MANCHESTER, N.H.-To draw national attention to St. Mary's Bank's 100th anniversary, employees from the credit union headed to the "Today Show" in New York City and captured a few minutes of fame.
The stunt drew attention for St. Mary's, the nation's first credit union, when cameras closed in on CU staff in the "Today Show" audience. The team of eight invited "Today Show" host Meredith Vieira to come to Manchester and do a story on the credit union and the 100-year anniversary of the credit union movement's founding. They handed her a videotaped invitation that included greetings from townspeople and staff. "My cell phone started ringing as soon as I was on camera," said Elizabeth Stodolski, the CU's director of marketing. "The trip was a success."
St. Mary's hoped that Vieira would commit to the story, especially since the message of credit union safety and soundness is important as banks falter, Stodolski noted. "Meredith has yet to get back to us. But there's still time. I think it's a good time to tell the credit union story across the country. It's a tough economy and unprecedented events are happening."
The trip also drew local coverage from Manchester's Union Leader newspaper and the city's top-rated radio station, whose morning DJs watched the Today Show and commented when the St. Mary's crew received the air time.
"As far as we're concerned, it was a success because the people involved had a lot of fun. It brought a lot of attention to the credit union movement within community, and we got some exposure on national TV for just some sweat equity," said Kevin Flynn, public relations manager for Griffin, York & Krause, a Manchester advertising and marketing firm that helped develop the idea for the Today Show stunt. "We thought this would be a better way to get some national attention, as opposed to just contacting the Today Show's assignment editor."
St. Mary's further personalized the invitation with a humorous two-minute video that included greetings from Manchester Mayor Frank Guinta and CU staff inviting Vieira to stop by. The video is currently housed on St. Mary's Web site www.stmarysbank.com/about-st-marys-bank/today_show.asp). The St. Mary's contingent also gave Vieira packets of Rhode Island staple Del's Lemonade, something Vieira is known to like, and an anniversary coin set.
"We just wanted to make that personal connection," said Stodolski about the lemonade and the entire effort. It was just a different way to stand out in the crowd and get her attention."
The $650-million credit union had little trouble gaining the attention of TV cameras as they held up paper masks of Vieira in front of their faces.
"We left those masks in the Today Show studio, and they have the credit union's contact information on their backs," Stodolski said. "Maybe if it's a slow news day the show might still pick up our story."
