Exploitation of Trademarks by Churches

Abstract

The study assessed the exploitation of trademarks by churches, looking at this as a case study on sustainable marketing, branding, and reputation management. It made use of a mixed approach. The qualitative method involved in-depth interviews with church leaders to identify the trademarks used by their respective churches, and how they have been used to enhance their marketing, branding, and reputation management strategies. The quantitative method involved a survey of churchgoers to evaluate the effectiveness of the identified trademarks on their perception of the churches' marketing, branding, and reputation. The study revealed seven types of trademarks exploited by churches, categorized in two namely: conventional trademarks and non-conventional trademarks. The study also showed the various factors influencing the form of exploitation trademarks exploited by churches, on their marketing and branding strategies, and their impact on the reputation management of the churches.