Value proposition: Nicaea - The Ecclesiastical Encyclopedia is the ultimate e-reader for enthusiasts and scholars of ancient church history, offering complete access to original documents from 50A.D. to the Protestant Reformation, along with influential theological texts and commentaries by church fathers, complemented by custom notes, AI-powered study guides, cross-references for various denominations, and a wealth of additional features.

Research and Analysis

Between the months of September 2023 and January 2024, research was conducted in the Christian Community. The purpose of the research overall was based on a topic rarely studied in modern Christianity: church history and tradition. Of course, this is a continuation of the research into pre-existing ideas and products performed in the fall semester of 2023. The research continued with two surveys and 4 interviews. The first survey focused on general aspects of Christianity. Since a majority of Christianity is protestant, this included the authority of the Bible, questions on the sacraments, and other topics normally less commonly understood by a majority of protestant Christianity. This survey received exactly 100 responses. The second survey was more broad in its questioning, not solely focusing on any one Christian denomination or tradition, while asking questions of all scopes of Christianity. For example, the trick question “1st century Christians fully believed in the Bible” was asked, as many Christians in more evangelical denominations believe that only the Bible holds any authority in Christianity. What made this question a trick question is that the texts in the Bible only began being written in the latter half of the first century A.D., and concluded in the early second century A.D., and were not officially compiled until the fourth century A.D. Other questions asked pertained to the authority of the church to various degrees, from questions stating it has no authority to the outlandish claim that it has the most authority. This survey received 117 responses. Both surveys were posted to various Christian subreddits on reddit.com. Finally, four clergymen were interviewed with a smaller list of similar questions, as well as a follow-up feedback survey for the proposed solution, Nicaea, the Ecclesiastical Encyclopedia. The four clergymen interviewed were a Lutheran pastor, a non-denominational pastor, a Reformed pastor, and a Catholic priest.

Target Audience

The target audience of the product Nicaea is Christians. This, of course, isn't a surprise. Three 'personas' were created based on the research to summarize the three main audiences of Christians. A persona is a fictional 'character' that represents a large portion of the audience and personifies them into a single character.

Marketing Strategy

Collateral, Merchandise, and more.

The first idea was simple: Collateral for the device itself. Since it is the 21st century, many people are more than use of the concept of buying a cell phone, or even a laptop, and then buying cases to customize their new device. These cases act as both a stylistic choice, as well as something that can help defend the device from harm or damage. Thus, very early on in the formulation of the device that would become Nicaea, the idea for a case, customized the user's liking, was thought of. Initially, the ideas for the cases were quite simple, simply being plastic cases with cloth covers that covered the screen when not in use. While this concept is simple, and fulfills the role of a protective case quite well, the idea was thrown about of doing more. Thus, other cases were thought of. Some would be of plastic, and some would be made of leather, whether imitation or regular, so as to cater to Christians who live a more vegan lifestyle. Some would have designs and some would not. Those that did not have designs, would also have the option to be customized, whether that includes custom iconography on the back, custom engravings, custom colors, or the inclusion of a flap that covers the screen like mentioned before. This means that, while the device itself is quite uniform, users who buy the device would be able to call the device their own, and make it their own, customizing it to their own tastes and wants. Perhaps a user could place an icon of their patron Saint on the back, or engrave the verse that brought under Christianity towards the bottom. In a sense, then, it not only becomes an expression of the user, but also a testimony in and of itself.

Another idea was merchandise. This idea was created very late in the development, and simply consists of hats, shirts, and other forms of clothing with the Nicaea logo printed on the front. On the back of the shirts, or on the front in an alternate style, would be the Jerusalem cross, which is the style of cross used in the logo and branding of the device. People who wear these forms of merchandise would essentially be walking advertisements for the device, which leads into the actual advertisements of the device. These advertisements have mostly remained the same since they were first conceptualized towards the end of 2023. They are all based on the same theme, feeling, an atmosphere, that being ancient archaeology. In my personal research, when I had first discovered ancient Christianity, the church fathers, and the historicity behind many beliefs in historic Christian denominations, what drew me to it all was the mystery of it being ancient, the feeling that I had uncovered something 2000 years old that many Christians did not know about. Because of this, while I was conceptualizing the advertisements and the branding for this device, I wanted to give users that same feeling, that feeling that they had uncovered 2000 years of ancient history, and plunging themselves into the ancient mysteries of the faith. As for the advertisements themselves, their themes would vary in terms of how the device would be presented to the viewer of the advertisement. One was mocked up in the style of an old newspaper article. Within the article was a photograph of a large stone cube that looked like it dated to the 1st century, and within this cube, poking out enough so that viewers can see it, was Nicaea. The article spoke about how ancient Christianity had been rediscovered, how this great library had been uncovered, and the great wealth of information that it would bring to Christianity. This is the type of look and feel that the advertisement should show, intriguing people to uncover ancient mysteries that apply to the Christian faith that governs their lives. These advertisements would be placed in Christian areas. This would include bulletin boards within churches, fellowship halls, or even posted online on the church website. With all this in mind, however, the placing of the advertisement must be done with great caution, as the advertisement itself cannot be placed within the sanctuary or the nave of the church, as buying and selling within the church is something that Jesus Christ Himself Was against, going as far as to drive people out of the synagogues when they were selling goods and changing over money (ESV Bible, Matthew 21.12-17).

Advertisements

One other form of advertisement, similar to the last example shown above, is a lot less exciting. It would simply be a sheet of paper, showing the device itself, its name, along with a few key features. This paper would then be inserted into church bulletins. To those unaware, church bulletins are small booklets that are used within the church to show which hymns are to be sung during that morning's/evening’s liturgy, the title of the sermon, the scriptural readings of the liturgy, as well as announcements for events or services happening within or being done by the church. This slip of paper would be put, like an announcement, into the church bulletin. However, it should not stay there for long, lest it overstay its welcome.

Branding and Style Guides

Book

The research and project are summarized within a book, which can be digitally read and viewed at the link below.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Tg3F7knafZbSFoJ_jUbrayhT9E6As4Nw/view?usp=sharing

Thank you.