ORLANDO, Fla.-Aside from backing up the name with service, the keys to a solid brand are defining its "personality" and "truth," one expert suggests.
"A brand truth describes how the world should be," Stone Mantel consultant Dave Norton said, noting that the "paradigm is shifting from promise-making to promise-keeping."
He said that defining the truth of a brand requires staff to craft a worldview for which the credit union stands. While MasterCard declares that "everyone should have priceless moments," Apple believes that people should "think different" about what technology can and should do. Likewise, credit unions have to "stand for something," tell the world what it stands for, and then deliver it to the marketplace, Norton said.
To best clarify where it is coming from when declaring that worldview, Norton suggested financial institutions describe themselves using personality words that personify the credit union. One educational CU said it would describe itself as "nurturing, family-focused, empowering." Norton added that those three words must make the basis for ad campaigns, website material, literature and even bleed all the way down to recruiting and hiring practices to truly embed the brand in the CU's culture.
