Leopoldo Abadía and Toni Segarra: “Pope Francis himself is a marketing manual”

Everything we know about marketing and Communication was invented by the Church. This institution has inspired, probably without realizing it, the most successful brands and many of the most famous marketing campaigns on the planet. This is confirmed by Leopoldo Abadía and the renowned publicist Toni Segarra. Both assure that the Church has been influencing 2000 years and they illustrate us with examples such as the way banks are organized with their branches so similar to parishes or the way big brand stores are arranged. In passing, they remind us that, among many other things, the The first CEO in history was San Pablothat the apostles were the first commercials and the too strange similarity between Steve Jobs presenting the iPad and Moses presenting the tables of the Law.

Segarra, known for creating campaigns like Welcome to the independent republic of my home, says brands that take themselves seriously and want a prosperous future should ask themselves what enduring value they have. If we look at the Church, we find the legacy of its dogmaspread by his disciples. Saint Paul, author of the first publicity campaign with his letters that are still read today in churches around the world, is an example of this.

An essential strategy that the Church has used since its origins is to value itself. She did it and continues to do it with the construction of the mystery. By valuing herself, she maintains her value, emphasizes Segarra. The truth is that whoever explains everything loses value. The Church has known how to maintain it to maintain itself for twenty centuries, for this reason «Your advertising campaign is an example in the world of marketing and advertising.”

Another of the keys of the Church followed by companies is its principle of hiring the best when you want to communicate, as he did with Michelangelo to paint the frescoes in the Sistine Chapel.

All this always under the principle of Ecclesia semper reformanda est that Leopoldo Abadía reminds us of; a constantly active attitude that has earned him to be defined on occasion or other as the infinite mobility of the eternal. And yet, its essence, its principles, its mysteries remain intact. Here’s another secret: change the trivial and never reform the essential.