ORLANDO-Plenty of credit unions sponsor events, but one CU that has had particular success backing a local concert series reminded that it's important the branding promotion not get lost in the potential for cross sales.
Roy MacKinnon, VP with the $1 billion First Entertainment Credit Union in Hollywood, Calif., shared with Credit Union Journal'sGrow Show how his CU has built its brand using a "Concert in the Park" series with the city of Santa Clarita, Calif.
First Entertainment worked to ensure it gets much more than just a "This concert brought to you by..." mention. Its signage frames the stage. Its name is included on light pole banners, in print ads for the concerts, on postcards distributed to local businesses and on the city's website.
At the concerts themselves, which average between 6,000 and 13,000 attendees, First Entertainment has up to 20 employees roaming the area with giveaways and talking about the CU as well as the benefits of refinancing an auto loan.
The Santa Clarita concerts primarily feature tribute bands and, fittingly, First Entertainment takes full advantage. For a Led Zeppelin tribute band, for instance, it created album cover-like graphics and taglines such as "If The Loan Remains The Same, It's A Heartbreaker" and "Ramble On Down (To The Teller Window"). First Entertainment staff are emblazoned in t-shirts reading "Crew" and also carry credentials that appear to be backstage passes. That connects with concert-goers and especially First Entertainment's core FOM, which are employees in the entertainment industry who work behind the cameras.
MacKinnon, who recently won the Best of Show Diamond Award from the CUNA Marketing Council, was joined by CU consultant Paul Lucas, who emphasized that "when you do a community event, you don't want to just give $500 and give them your logo. You want to own the event. It's got to be yours."
One Promo At A Time
Meanwhile, in its other promotions, MacKinnon said that since 2004, First Entertainment's marketing strategy has been to back "complete campaigns" that inundate the member with messaging at all touchpoints: multiple e-mails, online, on-hold messages, POS, teller window signs and even signage on the branch floors. One recent auto loan campaign that stressed a sub-2% rate drew more than $8.5 million in loans
MacKinnon, who credited agency Redbeard Communications for its work in the lending promotion, stressed a marketing approach that focuses on one promotion solely over a set period of time, rather than attempting to cross-sell multiple items at once.
