Church people know this. There are two times in the year where churches can expect a lot of visitors. In fact my church this Easter had four services in the morning, twice as many as a typical weekend. That’s because Christmas and Easter are more familiar holidays to the masses, often based upon family traditions and activities.

The programming lesson we can learn is nothing short of transformational; familiarity is preference.

Scroll through your Facebook feed. What other time of the year do you see people posting photos of being at church with friends or family?

One can’t prefer something one doesn’t know. How else can Taco Bell can be voted America’s favorite Mexican food restaurant? (See Frost Advisory #424).

My friends at Z88.3 in Orlando have held an Easter sunrise service at Sea World for the several decades. They don’t assume that those attending are familiar with the station, but they know that Easter is.

More than 15,000 people gather before the sun rises to celebrate Easter with friends and family. (BTW, few CCM stations have an AQH of 15,000 for the week, but Z88.3 has that many at ONE TIME and in ONE LOCATION).

Beyond the holiday itself the themes of Easter are common ground that can be a bridge to familiarity:

Forgiveness

Sacrifice for others

Life changing moments

“You can’t fake familiarity. It doesn’t happen overnight. And when your new competitor is fighting only for attributes, they’re missing the larger point. Attributes don’t create familiarity, only familiarity does that. Attributes may be proxies for familiarity, but always remember that being familiar, dependable, trusted, is the real goal, not simply checking off a win on an attribute scorecard.”

Mark Ramsey

*Pictured here Z88.3 morning co-host Ellis B. Feaster, the legendary Steve Brown of Key Life Ministries’ “You Think About That,” Z88.3 PD Dean O’Neal, and a kid from West Texas.