Communications Policy

Through various forms of print and digital media, the St. Wenceslaus Communications Policy ensures that all communication efforts are aligned to the Mission, Vision, and Strategic Plan Pillars of St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church.

This Communication Policy includes the parish brand, event promotion, and best practices. It has been crafted with parish staff, volunteers, and outside groups in mind.

Jump to:

Event Promotion
Brand Guidelines
Best Practices

Event Promotion

General Guidelines

  • Events at St. Wenceslaus are organized and promoted according to the goals of the Parish Strategic Plan. All events have a staff support person who provides assistance and guidance to parishioners planning and leading the event. Outside groups may request to hold an event at St. Wenceslaus at the discretion of parish staff members under the leadership of the Pastor.

  • Information should be submitted to the parish staff support person, or to the communications office a month in advance. Last-minute submissions may not be honored at the discretion of the parish staff in collaboration with the pastor.

  • Though all Christ-centered parish activities are worthy of participation, their promotional reach is determined by their alignment to the goals of the Parish Strategic Plan. Activities that are part of the Strategic Plan are promoted more widely and more frequently than other events.

Forms of Communication

  • Outdoor signs may be placed on campus to promote events to drivers-by. Outdoor signage is reserved to parish events such as Lenten Dinners and Donut Sundays. Signage must not obstruct permanent signage on campus, especially campus directional signage. All outdoor signage must be approved by the Director of Operations, Jeff Beulke, in collaboration with the parish communications office.

  • Wenc Weekly is a bi-weekly newsletter emailed to 2,500 active parishioners with 60-70% open rate. The format is “Inspiration, Information, Invitation.”  With an emphasis on clear communication and brevity, Wenc Weekly is not a digital version of the bulletin. It is a short newsletter highlighting major happenings in the parish. Events submitted for Wenc Weekly must be open to a large percentage of the parish. For example, Deck the Hall could be promoted through Wenc Weekly but not an event that only applies to middle school girls.

  • Our parish website is hosted on Squarespace. It receives thousands of visits per month.

    The most sought-after content on the website is the bulletin, followed by Mass and Confession times, followed by staff contact pages and the link to the St. Wenceslaus School page.

    The website should be thought of in two ways:

    1. As a landing place for easily accessible information that needs to exist over a long period of time (as opposed to on social media, which is updated regularly)

    2. As a “front-door” for non-members, where they can get a bird’s eye view of our parish and take the next step towards joining our community.

    Our Communications Office can help build you a landing page for your ministry or event, including any relevant information, registration forms, and more. Once built, the link to the page can be shared with others.

    Our parish website also includes the myWenc event calendar to which events can be added as a form of passive promotion (see “myWenc Event Calendar” below).

  • The myWenc App has been downloaded over 1,000 times by parishioners. It is a community connection point for parishioners, with helpful links and information ranging from upcoming events to online giving links to spiritual resources. An event can be posted to and featured in the myWenc App with external links to register/RSVP.

  • The myWenc calendar is the general public event calendar accessible to all both by logging into myWenc or on the parish website (under “event calendar”). Events may be posted to this calendar with the help of the communications office or the staff support person for a given group or event. Private events and events directed for minors (for example, youth ministry) are not posted to this calendar.

  • 1200 physical copies and approximately 500 digital copies of the bulletin are distributed weekly. Bulletin submissions must be sent to Pam Lunbeck, Bulletin Editor. The deadline for submitting items to the bulletin is the preceding Friday before the weekend of distribution. For example, for a bulletin issued on Sunday, November 1st, the entry would be due Friday, October 24th. From time to time, bulletin deadline dates are moved up according to the holiday calendar of the bulletin printer.

  • Our parish Facebook page has over 5,500 followers and over 700 Instagram followers. Social media posts fall under two general categories. 

    1. Celebrating Wins: When people gather in the name of Jesus, it is considered a win for His Kingdom. We sometimes title these wins on social media, “What’s Happening at Wenc?” The majority of our posts (70%) should be celebrating wins.

    2. Event Promotion: Events usually receive one or two social media posts depending on the scope and nature of the event and the posting schedule for that week/month. A minority of social media posts are for the sake of event promotion.

    If an event warrants it, a Facebook event may be created to which Facebook users can be invited. 

  • Mass announcements should be requested at least a week in advance. There are two kinds of Mass announcements: 

    1. Lector Announcements, read by the lector before Mass begins. Lector announcements should be 2-3 sentences long, and are subject to modification for clarity and brevity. They should be inspirational and positive in tone.

    2. Special Announcements, given by a representative of the group or ministry being promoted. They are limited to two minutes or less. St. Wenceslaus Mass Announcement Policy.pdf

  • Digital Signage runs 24/7 in the Narthex next to the donation bins. The graphic format is 16:9 widescreen (1920 x 1080 pixels). A QR code is recommended as a call to action. Promotional graphics may run no longer than a month prior to an event. 

  • 20x30 inch board print posters may be displayed on easels in the main narthex and day chapel entrances. Narthex posters are generally reserved for St. Wenceslaus flagship-level events (for example, Vaclav or the Parish Mission). Some recurring events may use a poster that comes out the week leading up to the event (for example, Adore). All signage must be approved by a group or event’s staff support person in collaboration with the parish communications office.

Best Practices

General Submission Best Practices

  • Communication media are not one-size-fits all.

  • A printed poster and a Facebook post should not contain the exact same information or be designed with identical graphic formats.

  • Therefore, information submitted for communication should be as unformatted as possible.

  • Unformatted means sending text and images to be included, but not finished graphics/posters.

  • This way, media pieces promoting an event or group can be tailored to the medium of communication.

Text Information

  • Give a clear Who, What, When, Where for your event

  • Keep messaging clear and concise. Less is more.

  • Bullet points are more valuable than full-sentence prose.

Photos

  • Attach photos in “Full Quality” or “High Resolution” when possible. Photos in low resolution may be rejected.

  • Photos should reflect the joyful nature of parish life. A group photo of people smiling is more impactful than a photo of people sitting with their backs to the camera.

  • Stock photography is acceptable, provided it is professional, inspirational, and matches the mood of the piece being communicated.

  • Reputable stock photography sites: Unsplash and Pixabay

Graphics

  • Graphics, if created, should align with the parish visual brand

  • The communications office reserves the right to modify or re-create graphics to align with the parish brand

Things to be Avoided

  • Avoid overly wordy descriptions.

  • Avoid mixing multiple fonts, colors, sizes, etc. It creates chaos for the reader.

  • Avoid photos that are blurry, low-resolution, or excessively zoomed in or out

  • AI (Artificial Intelligence) generated content is discouraged and will not be posted to St. Wenceslaus communication channels.

  • Clip art is discouraged and may disqualify content from being posted to St. Wenceslaus communication channels.

Social Media Videos

  • Short-form video (1-3 minutes in length) is increasingly becoming the dominant force in social media.

  • A video of a parishioner inviting others to sign up for Welcome is much more compelling than a stock image paired with upcoming Welcome dates.

  • The Communications Office will help you record and edit a video to celebrate a win or promote an event.

Standard Formats

  • Following standard size formats for various media instead of a one-size-fits all graphic means that the content will be communicated more effectively in the corresponding medium.

  • Facebook and Instagram post: 1080 x 1080 pixels

  • Narthex screen graphic: 1920 x 1080 pixels (landscape)

  • Poster: 20 by 30 inches

  • Standard file formats for images are JPEG or PNG. PDFs are not preferred for graphic submissions since they require extra manipulation to be posted.

Event Registration and Payment

Using myWenc, event form registrations sync to parishioner profiles for easy retrieval and management.

  • Use the parish myWenc Form Builder rather than Google Forms or some other third-party tool, especially if collecting payment for registrations or donations. This makes things much simpler for both the registrant and the Parish Finance Office.

  • The Parish Communications Office or your parish staff contact will help you build and manage your form(s).