ORLANDO-One person at Credit Union Journal's Grow Show here reminded attendees of two things: brand conversations aren't always about specific products and brands can be built on a small budget.
"Let me Google that for you" or "Let's go to Starbucks" are all brand conversations that aren't actually about promoting a specific product, pointed out Bo McDonald, president of Greenville, S.C.-based Your Marketing Company. McDonald has worked with a number of CUs throughout the Carolinas, and he offered examples of marketing strategies some CUs there have used and seen significant upticks in growth or word of mouth.
At Latitude 32 CU in Charleston, for instance, McDonald shared the "end of the world" loan promotion the CU ran last year. If, as the Mayans predicted, the world ended in December 2012, the credit union agreed to forgive all auto loan debts. Latitude 32 promoted it in various media outlets, and had a clock on its website counting down to the end of the world. The promo was picked up by two local TV stations, three radio stations, a local newspaper and more. McDonald said that while the goal was to help spread the credit unions' name, the promotion got people talking and resulted in a 23% bump in auto loans and an 8% increase in new memberships.
Game of TAG
McDonald also worked with several CUs throughout South Carolina on an event known as MAD-TAGas in, "Make A Difference, Tag You're It." The event, which was held at four different gas stations around the state, gave $20 in free gas to customers at specific gas stations and encouraged them to "pay it forward" and make a difference in someone else's life. Those events featured staff from various Palmetto State credit unions pumping gas, and in nearly every media market the event got coverage from some combination of TV, radio and newspaper. It gave CU staff the opportunity to meet one-on-one with would-be members and discuss the credit union difference.
"When's the last time a CEO at a bank was out pumping gas?" McDonald asked. "That really went a long way." Those events, he said, garnered the equivalent of $270,000 in free media coverage for CUs in the state, while only costing CUs about $8,000 total ($2,000 for $20 in free gas for the first 100 customers at each of the four gas stations).
McDonald stressed to the crowd that no matter how good the marketing strategy is, CUs will be ill-served if their front-line staff is not trained to effectively capitalize on the boost in traffic once those new members come streaming through the doors as a result of those campaigns.
