When first thinking about marketing, especially in the music world, it would not
necessarily be first in one's mind to describe Jesus as the best marketer that has ever been, or
ever will be. In Marketing like Jesus by Darren Shearer, the author makes that claim. The book
states that there are 25 strategies to market like Jesus and that the world is desperate to hear the
message that He had to share. These fall under five essential functions of marketers: serve,
target, connect, lead, and multiply. Marketers have the opportunity and privilege to market not
only goods and services, but also a message that can change peoples lives.
To be a good marketer, you have to be a good leader. Marketers are intentional leaders
and strategic influencers who motivate people to take action.1 Jesus had an effective marketing
strategy that truly made Him stand out and gain notice. He wanted to influence people to respond
a certain way; He wanted them to come to the Father, gain salvation, and turn their lives around.
He was a strategic marketer, always presenting a choice to people when speaking with them. He
didn’t have to be selling something to be considered a marketer, but what he offered cost Him
everything, His very life when he was put to death on the cross. He offered promises, but
delivered on those promises. He wasn’t shady, or offering deals that he could not make good on.
He was able to do exactly what He said He would.
Jesus was no stranger to opposition, but He chose to serve people and open their eyes to
the truth of what He was saying. Jesus met the needs of those who sought Him, He didn’t need
flashy signs or advertising campaigns. He made them a promise, and He fulfilled that promise.
He put others first, before Himself. He knew that their needs were important, and that He had the
answer for their needs. He said what he meant, and wasn’t worried about adding in superfluous
rhetoric. He was focused on results, and had compassion for those around them. Matthew 14:14
1 Darren Paul Shearer. 2015. Marketing like Jesus : 25 Strategies to Change the World. Houston,
Texas: High Bridge Books.
tells us that, When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed
their sick.2 Although He knew that His message would eventually reach the entire world, He
targeted a specific group of people during His three years of ministry, and everything He did
from day one was with them in mind. Jesus offered solutions to the problems people were facing,
and gave them a way out of their situation. He didn’t worry about what people were saying about
Him, but rather who He could help and who He could save. He started small, in Jerusalem, but
then as His message grew He instructed His disciples to spread the gospel. Mark 16:15 says that
He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.3 Jesus’ marketing
strategy was one of collaboration. He built Himself a team that believed in His message, and
worked together to spread or market Jesus’ teachings. Jesus’ emphasis on cooperation occurs
within His major undertaking, His practice of obedience to God.4 His message was simple, but it
was powerful.
In today’s world, Jesus’ marketing strategy has been applied in many ways, especially in
the music industry. It is necessary to find the market that will be most affected by an artist’s
music, and target them with marketing. Knowing that word of the artist will eventually spread as
they get more popular and more streams, by interacting with a target audience, the artist is
ensuring a loyal fanbase. Music fans love to share. There is a history of fans creating "buzz" for
their favorite artists since the early development of the record business in the twentieth century.5
An artist also needs a solid team around them who believes in what they are doing and are
2 Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by
Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
3 Ibid.
4 Beed, C., & Beed, C. (2015). Jesus on Cooperation. Transformation, 32(2), 97-111.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0265378814536653
5 Andi Coulter. "Marketing Agile Artists: How Music Labels can Leverage TikTok's Virality."
MEIEA Journal 22, no. 1 (2022): 135-61, https://go.openathens.net/redirector/liberty.edu?
url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/marketing-agile-artists-how-music-labels-
can/docview/2735928474/se-2.
willing to market them. It is also imperative that the artist makes sure that they keep any
promises they make to their fans, because they do not want to alienate a group of people that
believes in them. It is important to strategically market an artist's music, use social media and
other platforms to promote them, this way their name is getting out there. It is also important that
they use whatever tools they have at their disposal, and in this modern era, technology is
changing quickly and always improving. The entertainment industry, in particular the music
business, has been profoundly impacted by recent technological advances.6 By using these tools,
a good team, and making sure that the artist stays true to their brand, they will be able to market
their music in an effective way, using some of the very same ideas that Jesus Himself used over
2,000 years ago.
I found the reading material to be interesting, but honestly I was skeptical at first. I had
no idea that the life and teachings of Jesus could be applied to the marketing world, and that
there was actually substantial material that I could use in my own marketing avenues. However,
through the reading, I was able to see that Jesus’ teachings could be applied to more situations
that what was seen at face value. Jesus was for the people, not the institutions. The author wrote
about twenty five strategies that Jesus followed and taught, and that they fall under five essential
functions of marketers: serve, target, connect, lead, and multiply. I feel that these are
fundamental to becoming successful in marketing, especially as these have been time-tested, and
are biblically sound.
In conclusion, Christian’s are supposed to live like Christ, and this is in every aspect of
their lives. Knowing now that Jesus was a marketer, it adjusts how Christian’s can interact with
6 Bhattacharjee, Sudip, Ram D. Gopal, Kaveepan Lertwachara, James R. Marsden, and Rahul
Telang. “The Effect of Digital Sharing Technologies on Music Markets: A Survival Analysis of
Albums on Ranking Charts.” Management Science 53, no. 9 (2007): 1359–74.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/20122296.
Reference List:
Beed, C., & Beed, C. (2015). Jesus on Cooperation. Transformation, 32(2), 97-111.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0265378814536653
Bhattacharjee, Sudip, Ram D. Gopal, Kaveepan Lertwachara, James R. Marsden, and Rahul
Telang. “The Effect of Digital Sharing Technologies on Music Markets: A Survival
Analysis of Albums on Ranking Charts.” Management Science 53, no. 9 (2007):
1359–74. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20122296.
Coulter, Andi. "Marketing Agile Artists: How Music Labels can Leverage TikTok's Virality."
MEIEA Journal 22, no. 1 (2022): 135-61,
https://go.openathens.net/redirector/liberty.edu?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-
j
ournals/marketing-agile-artists-how-music-labels-can/docview/2735928474/se-2.
Darren Paul Shearer. 2015. Marketing like Jesus : 25 Strategies to Change the World. Houston,
Texas: High Bridge Books.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica,
Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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