St Matthew-in-the-City is a progressive Anglican Church.Their annual Christmas billboard is eagerly anticipated and previous messages have attracted worldwide attention. St Matthew uses the billboard to reinforce their public image as a body which is not afraid to discuss the more ‘controversial’ topics at the core of Christianity.In 2011, St Matthew’s wish was simple: create conversation by reminding people (in a secular age) where the glorious day we know as Christmas truly began.Our promotion relied entirely on creating a single, universal, and iconic image that had the power to transcend all languages and cultures, and ultimately act as a catalyst for opinion and debate. The image was created to be shared, and in the true spirit of Christmas, people obliged.Within 30 minutes we were on local television news, and within 48 hours our message had spread far and wide, to the Huffington Post, the NY Daily News, and the UK’s Daily Telegraph and Daily Mail. We were also a 5-minute discussion point on all-American prime-time ABC TV.Within 3 days, 21.5m visitors had passed through St Matthew's Facebook page. Their Facebook fans doubled. Whatever people thought of the billboard, they did not ignore it.St Matthew had a responsibility to respond to the large amount of feedback and attention garnered from the billboard. Through careful planning and the dissemination of a consistent message throughout all earned media, St Matthews made a worldwide contribution to Christmas while maintaining their own unique brand of spirituality.

The success of the campaign relied on the church disseminating a single, consistent, and prepared, response across all earned media. This was expected and planned for in advance of the actual billboard being revealed. Once installed, 5 days before Christmas, it took half a day for National Media to pick up the story. In 3 days, a Google search revealed the image to be on news sites the world over. During this time, Reverend Glynn Cardy fronted radio and TV interviews, responded to thousands of emails and replied to just as many comments on Facebook and international forums. His message, however, remained the same throughout. This professional approach, to what would prove to be a very controversial subject, ensured the Church stayed true to it’s own unique brand of spirituality. Some people loved the billboard and some people hated it, either way, no one could say they weren’t engaged.

In the true spirit of Christmas, people shared the image with TV networks, online news portals, bloggers, commentators, and newspaper reports spreading the story of Mary and her 'testing time' far and wide. Within 24 hours Mary's positive message was a talking point in the UK (Daily Mail/Daily Telegraph), in North America (NY Daily News), middle-America (ABC television ran a 3 minute report) and all points across the globe including non-Christian countries.Within 3 days, 21.5m visitors had passed through St Matthew's Facebook page. Their Facebook fans doubled.The billboard proved that in the modern age, with religions being the world’s oldest brands, a 2,000 year old story can still be relevant, and that word of mouth remains the most powerful means of transmission.Zero dollars spent: 21.5m views earned.