JACKSON, Miss.-Five months after launch of an awareness campaign, Mississippi's CUs are reporting significant gains in awareness.
In January, the Mississippi CU Association rolled out TV and radio advertising using the "iBelong" campaign it had licensed from the Pennsylvania CU Association. The league said a May survey of 400 registered voters shows consumer awareness is up over a similar survey conducted in 2007. Among the key findings: increased awareness of eligibility to join; increased favorable perceptions of CUs, and recent news heard about CUs was positive. By nearly four-to-one, respondents had a favorable impression of credit unions over an unfavorable impression.
Moreover, the membership growth rate during the first quarter of 2009 was five times greater than the growth rate for all of 2008. "Equally as important, the public's image of credit unions in Mississippi remains positive," the league said. "For example, those respondents saying the phrase 'cares more about people than profits' describes credit unions over banks increased 300% in 2009.
