BRISTOL, Penn.-More consumers may take their "bucks" to the credit union thanks to an irreverent YouTube video from Bucks First FCU.
Internet comedy duo Rhett and Link (Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal) produced a humorous YouTube spot (
"We think the commercial is huge for credit unions in general," said Reed. "It gets the word out that credit unions are the quintessential local business. Word of mouth is what we were going for, and this spot is spreading like wildfire. It's putting more credit unions on the map, especially with the younger generation."
Reed stated that the goal was never to drive deposits, although she is getting some consumers commenting-and stopping by-saying they will bring their "bucks to Bucks First. This has opened our eyes even more toward the power of social media," she said.
Letting the Internet comedians produce the commercial was somewhat risky, Reed admitted. Rhett and Link shot the spot without a script and did not give the $88-million CU final approval. "We saw it when it ran on YouTube," Reed said. "But we had complete confidence in Rhett and Link. We know they understand credit unions and the value they bring to the community. They are credit union members themselves. We are very pleased with how things turned out."
So much so that Reed said viral marketing and social media will be Buck's First primary marketing emphasis in 2010.
Rhett and Link have been giving away free commercials to local businesses and made it clear they wanted to do one for a credit union, Reed said. Bucks First was selected from among thousands of businesses that asked for the latest commercial. Reed said what finally landed the commercial at Bucks First was the fact the BFCU told Rhett and Link to just show up and shoot. "There was no red tape. Some of the other credit union finalists said they had to check with their boards first."
Bucks First has followed up with a "behind the scenes" YouTube commercial (
