ABSTRACT
On-air evangelists have been around since the inception of broadcasting. First in radio and then television, preachers have been spreading the gospel through these most mass of mass media. As we saw in Chapter 3, outlets for preachers today have proliferated at an unfathomable rate as digital technologies have expanded to every corner of the nation and the far reaches of the planet. But even before the explosion in communications technologies, televangelists were masters in the art of marketing. Early religious programs were, in reality, promotion for live religious rallies (Bruce, 1990). As religious programming expanded, additional marketing tools became necessary. In a saturated market with a large number of choices and where prospects lack technical knowledge, consumers come to rely on marketers to inform them about what is available in the marketplace. According to Edward Shaffer (1993, p. 640):
Sellers therefore constantly attempt to gain the confi dence of consumers by building up brand loyalties. They boldly proclaim the alleged superiority of their products…TV evangelists have used these same marketing techniques…Playing on fears engendered by lack of knowledge about the future and the hereafter, they offer viewers hope and salvation, promising them a place in Paradise in return for contributions.
