DAYTON, Ohio-Members of Dayton Firefighters FCU are donning fireman's helmets to drive member growth-and they're not firemen.
Through a series of just-released videos that are running on local TV stations and the CU's website (
Message: Not Just For Firefighters
"It's a subtle way to get the message across without saying you don't have to be a firefighter to be a member, which we felt would be a negative thing to say," said Marketing Manager Shannon O'Neill. "We wanted the message to be more positive."
Firemen are in the videos, as well, along with the message that the community can count on the credit union like firefighters have over the years. A few members share brief details about how DFFCU helped them through difficult situations, like a construction worker who needed a loan to pay for his brother's funeral.
The 3,750-member DFFCU became community chartered in 2003, but O'Neill said the credit union has not reached its growth potential since residents often don't understand that you don't have to be a firefighter to join. That has been enough of an issue over the last six years that the credit union has discussed changing its name, O'Neill pointed out. "The subject has come up to the board, but no one really wants to go that route because the credit union has a history of serving firefighters since 1935, and we have a great deal of respect for that legacy. We want to see if we can do something else."
Potential for More Growth
Member growth was at a sound 4.71% last year and 3.43% in 2008. But O'Neill said the potential is much greater. "We just reached an agreement to provide HSAs to the city of Dayton employees and signed 130 new members just last month," said O'Neill. "There's a big opportunity here."
The $47-million DFFCU plans on running the videos all year and using them as part of a campaign that could include, radio, print and billboards. O'Neill said the credit union has spent $15,000 to date on the effort.
