There is a new billboard on the US-95 highway and Dalton Ave displaying the message “Christ is Lord” that is causing some heads to turn. The billboard seems to be part of a marketing initiative by Moscow-based publishing company CanonPress to help launch a new book.
Based on information from the website, the publishing company is buying up billboards on outdoor advertising units whenever purchases for the book surpasses 20 orders in any particular zipcode.
An Hayden resident, Calvin Freitas, made a bulk purchase of books for members at his church, and had this to say about the interesting marketing campaign.
“As a Christian, I believe it is important to recognize that Christ is Lord over all of life – the civil, family, and religious spheres of life. I’m a fan of the content produced by Canon Press and I wanted to help put this billboard here in Kootenai County.”
We reached to CanonPress with some questions, and spoke briefly with Jake McAtee who works in the Marketing department.
This is a really interesting marketing idea. How did it come about?
One of the goals of the Marketing Dept at Canon Press is to create campaigns that offer more value than just the book and that offer an experience. We want people to feel like they’re a part of something. There’s a scene at the beginning of Dunkirk where the British soldiers are walking the littered streets, flyers are falling from the sky. WE HAVE YOU SURROUNDED read the flyers.
In our own way we wanted to remind and reinvigorate Christians that the gospel of Jesus Christ will win the day. We have the enemies of God right where we want them. The billboard campaign gave us the opportunity to join with our customers in letting their local authorities know that Jesus sits on the throne in Heaven, that Christ is Lord.
How many billboards have been purchased so far?
I believe north of 100 billboards are in the works.
Do you think this kind of marketing strategy will be used again at CanonPress?
Absolutely. Doing this kind of campaign is in the water here thanks to our leadership. If we’re not surprising ourselves and getting better with each marketing campaign, then we are failing.
