What Is Your Marketing Focus in 2011?

LAS VEGAS-Credit Union Journal asked attendees at the CUNA Marketing & Business Development Council's annual meeting: Where are you investing your marketing dollars in 2011, and has your budget improved over 2010?

Kathryn Davis, SVP marketing and HR, Xceed Financial CU, El Segundo, Calif.
Our marketing budget for 2011 is comparable to 2010. We are taking an online focus this year. We have found 50% of our members interact with us online, so we are focused on that. We are a SEG-based credit union, so our marketing dollars go there. We continue to look for opportunities with each SEG.

There is a new program called "iXceed," which is part of one of our SEG's fiscal fitness programs. Four employees of the SEG will compete to improve their financial situation over nine months. Xceed supplies "money coaches" and our goal is to do this for every SEG that wants to.

Mary Olson, VP of marketing, Delta Community CU, Atlanta
Our marketing dollars are really spread out, not just in one place. We expanded radio this year, cut back on print and TV stayed the same. We added a radio station because we thought we were not doing a good enough job reaching the African-American community via radio, so we now advertise on an old school R&B station.

Two years ago we hired a PR firm and that continues to be important. Our budget for 2011 increased some, but not much, from 2010.

On social media we have a lot of followers on Twitter and fans on Facebook. We post lots of videos on You Tube. Later this year we will use You Tube for a community vote on video essays to determine scholarship winners.

Brenda Covrett, VP growth and development, Directions CU, Toledo, Ohio
We are shifting more focus on the Web and social media, but we think it also is important to keep our traditional radio and TV spots. We are doing Facebook and Twitter and are trying to integrate those with our campaigns. We want to do a promotion that is primarily on social media and is connected to a contest, but we don't have it yet.

Kristine Stack, marketing director, Central Florida Postal CU, Orlando, Fla.
Our 2011 budget is the same as 2010. We are a smaller-sized credit union, about $48 million. We became a community charter in 2007 but our name is the same, which means we must overcome the hurdle of everyone assuming they have to be an employee of the Postal Service to join.

Our marketing dollars go to letting people in the area know we are community friendly. We have done some non-traditional avenues, not mass media but finding groups to partner with. We have branches in five different spots, so we have to be different at each spot.

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