PADUCAH, Ky. -
When opening its last branch last year, C Plant Federal Credit Union here in the bluegrass state sought to keep its heritage intact while shifting from its SEG-based history to a larger community charter.
While its roots started five decades ago in America's nuclear and power program, C Plant now has a wide-ranging charter that allows it to potentially serve 120,000 people who live or work in four western Kentucky counties.
C Plant worked with Rochester, N.H.-based consultants BrandPartners Inc., which specializes in branded retail environments, to create a strategy of expanding in the community, and possibly across the Ohio River into Illinois, while sticking true to its colors. BrandPartners CEO Courtney Grover said locating the new branch reflected C Plant's plans, and challenges, to keep its SEGs content while attempting to capture the traffic surrounding a local mall.
"They were focusing on where retail was going," Grover said.
C Plant is in the position of having one existing branch in a county with only 1,000 residents. The new 5,000 square-foot branch's design was meant to build on the traditional credit union "transaction-only" image and build relationships to increase and deepen its membership. BrandPartners and C Plant officials selected visual cues from existing branches to reinforce C Plant's local history and strengthen its brand.
Blue Metal Roof
Details such as a distinctive blue metal roof that is familiar to Paducah residents, brick and even black anodized windows were all added to the new branch.
Keeping familiar architectural features while seeking new members was the goal according to BrandPartners consultant Jeffrey Ferris. Ferris said incorporating existing, and publicly recognized, design features is called "leveraging their architectural equity," that most SEG-based credit unions can emulate.
"What they want to do was project a bright, friendly, family-oriented atmosphere from coveralls to collared shirts," Ferris said. "We also used the same brick and mortar color. We don't want to create a disconnect from what they had."
The new branch was built at an intersection near the mall and situated with the front door and larger-than-normal windows facing the city streets. Larger retail-type windows show an active credit union and provide a welcoming atmosphere.
Grover and Ferris said the C Plant Paducah branch features a dedicated greeter who speaks to members as soon as they enter the building, a financial education center, a community wall with posted information, comfortable furniture and a flat-screen television advertising products and services located by a coffee spot.
The teller lines are located in the rear of the branch with a counter-clock wise traffic pattern leading members past product information or credit union staff, much like a supermarket placing the milk and eggs in the rear of the store.
"We try to use the inside of a building as a billboard," Ferris said.
With the addition of a greeter, credit unions can build relationships with new members or simply answer questions for someone who doesn't need to see a teller.
A Quicker Resolution
This allows for a quicker resolution to the member's actual needs and frees the teller staff to focus on their job and the membership.
C Plant Federal Credit Union COO Lori Kline said the 50-year credit union had an existing brand and a "family tradition" in western Kentucky that is a source of pride for the locals. Kline said C Plant wanted a branch that it could grow into, gain new members and open more business accounts.
Kline cited the credit union's well-known blue tin roof on each branch and the larger retail-type windows facing the public as helping to create an open, recognizable atmosphere. Kline also said the new windows were important for security.
"Everyone seems to like it. It's warm and inviting. For security reasons the police like it. If something is going on they can see inside. They don't want you to close the blinds or have hedges so high you can't see inside," Kline said.
BrandPartners' Grover and Ferris advised credit unions evolving into community charters to make sure a brand strategy is already in place and to understand its role within the community.
"Understand what about you and your history that can be leveraged," Grover said. "How can you translate that into a physical building? Also, how can you project that across all media?"
C Plant Federal Credit Union, with 15,100 members, has five existing branches, all with blue tin roofs.
