials from alphausa.org/run

STEP 07 Put up posters, banners at your church

STEP 08 Promote your Alpha on your church website

STEP 09 Promote Alpha on social media

STEP 10 Give key dates to congregation to invite friends

STEP 11 Train your team and pray for your Alpha

STEP 12 Launch your Alpha

For ideas on how to launch your Alpha, check out

alphausa.org/invitation

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#RunAlpha alphausa.org