EL SEGUNDO, Calif.-Credit unions could learn a thing or two from the big banks about how to run an ad campaign, according to one person.
"One thing credit union marketers do that is sort of goofy is we always have a new campaign every month," said Kathryn Davis, SVP at Xceed Financial CU here and secretary/treasurer of the executive committee for CUNA's Marketing & Business Development Council. "Why don't we take those campaigns and make them really strong and run them for six to 12 months?"
After all, she added, Chase and Bank of America seldom abandon an ad strategy after a 60-day run.
To that end, Xceed has experimented with longer-running campaigns with some success, including its iXceed Fiscal Fitness program and the Break Up With Your Bank campaign that started last fall and is still running.
Because Xceed has built its market strategy on being a workplace-based, SEG-serving credit union, it eschews radio, billboard or other traditional mass media campaigns. Instead it invests its marketing budget in specific SEG-based programs (such as this year's iXceed Fiscal Fitness program) and improving online offerings, including a new online-banking system and a retooled website.
Xceed still utilizes direct mail, said Davis, but only about three times per year, and those offers are almost always pre-approvals rather than blind mailings. "It seems a lot of our direct mail has turned into regulatory or disclosure-related things," she noted.
A 2012 Goal
One of Xceed's goals for 2012 is to continue shifting members toward e-channels. "Our organization probably spends $300,000 alone on postage for statements, so we're really trying to work to get people to get e-statements," said Davis.
XFCU has also reduced its direct mail efforts in favor of online options. Not only are e-offers cheaper than sending out 20,000 pieces of direct mail, but they allow for better targeting and niche marketing, she explained. The CU also offers opt-ins for electronic communications, so members receive the offers they are most likely to be interested in rather than a flood of unwanted e-mails from the credit union.
In 2011, Xceed did its member survey online rather than through the mail. "Just with making that switch, we saw a 30% lift in participation, and we're getting the information in real time," explained Davis. "It's those types of things that are going to make us smarter and serve our members much, much better."
Gangbusters, And Then...
Davis said that Xceed "started off gangbusters on social media and probably had one employee that spent 50% of their time working on Facebook." But that strategy has changed and Xceed Financial is now in the process of revamping its social media strategy.
"How do we get that to be more integrated, more streamlined, and getting more activity off of it? We were out there early, and I'm feeling like we're a bit stale right now," acknowledged Davis.
The credit union is currently looking for a new marketing staffer, whose responsibilities will include overseeing social media.
"We're expecting to see marketing campaigns with a social media component; we're expecting more in terms of dialoguing with our members," said Davis. "It started off great, where it was like a member-service channel and we could solve some member-service issues. I'd love to use it as a promotional aspect, but also as a forum to get real-time information from our members."
