My Copywriting Lesson From the Pope

The Roman Catholic Church needs a serious brand makeover. It's gotten so bad that the previous CEO, aka Pope Benedict, gave his three weeks notice. Since he couldn't cite wanting to spend more time with his family, he intends to devote his life to prayer. Prayer? This brand really needs help.

In selecting its new boss, the church's board of directors, aka the College of Cardinals, had to pull a rabbit out of their mitre. And did they. I'm not Catholic, but Pope Francis had me at hello. I'm rooting for this guy. There are two things that I admire about him:

1. He's genuine: There's the old joke that once you can fake sincerity, you've got it made. I may be the victim of an elaborate PR hoax, but given the Vatican's previous ineptness, I doubt it. Whether Pope Francis is making his own meals or paying his own hotel bill, this guy is genuine. He's the Joe Biden of the Holy See, but without the gaffes.

In my experience, most CEOs and company presidents are genuine in their desire to provide quality products and services to their customers. I've met a couple of scoundrels over the years, but to the credit of our industry, they are few and far between. So if most of us are genuine, what's unique about this quality? Pope Francis combines it with something that makes him exceptional at communication.

2. He speaks to the heart: Notice that I didn't say he speaks to our emotions. There's a difference. When Francis chides priests for not baptizing infants of unwed mothers, he scores points with believers and nonbelievers alike. He speaks to our hearts and lets us decide what emotions to feel. Too often as marketers we attempt to speak to our customers’ emotions without speaking to their hearts. We come off as carnival barkers.