CUNA Continues Viral Push with Little Guy Campaign

CUNA just christened another viral video starring the "evil banker" star of an earlier business lending video. This time, Uncle Big-Bad is out on the street lobbying against CURIA, and for higher bank profits and fees.

It's funny - and all too true. Check it out ...



(Edit to add: right after I posted this to the blog, CUNA released another video and announced a third is on the way. The second video is posted below, and I'll post the third when we get it.)



(Edit August 3: Here's the third video ...)



CUNA is also producing "situational cartoons" in the ongoing bank vs. credit union struggle. These cartoons are sent out by email, in hopes that receivers will get a laugh, and then become senders of the same email. Here's the latest one ...



I like what CUNA's doing and hope they'll keep it up. Feel free to share your own thoughts on this by posting a comment.

Members Credit Union Ramps Up Football Promotion

Kudos to Members Credit Union for coming up with a creative, low-cost way to showcase its annual "Football Pick ‘Em" promotion. As mentioned here last week, Matt Davis and a few other credit union staffers … including CEO Jack Braswell … videotaped and produced short segments aimed at showing a more human side of the people who work at Members Credit Union.

Davis has bought Internet advertising on three outlets where Members has locations: WXII-TV in Winston-Salem, where Members is headquartered; the Sandspur, a Hope Mills newspaper; and the Hickory Daily Record. People logging on to these web sites can click on banner ads to view the videos.

The contest costs nothing to play and you do not have to be a member of the credit union to compete. The credit union selects weekly, monthly and grand prize winners in the contest. Weekly prize winners get a cap and a tee-shirt, while the grand prize winner gets to select a gas grill, a high-def television or a desktop computer for their prize.

Davis says about 600 people each year play Football Pick ‘Em, and he’s hoping to grow that number to 2,000 this year with the videos and advertising oomph. Since Matt is a video whiz, the videos didn’t cost them a dime to produce, and the Net ads set them back $1,500.

Matt says the point of the videos is to show the crew at Members as human beings that like to have fun. People you’d want to invite over to the house and surf the ‘net with, or grill out with … or (well you get the idea). It’s great to see people at a credit union having a little fun and not taking themselves too seriously. Way to go, Matt and Members!

Short Takes and Teases for A Friday

Ever seen those inane television 6 o'clock news "teases" that seemingly come on while you're around the dinner table? Stuff like, "A new study says a popular food may kill you, and you may be eating it now ... we'll have the story at 11." Well, this serving of CU Communicator won't kill you (and hopefully it's not inane), but it is going to leave you hanging just a bit. There's good stuff happening out in NC CU Land, and I thought I'd give you a peek at what's happening (without playing spoiler).

First, a short take ... as you stock market watchers know, the Dow gave up more than 300 points yesterday ... part of a rout in the global equity markets. The culprit, in part? Our old buddy, the subprime lending issue. Of course, daily movements in the markets are usually about expectations, not reality. Still, 300+ points is a big number on one day. Which leads us to our first tease ...

Foreclosure is about reality, not expectations ... Kudos to State Employees' Credit Union, which is about to roll out a big number of its own very soon, perhaps even today. About six weeks ago the credit union rolled out some products aimed to help members trapped in risky subprime mortgages. Well, SECU is working up a press release that will share the dollar figure of mortgage refi's in these products so far.

How big a number is it? Well, there's six zeros at the end, and two crooked numbers leading the train. Like I said, it's a big number.

Better than "the big number" though is the fact that hundreds of families in NC will keep the keys to their slice of the American Dream in their pockets, and won't have to turn them over to an auctioneer. Hundreds helped - in just six weeks.

Again, kudos to SECU for really being about "people helping people." If you've taken a pass on this issue so far and you could be helping, you might want to set aside some time today to take a look in the mirror.

Tease #2: another credit union that gets it ... Carolina Postal Credit Union. In this space last week, we chatted about CPCU's Priority Payday Checking, and the credit union's intense focus on serving the member, not the bean counters. Yesterday, the Marketing Diva of CPCU (and world renown) blogged an update about the product ... and the credit unions that are looking at adopting this program.

What the Diva won't tell you (yet) is that the credit union is about to roll out one heck of a great product and promotion. It's one part loan, one part slang, and one part duct tape (I'm not kidding). Best of all, it's a great fit with their members. More to come ...

Tease #3: are we having fun yet? Wow, the folks at Members Credit Union sure look to be! The credit union is putting a new spin on its annual "Football Pick 'Em" contest this year. Click here to go to the Credit Union Warrior blog to view some videos about "Football, not Futbol."

The CU Communicator especially enjoyed Office Destruction and Face Paint ... although the keen acting abilities of CEO Jack Braswell are on display in Management Meeting.

More on how the credit union plans to use these videos next week on CU Communicator. In the meantime, be careful what you eat for dinner. :)

In Praise of Simplicity

In credit union circles, we often praise the "Grow or Go Away" mode of thinking and we seemingly chant the mantra of "Bigger is Better" without much thought as to whether for each and every organization that saying rings true.

Today, we're going to spend a little time praising simplicity and flexibility, two words that not only can lead to growth ... but more importantly, lead to building a strong brand and member loyalty.

Put another way, there's nothing wrong with being large, but it's better to be relevant. A good case in point is Carolina Postal Credit Union down in Charlotte. The credit union recently announced the roll out of a "Priority Payday Checking" product.

It's a simple concept ... the US Government makes its ACH salary deposits for postal employees early Wednesday morning for payment two days later. CPCU immediately deposits this money into the accounts of postal employees who have checking accounts at the credit union.

While getting paid two days early is nice, the real member benefit is that postal carriers can transact their business at the credit union on Wednesday or Thursday instead of just on Friday, which according to the credit union is a particularly busy day for postal employees.

For front line staff at CPCU, this also means that postal paydays are a little less hectic. In short, everyone wins.

This new product has already created new checking accounts at the credit union and has no doubt generated great word-of-mouth among members (which of course is the best kind of PR you can get).

Innovative ideas like this come from credit unions that have more homogeneous member bases, and it helps when the trip from the CEOs office to marketing to compliance to member services is a few short steps ... not a crushing journey of paperwork, bar graphs, turf wars and legal consultations. Kudos to CPCU for seeing an opportunity to serve its members and going for it!

Being a large credit union can have its advantages, but big ships not only have a hard time steering away from icebergs ... but also have a harder time steering toward opportunities.

So buck up smaller credit unions, and remember that knowing your member's needs and designing products to suit them is far more important than asset size.

As Cooperative Advertising Dies ... What's the Big Idea?!

Seemingly, it's a never ending debate: should credit unions embark on a national branding campaign using television, radio, print and other mediums? These conversations come up quite often in credit union circles, yet at the end of the day the topic is much akin to conversations about the weather: everyone talks about it but no one does anything about it.

If our experience here in NC last year with cooperative advertising is any indication of the problems encountered with launching these campaigns, it's no wonder we can't seem to get things going on the national level.

Last year, the League worked with about ten Charlotte-area credit unions to devise a cooperative advertising campaign to air on a local television station. A small, committed group of folks came together and we came tantalizingly close to getting the thing off the ground.

So what happened? Essentially, our experience was that it's hard to build consensus on a variety of issues. In particular, our differences focused on two areas: the message, and the funding formula.

In the case of the message, some credit unions thought the message should revolve around our philosophy (we're different), while others felt we should hammer home the product/convenience message (we're different, but darnit if we aren't convenient and modern institutions at the same time).

The funding formula was also an area of contention. Who should pay what? Should the folks who pay more get more perks than the folks who pay a little (in real if not relative dollars)?

Ultimately the lack of support for the message we chose and the funding formula (to a lesser extent) doomed our venture to fail. After months of effort by a lot of people, seeing nothing come of it was a bitter pill to swallow.

This experience points out some real problems with entering the advertising arena cooperatively. All the points of contention that happened in the Charlotte attempt happened for very legitimate reasons. Credit unions that are going to plunk down tens of thousands of dollars want to make sure the message that is delivered is one that is both comfortable and complimentary to their business objectives. I can't say I blame them, really.

In the wake of our experiences in Charlotte last year, my thoughts on the subject are starting to evolve away from cooperative advertising campaigns to a new concept to raise attention and awareness: The Big Idea.

Recently, I got an email from American Express announcing the Member's Project. For each AMEX cardholder who registers for the Member's Project, the company will contribute one dollar, with up to $5 million to be contributed. The users of the Member's Project will suggest and interactively discuss ideas over the summer about how to make the world a better place. In the end, the $5 million will be used to tackle the one issue the users identify as the one they would like to help solve.

I'll let you ponder the benefits of having up to five million people discussing solving a world problem while thinking, "Gee, isn't AMEX a great company for doing this?!"

The Member's Project is an example of a Big Idea, and I'm sure you've seen other such concepts.

So what if credit unions stopped fretting about the lack of a national or statewide advertising campaign -- and instead came up with a Big Idea that would generate a lot of attention?

In NC, there are about 2.8 million credit union members. What if they were approached about a Big Idea? What could credit union members accomplish cooperatively, and how much attention would it generate in the media statewide? More importantly, how much good will would it foster among members and credit unions?

The Member's Project offers a glimpse into a Big Idea and for purposes of our discussion, I'll throw out an example of a Big Idea for NC - what if we had a charity bike ride from Murphy to Manteo (that's what - 600 miles?) over about a week's time, committed to raising a BIG sum of money (say $1 million for starters) and contributed that money to a NC-specific cause?

Audacious? Yep. Hard? Very. Worthwhile? Absolutely! Think of all the positive PR and good will credit unions would garner by doing what we already know how to do - come together for a cause greater than ourselves.

The Big Idea "process" asks us to start at our shared values and asks us to work together to accomplish big goals that help people. The cooperative advertising process asks us to work through some profound differences to arrive at a message that will do one thing (and perhaps nothing else): transfer huge sums of capital to big media and ad agencies.

Which process sounds more worthwhile and fun to you?

On the national front, there are 88 million or so credit union members. WOW - what could that kind of human capital accomplish?!

So I challenge you to think of a Big Idea for NC, or perhaps the national credit union movement. Feel free to suggest Big Ideas by posting a comment, or suggest another concept you'd like to see credit unions try.

Picking the Right Radio Fit for Your Advertising Scratch

I'm spending part of my Monday making calls to radio stations in the Triad to get quotes on advertising rates for a non-profit agency that recently received funding from the Carolinas Credit Union Foundation. Luckily, I know the market pretty well, so my list is pretty short. But it got me to wondering if radio station ratings in other markets were available anywhere online.

One swift Google search later, I know the answer is yes! RadioandRecords.com lists 299 US radio markets, with easy clicks to get the data for the individual markets. This data is pretty current, and lists the rating information for most of the stations from what I can tell. In addition, the site lists the format of the radio stations - which may further help you deduce good advertising prospects.

In North Carolina, you'll find data for the following radio markets: Charlotte, Raleigh/Durham, Triad, Asheville, Wilmington, Fayetteville, Greenville/New Bern/Washington, and Rocky Mount.

At any rate, the link to the site is: http://www.radioandrecords.com/RRRatings/DefaultSearch.aspx?ShowAll=yes. If anyone is aware of other ratings sources, feel free to pass them along.

GREAT Ad Campaign and Promotion on the West Coast!

Hey folks,

Greetings from NC, where it is sunny and 80 degrees! Spring is showing up everywhere here on baseball's opening day.

The Braves won already, and I am about 30 minutes away from a bike ride. Does life get any better?

Anyway, I wanted to link you all up with a great ad campaign underway at Boeing Employees' CU in Seattle. This campaign is being reported on by the Netbanker blog. Check it out - it's smart ... and the "headline number" puts ING to shame! http://www.netbanker.com/2007/04/boeing_employees_credit_union_becu_markets_highrate_savings_checking.html

Yours in biking (and baseball)!
Jeff

The Luke Johnson Phone Experiment

In my down time, watching You Tube videos is one of my favorite ways to relax and kill some time. (In fact, You Tube is an exceptionally good time killer.) This morning, I was scanning the list of featured videos on the You Tube home page and came across the "Luke Johnson Phone Experiment."

Johnson, a 27-year-old fellow from Gilbert, Arizona, posted a video on You Tube four months ago asking people to call him on his cell phone. There were no rules - just the simple invitation to call day or night and talk about whatever you like.

The result? So far, Johnson has received tens of thousands of calls from all over the world (from as far away as China!), plus numerous news stories on outlets including CNN plus other television and print media. There are also reports that as a result of all the attention Johnson has garnered, you'll soon see him as a cell phone pitch man!

What this points out is that for credit unions, the web offers endless opportunities to communicate with people . Johnson's story also reminds us that you don't have to be fancy or spend a lot of money to get a LOT of attention.

If you'd like to see Johnson's original video posting, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkXH7hBbDI0.

To see one of the many news segments about Johnson, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyy5x0b4bIE.

And if you'd like to call Johnson, his number is 602-435-3694.

Until next time!
Jeff

Marine Federal Credit Union Sponsors TV ID Theft Segments

The League had its quarterly Risk Management Council meeting last week, and we heard about a really interesting effort underway this month at Marine Federal Credit Union. Marine is sponsoring a series of reports on identity theft to be aired by WCTI-TV, a station in New Bern.

The month-long series of reports will include an interview with Roy Cooper, the State's Attorney General. The station will also share the stories of local ID theft victims.

Marine is really going the extra mile on this effort, however! The credit union is working with the TV station to provide free document shredding for interested viewers. Employees of the credit union will also staff a phone bank from 5:00 to 7:00 pm on February 23rd to answer ID theft questions and offer advice to viewers.

Seems like a great way for Marine to get its name out there over the next month and perhaps just as important, help members and non-members alike with an issue that is much in the news. Way to go!

Until next time!
Jeff