BOSTON -
Founded to serve Phillip Morris, the credit union had penetrated 90% of the employees eligible to join.
"We were declining 2% to 3% per year. We had 3.06 products per member, so members were using us. The question became: what to do? Our strategy was to get new SEGs," she said.
But capturing SEGs on a small budget and with few reps to make calls required a clever strategy. Parks' idea: get SEGs to call the CU by positioning it as such a terrific benefit that the person who made the call would become the office hero.
Call FCU built a campaign around "Be The Office Hero," including "betheofficehero.com, billboards, and radio spots. Perhaps most memorable, however, was the in-person visits made by Parks and Call FCU reps to local chamber of commerce meetings, business fairs and community events where they wore a red cape and mask. In the usually staid atmosphere, a masked man (or woman) will attract attention, Parks understated.
"I was at a Chamber of Commerce event in Richmond. Everybody was wearing their uniform: their polo shirts and khaki pants. We were wearing our capes," said Parks. "I was looking at the other credit unions and banks there and I thought, 'what's the difference? You're all the same. You all look alike.' Then a woman said to me, 'Finally, a bank with personality.'"
She got an old Margarita machine and made Slushes she called 'Hero Juice' and everybody talked it up. Call garnered nearly 5,000 potential member SEGs and made 1,700 new members with the campaign. Then Parks had an 'aha' moment, realizing that what started as a short-term SEG growth campaign could become a big part of the CU's branding and identity. "We're a commodity, let's face it. We're a step above toilet paper in the minds of consumers."
The outcome of the Office Hero evolved into the "i-dude," a stylized, caped, lower case animation that does short tutorials on Call's website: "I can do anything! Ask me a question."
"We want to empower people to lead better lives and be the heroes of their financial lives. We realized that is our brand, and it's tied to our values, which are Dream (building), Enrich (community and youth outreach) Build (savings and investments) Restore (literacy and counseling) Connect (in convenience and member service) Parks' explained.
The "i-dude" now goes to functions and even has a blog on the website where he talks about those community events.
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Reporting By Carol Anne Burger
