BALTIMORE — Building brand awareness is challenging for any organization, especially if employees have trouble understanding management's brand objectives. This was the case for Securityplus Federal Credit Union until a new approach was taken.
"Employees had a difficult time defining our brand when asked to do so," said Securityplus FCU Associate Vice President of Marketing, Mark Ely. "For example, employees didn't know if providing quick service was our number one priority, or if handling each member's unique needs carefully and methodically was most important. So we decided to develop an internal and external strategy to help define that brand strategy to our employees."
Brand Unclear to Employees
Ely explained that before the new brand was launched only 11% of the approximate 100 employees surveyed could accurately explain Securityplus FCU's brand.
In May of 2013, an internal brand was launched in hopes of increasing that statistic. The approach included a four-week campaign designed to provide awareness and knowledge for employees "living" the brand and delivering the brand promise to members and prospective members.
The campaign included four key messages that were created to guide day-to-day behavior and interactions with members and staff: member focus, providing financial solutions, being technologically advanced and community proud.
To make the campaign more interactive, Ely noted that the launch event featured a video of existing employees talking about their commitment to one vision and how they were living out the brand already.
New Tagline, New Day
The new brand tagline "A positive difference" was introduced as was a brand and reference booklet.
"When members come into contact with the credit union brand, they should immediately experience our brand promise," said Ely.
