MISSOULA, Mont.-The recession has come with another cost that, sadly, is often overlooked, believes one person: a noticeable downgrade in the professionalism of marketing at many CUs.
"I think what's happened is this discipline is being sacrificed for a declamation of expense or a more attractive expense ratio," proclaimed Tyler Disburg, AVP at Montana 1st CU and a member of the executive committee of CUNA's Marketing & Business Development Council. "I've seen example after example of C-level positions being taken to entry-level positions, basically stripping the marketing role of any strategic importance-of any real consequence to the future of the organization-and making it an operational, day-to-day function. And I believe that's happening because of the economic challenges that have been presented. Basically HR professionals and/or credit union executives are faced with, 'Do we replace this $100,000-plus position with another $100,000-plus caliber employee, or do we do without?'" In cutting those costs, Disburg suggested many CUs are hiring marketers with no background in business.
"It's a trend that I don't like to see within my discipline or within my chosen profession," said Disburg. "I do believe there are positions out there and credit union marketers that are very integral and provide strategic value to their executive team. With that said, I see a nasty trend in that as those folks leave, they're not always being replaced with a professional of the same caliber."
Potential To Reverse Trend
Disburg said he is hopeful the trend will reverse as the economy continues to improve, but noted that it is "incumbent upon credit union marketers' ability to prove that they are a valuable member of the credit union management team and deserve a seat at the big table in the C-suite."
At Disburg's own credit union, Montana 1st, the marketing budget has been reduced by nearly 40% in recent years, which he said has forced it to become even more creative. One avenue for that was 2010's "Boring Is Sexy" campaign, which was advertised via traditional channels like radio and billboards directing unsuspecting consumers to BoringIsSexy.com, a microsite that advertises "Plain Vanilla Auto Loans," "Mild Mannered Mortgages," "Delightfully Dull Home Equity Loans," and "Safe and Stodgy Savings."
"The way we try to get the message across is by leveraging traditional media like radio and billboards, but not trying to have the entire conversation in a 30-second block," said Disburg. "Rather, we're driving traffic to a microsite or somewhere that we can have a full conversation with them and really get across our brand position and get them to engage with our brand on a more substantial level."
Like many of those who spoke to Credit Union Journal for this series, Montana 1st rarely uses direct mail, but utilized it to promote its "Black Wednesday" auto promo the day before Thanksgiving, which brought in $2.1 million in a 3.5-hour span ("Loan Gobbler," Dec. 5, 2011).
Anti-Social Media
One area where Montana 1st differs from many CUs is its social media outreach strategy: that is, it doesn't have one, for the simple reason that "the ROI is really hard to prove."
Instead of using Facebook or Twitter, Montana 1st has created its own social media outlets, such as ThankYourBank.com, where users can submit their own facetious thank-you notes to the big banks. "We seeded it with funny, chiding remarks like 'Thanks for the new fees' or 'Thanks for denying my auto loan, the fresh air is really great on the bike ride to work,' and then we had consumers coming to the site and 'thanking' their bank."
While Montana 1st has eschewed social media to date, Disburg noted that social media has had an inalterable effect on the way marketing is done. "If social media has taught us anything, it's that we will have to engage consumers differently than we have for the last 10 years or so," he said. "We're literally seeing citizen-led revolutions with Occupy and Bank Transfer Day; that is going to translate into daily consumer function. We will increasingly have to pay more attention to consumer needs and meet them, or we will be obsolete."
