KANSAS CITY, Mo. - While most credit union annual meetings struggle to attract members, CommunityAmerica Credit Union has moved its meeting to a local minor league baseball park.
That move, CommunityAmerica says, is one of the reasons it's three years ahead in its long-term growth plan.
The $1.7-billion CommunityAmerica here now holds its annual meeting at CommunityAmerica Ballpark, where the CU has naming rights. While it costs the credit union $120,000 each year for the carnival-like event-which includes games, food and prizes in addition to sharing typical annual meeting messages-the benefits far outweigh the expense, according to CommunityAmerica.
"We have not placed a dollar amount on the value of this event," said Jean Hughes, the CU's VP of marketing and employee development. "But after holding the meeting at the ballpark for the last two years, we're now three years ahead of schedule for our 10-year growth plan for PFI households. We are solidifying relationships."
CommunityAmerica, which has grown by more than $200 million in assets over the last two years, is also building brand awareness.
"Our awareness surveys show we are making good progress," Hughes said. "You can never say an annual meeting led to all of your awareness, but it certainly played a large role. Where else are you going to have a captive audience of thousands to talk about the uniqueness of your credit union?"
Attendance Skyrockets
Annual meeting attendance jumped from less than 200 to 3,900 in 2007-the first year at the ballpark-and 2,800 this year. Members attending are also the right demographic. "We shifted our target market to women ages 35 to 54," Hughes said. "We looked at who's been coming to our annual meetings at the ballpark and almost 70% are within that target range and many are younger. It validates that we are reaching a younger demographic."
With the latest meeting held only recently, Hughes said it is too soon to measure results. Evaluating last year's event, however, showed that the credit union has accomplished a lot.
"The first time we held the meeting we knew we had something special," Hughes recalled. "The most immediate benefit was a feeling of great pride in the organization and staff that we really do have something different at our credit union. There was electricity in the ballpark from members and staff that we never had experienced. But we wanted to make sure we looked at results and confirmed we are getting return on our investment."
In addition to reaching a younger, female demographic, the CU was hoping to boost share of wallet. "Share of wallet increased at a significantly higher rate with those who attended the meeting over those who were not there-both in loans and deposits. They are also 300% more likely to refer households."
Hughes believes the ballpark meeting differentiates CommunityAmerica in a highly competitive market that's home to 156 different financial institutions, she said.
‘We Start Where Banking Stops'
"Our brand point is ‘We start where banking stops,' and no bank is ever inviting clients and customers to an annual meeting at the ballpark that's full of fun. We're creating more engaged members," Hughes said.
Due to a merger with Midwest United Credit Union in April, CommunityAmerica hoped for 5,000 attendees this year. But Hughes attributed the 30% drop in attendance to bad weather, the economy, and high gas prices. "Midwest United members live about 40 miles away from the park," she explained.
Those who turned out the last two years played bingo and other group activities, as well as inflatable and arcade games. Food was free. The meeting ran from 6 to 9:30 p.m. on a night when a baseball game wasn't scheduled.
"We wondered if people would be out playing arcade games or catch with their kids and not listen to someone behind a podium at an annual meeting," Hughes said. "But they take their seats and listen."
CommunityAmerica is evaluating this year's results. "We're taking another critical look at ROI," said Hughes. "It's still early to say how effective the meeting was. But at least for 2009 and a year beyond that, I think we'll be getting in front of members at the ballpark, telling them about the advantages and differences of Community America. It's even possible we'll do this in a bigger way."(c) 2008 The Credit Union Journal and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved.http://www.cujournal.com/ http://www.sourcemedia.com/
