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Driving top-of-mind consideration to make a
nationwide impact
THE AWARENESS
INITIATIVE
This document is meant to provide introductory information regarding CUNA’s Creating Awareness Initiative. The Initiative will evolve, and information contained herein will evolve as well. Participation should be determined based on
the concept as a whole and not any particular element contained here. Participation may require the evaluation and execution of additional documents. The information contained here is confidential and meant for its original recipient
and should not be further disseminated.
Thank you for your interest and time to learn more about our movement’s solution to breaking down our barrier to credit union growth. This document lays out the approach credit union leaders and CUNA are taking to build and launch a category-level effort to improve consumer consideration of credit unions as American’s best financial partner. We invite your participation as we are confident that together we can grow our industry and bring the promise of outstanding credit union service to significantly more people across our country. Contributing to the Awareness Initiative (the Initiative) is an affirmation of the cooperative principles that have guided this industry since its inception. We are all in this together.
The benefits of contributing to the Initiative cascade to all of America’s credit unions:
• A true national initiative achieved through highly-coordinated regional advertising and communications programs that will overcome the myths that prevent consumers from considering us.
• An updated image for credit unions in a rapidly changing financial services market place full of disruptive non-traditional financial institutions.
• Alignment of coherent messages seen and heard by consumers wherever they are in the country implicitly suggests a far-reaching and consistent offer from a national network of financial service providers that put their members first.
• Access to creative content, research briefings, and other material you can put to work in your own marketing programs to build market share.
I invite all credit unions and system partners to read carefully through this document, which outlines the background and strategy to launch and sustain the Initiative for many years to come. As always, we welcome your questions and are grateful for your support.
Jim NusslePresident and CEOCredit Union National Association
WASHINGTON, D.C.
99 M Street SE Suite 300 Washington, D.C. 20003-3799
Phone: 202-638-5777 Fax: 202-638-7734
MADISON, WI
5710 Mineral Point Road Madison, W153705-4454
Phone: 608-231-4000 Toll-Free: 800-356-9655
IT’S TIME TO OPEN CONSUMERS’ EYES TO CREDIT UNIONS.
THE AWARENESS INITIATIVE
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THE AWARENESS INITIATIVE
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARYThe Initiative is a long-term national program to drive greater top-of-mind consideration of credit unions as the best financial services provider for consumers. Designed to complement credit unions’ own marketing programs, the Initiative promotes the broad category by combating two primary myths uncovered in extensive consumer research that undermine consumer consideration: (1) That people can’t join, and, (2) that they can’t access their money.
To drive greater consideration, the Initiative built a research-tested brand platform from which it produced two major works:
1. An Open Your Eyes to a Credit Union® creative concept to promote the entire industry.
2. A comprehensive Messaging Guide to assist credit unions in adjusting their own marketing efforts to complement and align with upcoming highly-coordinated advertising and communications programs. While progress to-date has been significant, the next stages are even more critical: A program rollout, including advertising and communications strategies in 2019 and a sustained push in 2020, 2021, and the years beyond.
Our goal is a smarter, comprehensive strategy that can make an impact on a nationwide basis with the cumulative effect of coordinated regional media placements, not just by spending more, but through more advanced approaches combined with engaging creative content.
BACKGROUND
The Initiative was developed and fostered by credit union leaders and CUNA to improve our overall image and awareness issues to fight the industry’s persistent stagnation. While credit union memberships are growing in real terms, the credit union slice of the financial services market is not, with a market share that has flatlined at roughly 7 percent for decades. Despite an offer to consumers that is superior to that of other financial institutions, the credit union industry has failed to make inroads against America’s biggest banks, which have nearly doubled their share in recent years as they swallowed up competitors and marketed aggressively. JPMorgan Chase spends around $5 billion a year on marketing and advertising, and research shows that credit unions are outspent by banks in marketing by a ratio of $43-to-$1.
With few exceptions, based on individual credit union focus on localness, the industry lacks national reach and scale with messages, which tend to be diffused, contradictory and taken together, confusing to consumers. That’s why the
Initiative’s mandate has been to:• overcome these obstacles by creating
a research-tested brand platform that speaks with clarity and consistency
• deliver the messages to target audiences in an engaging creative format
• drive the creative content through contemporary marketing channels.
The Initiative has been guided by the Creating Awareness Advisory Group comprised of credit union leaders from across the U.S., staffed by CUNA and assisted by outstanding branding, research, media and strategic communications firms. Following enthusiastic reviews and a widely expressed interest in participation, the Initiative now reaches its most essential phase: funding.
*Source: Statista
THE AWARENESS INITIATIVE
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A SOBERING REALITY WE CAN’T IGNOREResearch shows that too many Americans believe they can’t join a credit union and don’t think we have the scale and technology to meet their needs for financial services.
These are potent, long-held myths about our industry that we need to overcome if people are even going to think about becoming members and entrusting their financial security to us.We also cannot ignore how dramatically the financial services landscape is changing. Big banks have vastly expanded their footprints and gobbled up market share in recent years. They are spending an overwhelming amount of money to press their advantage in financial services. Consumers see virtually no barriers to getting an account at a big bank, nor do they assume they can’t access their money anywhere they are.
IT’S TIME TO TAKE A STANDIn the face of this marketing onslaught, we in the credit union movement must stand up for ourselves and combat the myths that suppress our ability to defend and grow our share of the financial services market.
This Initiative is built to last. By financially supporting this effort, you help ensure that consumers hear the powerful, unified message about all the ways in which credit unions can help them reach their life aspirations faster. This is not a short-term campaign that runs for a limited time and vanishes. To succeed, this must become a sustainable ongoing effort in which we use the latest media tools available to reach consumers, instantly monitor our effectiveness, adjust our messaging in real time as needed, and go right back at them with more helpful information.
THE AWARENESS INITIATIVE
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WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
“I’ve always said that credit unions are the best-kept secret out there, and that if people understood all the benefits credit unions have to offer, they’d never bank anywhere else. Our industry has long struggled with getting the message out, this targeted approach to get those that are not even considering us as an option to open their eyes will benefit us all. The research that has gone into creating the Open Your Eyes initiative is impressive, and its focus on dispelling the most common misconceptions about credit unions will strike a chord with people who have never considered credit unions before. We hope our contribution will help this campaign reach more consumers, generate curiosity and buzz about credit unions, and ultimately inspire people to make the switch to a better banking experience for themselves and their communities.” – Brett Martinez, President & CEO, Redwood CU
“At Coastal Credit Union, we are choosing to support the Awareness Initiative and ‘Open Your Eyes to a Credit Union’ program because the time and opportunity for credit unions to appeal to American consumers have never been better. By committing to this industry effort now, we see a chance to help our business and the greater movement by ensuring that Americans see credit unions as their very best financial partner.” – Chuck Purvis, President & CEO, Coastal CU
“We know that credit unions spend -$550 million annually on marketing and Bank of America alone spends at least 3 times that. We also know from the research done for The Awareness Initiative that credit unions are perceived as having membership barriers, having resource constraints due to our size, lacking the technology and security that big banks can provide, and are only for those who are in need. That all must change. We know that all those perceptions are myths. And what better way to dispel those myths through a cooperative, collaborative effort by credit unions large and small. We’re proud to be a part of this initiative and hope our neighboring credit unions hop on board to support the life-changing impact of our movement.” – Patricia Wesenberg, President & CEO, Simplicity CU
THE AWARENESS INITIATIVE
“While Ent Credit Union has served Coloradoans for more than 60 years, we still regularly hear from new members – and even new employees – that they weren’t really aware of credit unions and the value they provide until they joined one. Ent’s decision to support CUNA’s “Open Your Eyes” campaign was, in large part, an expression of our belief in the credit union movement, the cooperative business model and the benefits it provides consumers. We are confident that all credit unions – including ours – will see positive growth in membership and engagement as a result of this nation-wide marketing effort.” – Chad Graves, President & CEO, Ent CU
“Like so many credit unions, Wings has a long history of service to our membership. Fulfilling that original promise made by our industry founders years ago, and the hope embedded in it, includes ensuring the cooperative ideals take root in the coming generations. The research shows we have an undeniable challenge in reaching millennials with the credit union message. No one credit union can reach these newer generations alone. This can only be done by tapping into the cooperative spirit connecting all credit unions. This initiative is our best chance to accelerate the success of all credit unions nationwide.” – Frank Weidner, President & CEO, Wings FCU
“Our support for the Creating Awareness and the Open Your Eyes initiative is a way of putting our money where our mouth is. We’ve said the Credit Union model is best for consumers. We’ve said the cooperative philosophy compels collaboration. We are tired of bemoaning our stagnant market share. It’s time for action. We refuse to let this opportunity slip by without getting on board.” – Maurice R. Smith, CEO, Local Government Federal Credit Union
“The Creating Awareness “ask” for support is the culmination of several years of hard work by some of our movement’s brightest future thinkers. The research used to develop content is groundbreaking in its findings. Folks know who we are, and what we stand for but don’t think they have access to our services and are concerned with access.
Reading the credit union brand platform on the awareness website re-enforces the definition of what every credit union strives to be and do on behalf of their members. Regardless of whether you are 10 million in assets or 10 billion in assets we all believe that a credit union is the best financial services provider for everyone. This initiative will allow more non-members to hear that story and engage with credit unions.” - Debie Keesee, President & CEO, Spokane Media FCU
BUILDING THE FOUNDATION
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1 4BUILDING THE FOUNDATION
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RESEARCH GUIDED INSIGHT
Americans may like credit unions, but our extensive research shows they often do not consider them a viable option because of these misconceptions:
I can’t join • Many Americans believe they are ineligible to join a
credit union.
Accessing my money may be hard • Questions remain around access to a nationwide
network of ATMs, or whether credit unions offer the latest mobile banking options
They’re too small • Americans want security and protection from a
financial institution. The local, community stereotype of credit unions can cause anxiety.
They’re more for those in need • Credit unions, known to serve low-income consumers,
are not often linked to success and status.
In addition to confronting myths, The Open Your Eyes to a Credit Union® program is based on core messages we know resonate with non-members.
We strike a chord when we focus on how credit unions put the member in control. People like that credit unions are accountable to members, not shareholders. This ties into frustration at banks for treating customers as numbers rather than individuals.
We succeed when we show how membership is the choice of those in the know. Better products, rates, and services resonate with Americans looking to master their money and reach their aspirations.
We reassure when we convey the scale of the industry. People react positively when they hear about the nationwide network of ATMs, the number of Americans who use credit unions, and parity on technology.
BUILDING THE FOUNDATION
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From the brand platform, multiple rounds of creative development resulted in an advertising concept that was met with enthusiastic approval by a wide range of Americans in face-to-face research: Open Your Eyes to a Credit Union®. This concept shows in compelling ways how people aren’t just account numbers at credit unions; they’re valued members who own “a piece of the pie” and enjoy extraordinary benefits. All they need to do is break free from old habits.
Explore more at awareness.creditunion(password: openyoureyes)
CREATIVE CONCEPT
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REACHING THE RIGHT CONSUMER AT THE RIGHT PLACE AND TIME
BUILDING THE FOUNDATION
To ensure an efficient and effective media strategy to drive the Open Your Eyes to a Credit Union® program, a segmentation study was undertaken to identify target audiences for the campaign.
The findings were used to define audiences most amenable to the credit union offer and give us insights into the way they bank, the media channels they use most, and the key attributes that drive their decision in selecting the most appropriate financial service provider. The resulting target audiences are millennials and parents age 35 to 50 making major financial decisions.
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MESSAGING GUIDEAn important companion to the Open Your Eyes to a Credit Union® program is a research-backed Messaging Guide that credit unions may use immediately in their own marketing, communications and service approach to promote a consistent and unified messaging for consumers. By aligning what we say and how we say it, we can simplify our messaging and make credit unions more accessible for consumers. This will drive consideration and engagement for current and potential members. The Messaging Guide helps credit unions with tone of voice, themes and talking points, and includes a list of “Do’s and Don’ts”.
Credit unions are already sharing examples of how the guide is helping credit unions win business and improve customer engagement.
BUILDING THE FOUNDATION
LAUNCHING IN A NEW MEDIA WORLD
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2 4LAUNCHING IN A NEW MEDIA WORLD
Directed by the research, a credit union category brand platform was created to differentiate our industry from other financial institutions. It promotes the way credit unions help people achieve their life dreams more quickly because of our unique business model. Our theme:
OUR FOUNDATION: THE BRAND PLATFORM
Your Fantastic Future, Faster.
LAUNCHING IN A NEW MEDIA WORLD
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GUIDING PRINCIPLES Credit union buy-in and engagement has grown in the past year with both the brand platform, Your Fantastic Future, Faster, and the creative concept, Open Your Eyes to a Credit Union®. The creative theme will be launched to build memorability and momentum in driving consumer consideration for credit unions.
Our three-year integrated media, creative and research analytics program leverages the key learnings from past initiatives, the experience of our team, and best practices from out-of-category initiatives. Using these, we have built this approach on the following three principles:
1. Digital-first - The world of content and media has fundamentally
changed over the past five years. Today, digital content has the power to hyper-target specific groups of consumers across multiple social channels for a fraction of the cost of traditional mass-media channels. Our approach has been developed through this digital lens with flexibility to include more traditional channels as required.
2. Consumer-centric - From day one this initiative has identified commonly held
consumer perceptions of credit unions through qualitative and quantitative research techniques to ensure the needs of our audience are understood.
- Through research we have defined and continue to refine our target audiences most open to considering credit unions with a fresh understanding of eligibility and access that are currently barriers to winning their business.
3. Data-driven ROI - Our integrated approach to media, content and data
analytics uses data at every point to ensure we are continually testing, learning, and refining our content, media strategy and allocation to optimize our return on investment.
- Through rigorous ad testing pre-launch and then continual evaluation of audience engagement in-market, we will refine content across channels to ensure it drives action.
LAUNCHING IN A NEW MEDIA WORLD
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THE PATH TO INCREASING CU CONSIDERATION AND MEMBER ENGAGEMENT Measurement and tracking our progress
The success of the Initiative with its brand platform, Your Fantastic Future Faster, and creative concept, Open Your Eyes to a Credit Union® will be defined by relevant success metrics that adhere to these four guiding principles:
BUSINESS PLAN/ LAUNCHING IN A NEW MEDIA WORLD
ImpactSelected metrics should reveal the impacts of the Initiative for individual credit unions and the aggregate impacts for the movement
Calculation Selected metrics should be easy to calculate based on data that can be tracked for the participating credit unions and the overall movement, including data generated from the specific tools developed
RelevanceSelected metrics should measure target outcomes and capture changes that are a direct result of the Initiative
SimplicitySelected metrics should be easy to understand and limited in number to provide a dashboard for tracking progress
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These guiding principles will drive the metric selection and use across qualitative and quantitative measurement for the Initiative and campaign. Each area will be benchmarked, and regularly evaluated in the following key areas. These metrics will guide ongoing campaign development and deployment.
The Initiative will be measured by its effectiveness in:
- Increasing consumer consideration of a credit union
- Raising awareness of credit union eligibility
- Creating opportunities to grow credit union membership
LAUNCHING IN A NEW MEDIA WORLD
The exact targeted metric goals will be determined. The project team will manage the campaign deployment to these metrics.
Contributing credit unions will benefit from increased campaign reach in their region as well as localized metric reports with inclusion of credit union data like:
- National and regional performance comparisons
- National qualitative/attitudinal data
- Benchmarking and analysis of membership and loan performance
The consumer journey will be measured by:
Campaign reachMetric: Impressions and frequency to target markets
yourmoneyfurther.comMetric: Site engagement quantity and quality
CU LocatorMetric: Consumer queries
CU websitesMetric: Referral visits from CU Locator
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In today’s always-on, mobile-first society, it’s critical for brands to deliver engaging, disruptive content in the right media channels at the right time to interrupt and grab the attention of target audiences. Our strategy deploys a diverse, research-backed set of ready-to-use creative assets including video, digital, social, print and out-of-home content to ensure Open Your Eyes to a Credit Union® will be successful in achieving the metrics.
LAUNCH STRATEGY
LAUNCHING IN A NEW MEDIA WORLD
Year Timeline
2018 - Website destination for consumers to consider and actively seek out a credit union
- Style guide and licensing that enabled credit union localization complementing the national category strategy
- Content portal to manage distribution of creative assets to credit unions
- Evaluation and refinement
2019 - Select regional Open Your Eyes to a Credit Union® Concept 1 launches
- Content, optimization and website performance to drive greater consumer engagement, consideration and usability for credit unions
- New content and assets to support the launch of the program across existing and new channels
- Training and implementation support for credit unions and leagues
- Evaluation and refinement
2020 - Launch of Open Your Eyes to a Credit Union® concept 2 (and 3) specifically focused on tackling the two dominant myths (“I can’t join” and “I can’t access my money”)
- Innovation sessions to capture, explore and implement new ideas allow for a campaign response.
- Evaluation and refinement
2021 - Evaluate next steps for creative content - Evaluation and refinement
MEDIA STRATEGY
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MEDIA STRATEGY
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The program’s media strategy reflects what best resonates with the target demographics and rapidly evolving consumer habits. As technology advances, media choices for information and entertainment are expanding and fragmenting, providing an almost unlimited number of instantly available and ever-changing options from which consumers may choose.
In fact, a staggering 20 percent of the U.S. population has already changed the way they watch TV, choosing to drop their paid TV subscriptions or deciding against it in the first place. Those opting out of traditional TV packages are watching more Netflix, Hulu, Sling TV, and Roku, and videos on YouTube and Amazon Prime. As of 2017, a total of 22.2 million U.S. adults have cut the cord on cable, satellite, or TV service to date, up 33 percent from the prior year. Meanwhile, the number of “cord-nevers” (consumers who have never subscribed to pay TV) will continue to rise from 5 to 6 percent year over year, to more than 35 million.
Research firm eMarketer estimated in 2017 that of the 12 hours a day that U.S. adults spend using major media, 50 percent of that time is digital and that share will continue to grow year over year. Print was projected to see the biggest consumption decrease in 2018 (-5.3%) followed by TV (-2.5%), and traditional radio (-0.6%). Digital is the only channel to see a lift in time spent year over year since 2014, and it had a 3.5% projected lift in 2018.
MEDIA STRATEGY
6:14
5:45
5:16
4:48
4:19
3:50
3:21
2:52
2:24
1:55
1:26
0:57
0:28
0:002014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Average time spent per day (hrs:mins)
*Source: eMarketer US Time spent with Media-2017
Digital TV Radio
(Radio)
(Print)
(Other)
(Digital)
(TV)
Print Other
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There is also a generational gap within this evolution. As one would expect, younger adults embrace change and adopt new media outlets at a more rapid rate, while older populations are often less likely to change their behavior.
As you can see from the Nielsen research, media consumption with millennials differs from the older adults in several ways. On the upper age range of U.S. adults, people consume over twice the amount of live TV. On the other hand, millennials spend over twice the time with on-demand streaming media on desktops, tablets, smartphones, and smart TVs.
As older consumers are replaced by younger audiences, the share of consumers migrating from traditional media channels to on-demand connected digital experiences will increase. This large and growing segment of our population is now consuming content on their own schedule, across multiple devices, in multiple locations.
MEDIA STRATEGY
* Source: Nielsen Total Audience Report, Q2 2017 Live TV includes playbacks within seven days. TV-connected streaming devices includes viewing through Roku, Apple TV, smartphones, and computers. Game consoles includes time spent playing and watching content. Smartphone video viewing is specific to video-centric sites and apps like Netflix.
25-24 50-64
Live TV
18.4
Smartphone web and app browsing
17.9
AM and FM radio
10.9
Computer browsing
5.9
TV streaming devices
3.6 1.7
1.7
0.4
4.7
0.7
0.8
Video viewing on a computer
3.3
Gaming consoles
3.1
DVR and services like video-on-demand
2.6
Smartphone video viewing
1.2
DVD/ Blu-Ray Device
0.7
39.6
21.6
15.2
7.0
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TRENDS IN MEDIA SPENDINGAs a result of these changes in consumer media consumption habits, modern-day marketers have responded by changing media investment strategies to follow these trends, allocating less budget year over year in traditional media channels such as TV and print.
Where is all the new media investment going? It’s following the demand for digital. Search, social, and video are seeing big increases, and the majority of digital ad revenue is now funneling to tech giants Facebook and Google. This year, the Big Two in internet advertising are expected to take half of all revenue worldwide, and more than 60 percent in the United States, according to eMarketer. YouTube investments are part of a wider increase in video ad spending. In the financial services industry alone, digital video advertising increased 26 percent from 2016 to 2017 and has continued rising.
RAPID EVOLUTION IN MEDIA
Other third-party suppliers of audience data such as Experian offer pre-built, modeled audiences based on digital signals consumers leave behind while surfing websites, searching for and buying things online, using all sorts of connected digital content and technologies. These providers can identify in real time when specific consumers are experiencing life events that create an increase in interest and consideration in certain products and services.
Advertising spend can now be focused on those audiences most receptive to the message, based on intent signals or stages in life, maximizing the value of media investments and minimizing media waste to consumers that may be a demographic target, but aren’t as receptive to the message.
Changing consumer media habits require an evolved approach to marketing and a new role for media. Along with the reallocation to new media channels, modern marketers are also heavily investing in new ways to identify and target the evolving consumer that are only available in the new digital media landscape. Long gone are the days where media planners focused only on broad consumer demographics, like age, gender, race, and other demographics for targeting, based on vague measurements like rating points.
With the advancement of digital marketing, the increased demand for digital targeting data has given rise to a new supply of data targeting vendors and options. The “walled gardens” of giants like Google and Facebook have their own unique ways of targeting users with first-party data driven by search history, videos watched, friends and connections, and locations visited.
MEDIA STRATEGY
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MEDIA APPROACH The media approach for the Initiative will fully utilize the new techniques and technologies on the market today to maximize our opportunity as an industry to identify, connect, and engage the right audience, with the right message, at the right time. Our goal is a smarter strategy that can make impact on a nationwide basis, not just by spending more, but through more advanced approaches combined with engaging creative content.
As we move from media strategy to planning and negotiations with media partners, we will focus on our core media objective: to efficiently generate national category air cover to increase consideration and shift consumer perceptions, overcoming myths about credit unions, and to enhance (not replace) individual credit union and league efforts.
The strategy and media mix will maximize our reach and impact by focusing on scalable digital media with advanced data targeting options. The strategy is based on three core principles:
1. High-reach, hyper-targeted digitalBlend scalable digital media channels that can precisely target niche audiences.
2. Layers of audience intelligenceIncrease media results by including audiences with predictive indicators.
3. Focus on ad engagementHeavy emphasis on video will increase engagement with users without relying on click-through.
MEDIA STRATEGY
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SUPPORTING LOCAL MARKETING INITIATIVESThis effort provides air-cover media placements at the regional level, complementing local marketing efforts by consistently reaching and engaging audiences, and reinforcing our message at the highest level. It will break down barriers to consumer consideration for credit unions, assisting member credit unions in their work to drive membership and loan growth.
Credit unions will continue to market to the public to generate awareness and demand of their local and regional offerings, filling the bottom of the marketing funnel by encouraging members to join online or in person.
By providing regular positive exposure, disproving the common myths, and eventually increasing consideration at the category level, the likelihood of a credit union converting a potential prospect into a member will be lifted. Media studies from Google consistently prove that there can be a 10-to-20 percent lift in marketing results when complementary and sometimes adjacent media is integrated into campaigns to support other media channels.
MEDIA STRATEGY
Awareness
Consideration
Conversion
Loyalty
Advocacy
Word-of-Mouth
Open Your Eyes to a Credit Union® national program
Marketing by individual credit unions, leveraging the Messaging Guide
MARKETING FUNNEL
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MEDIA SPEND We estimate that a cumulative level of investments of $30 million per year is needed to effectively reach and impact prospective credit union members on a nationwide basis. Paid media is the only effective means of guaranteeing this level of exposure to an audience this broad and with a digital-centric strategy, this investment can be clearly measured against our objectives.
For the purposes of defining budget allocation, we have developed a generalized media mix allocation, distributing the estimated costs for each media channel that would best fit the goals and objectives of this proposed initiative.
This allocation will be fine-tuned for specific regional efforts based on local needs.
MEDIA STRATEGY
Video 33%
Paid Social 30%
Display 15%
Native 10%
Audio 11%
Video videos to be used across social and digital channels
Paid Social paid social posts on platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram
Display display banner ads on third-party websites
Native a form of advertising, both online and in print, that matches the form and style of the platform upon which it appears. It appears often as ‘recommended content’ or as ‘promoted stories.’
Audio ads within radio, digital audio ads within music streaming services’ playlists, or podcasts, which can be highly targeted to both listeners’ interest and location
FUNDING THE AWARENESS INITIATIVE
05
FUNDING THE AWARENESS INITIATIVE
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CONTRIBUTION & PARTICIPATION To succeed in the marketplace, the Initiative requires long-term funding from 2019 through 2021 as a start-up phase to set in place a long-term sustainable program. Through regional media programming, nearly all of that investment will be placed in the backyards of contributors and pooled with other nearby credit unions in media markets. Groups of credit unions will be organized into shared media markets to finetune the regional budgets, media buy strategies and coordinate with other local efforts.
The Initiative needs the financial support and collaboration from credit unions and system providers to deliver on the core promise and expectation of lifting consumer consideration.
Funding will drive a cycle in our movement to continuously raise consumer consideration and empower credit unions to convert consumers to membership and loan growth.
Credit Union, League & System Provider Funding
FUNDING THE AWARENESS INITIATIVE
Drive Membership
& Share of Wallet
Drive Consumer
ConsiderationCredit Union Engagement & Conversion
CUNA, League & Credit Union
Campaign Development & Deployment
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Credit unions will benefit most from the Initiative when they * Are members of CUNA* Have a signed campaign license
agreement* Make a financial contribution* Demonstrate commitment to
using the messaging guidance principles
* Demonstrate a commitment to converting consumers to members, and increasing share of wallet
INITIATIVE BENEFITS
FUNDING THE AWARENESS INITIATIVE
For CUNA member credit unions
For contributing credit unions
Messaging Guide to complement your own marketing efforts
Inclusion in the credit union locater
Program updates for nationwide metrics
Specialized resources to leverage in marketing efforts
Enhanced campaign deployment in your region
Additional metrics and benchmarks
Preferred placement and an enhanced description in the credit union locator
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THE TEAMThe Initiative is supported by an experienced team of professionals well versed in marketing, consumer research, strategic communications, finance and business development.
Led by CUNA staff, the core of the consulting professionals come from a variety of backgrounds.
THE TEAM
BrandCapThe New York City and London-based firm is responsible for developing the program’s creative strategy and consumer-facing material. The Open Your Eyes to a Credit Union® creative concept has proven effective in consumer tests and effectively moves core audience segments to increased consideration of the credit industry.
Team members:
David Martin Chairman
Ryan ArshadManaging Director, BrandCap US
Ed BoltonCreative Director
Mike BrooksCampaign Lead
Credit union guidanceCredit Union National Association (CUNA) is the only national association that advocates on behalf of all of America’s credit unions, which are owned by 110 million consumer members. CUNA, along with its network of affiliated state credit union leagues, delivers unwavering advocacy, continuous professional growth and operational confidence to protect the best interests of all credit unions.
CUNA formed the Awareness Advisory Group in 2016 to advise and steer the development of the Initiative. Its input has been invaluable to understanding the local needs of credit unions and how best to launch a category-level brand building initiative to increase consumer consideration of the industry.
Team members:
Chris Lorence
Zan McKelway
Susan Toalson
Jill Tomalin
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Glover Park GroupThe Washington, D.C.-based research company is responsible for developing consumer insights that have guided the strategic direction of the program. Conducting thousands of consumer interviews, dozens of focus groups, and other measures of consumer attitudes, Glover Park brought forward the key measures of consumer perceptions about credit unions and will continue to measure progress toward increased consideration of our industry among the core targeted consumer segments.
Team member:
Graeme Trayner Managing Director
THE TEAM
Just MediaThis San Francisco-based media planning firm provides essential advice to the program in the placement of content across digital platforms that effectively reaches the core audience segments identified by research.
Team member:
Brian Kelleher Associate Media Director
