ST. LOUIS — The Missouri Credit Union Association (MCUA) has embarked on a statewide consumer awareness campaign to increase its profile with consumers after learning that most residents of the "Show Me State" weren't familiar with CUs.
The campaign was branded as "Bank on MOre" because it related credit unions to the banking industry and had a local message, capitalizing on "Mo" the abbreviation for 'Missouri."
After a survey of 800 adults in the state conducted by MCUA found that 58% of non-members had very little or no knowledge of CUs, the association launched the campaign to drive membership growth and retention. With the average age of a credit union member now at 48, MCUA felt it needed to find new ways to attract members — especially younger ones, according to President/CEO Don Cohenour.
After using billboards, search-engine marketing, digital ads, social media, print ads and radio, Bank On MOre 66% of non-members polled said they would likely consider joining a credit union.
The campaign also aimed to tell the CU story in a conversational, engaging and informative manner while providing clear and concise information of credit union facts that may not be well understood, such the CU structure, federal insurance coverage, depth and breadth of products and services, rate advantages over traditional banks and personal service.
Lessons from the Polls
"In Missouri, we learned through public opinion polls that consumers don't understand what credit unions are or what they offer," said Cohenour. "When surveyed, consumers ranked the word 'credit union' last, even behind the word 'national bank.' Interestingly enough, they were ranking words like 'homegrown' and 'locally owned' near the top, so we knew we had to change the way we communicate to nonmembers."
The campaign was designed to drive traffic to
MCUA sought out the results from the target market after the first year of the campaign and found that favorability toward credit unions had increased by 15 %, and 39 % said they had heard, seen or read about credit unions recently.
"The Bank On MOre campaign is assisting us in fulfilling our mission of 'making credit unions grow' by informing the non-member of the benefits of membership," said Cohenour. "In Missouri, it is beginning to make a difference."
