A repeat loan promotion by Michigan State University Federal Credit Union that gave one local disabled teenager a room makeover also generated 640 new home equity and mortgage accounts during its two-month run.
Inspired by room makeover television shows, the $1.3-billion CU's marketing team created The Ideal Room Makeover, a $33,700 promotion that invited members and non-members in the Lansing area to submit a brief story as to why their room should be redecorated.
Joyce Banish, VP of Marketing at MSUFCU, said nearly 200 people responded, many with heartfelt stories from soldiers, single moms and parents of newborns.
In the process, she said, the CU opened 640 home equity line and mortgage accounts-equaling the results of a similar promotion that ran during the same period last year.
"We actually even lowered our goal this time around because of the bad Michigan economy," Banish said. "We were very pleased."
The CU invested $20,000 on television advertising, $12,000 in direct mail pieces, $700 for applications and lobby posters, and $1,000 to the winner.
Banish said the promotion highlighted the CU's mortgage and home equity line rates. Direct mail pieces included coupons from partners for discounts on furniture and paint.
"Home equity loans were brought to an all-time high because of this and other minor promotions that were going on at the same time," Banish said.
The contest winner was a teenaged boy named Coleman Sego who was struck by lightning while playing soccer. Five years later, he is confined to a wheelchair.
"Coleman's mom made a request for a room makeover that was modest, asking only that all the memorabilia from well wishers be organized and that the floor covering be replaced," Banish said.
With generous donations from Christensen's Furniture and O'Leary Interiors, a crew transformed the cluttered room full of autographed posters, baseball bats and basketballs into a refuge he could enjoy, Banish said.
New furniture that included colorful storage bins and an oak bed to replace the hospital bed he had slept in since the accident was also added.
Banish said that Lansing television station WLNS-TV6 documented the process, teasing its viewers with clips leading up to a news segment that showed Sego seeing the room for the first time.
"This had a real feel-good ending and garnered member support from everyone who watched," Banish said, adding that afterward, many members expressed their gratitude to the CU for showing such community support.
She said the promotion will likely be repeated again next year, perhaps with a new twist.
"We'd like to partner with a travel agency who can send next year's winners to Orlando while their room is being made over," she said.
