IMAGE CAMPAIGN 

The goal of the New Hampshire Credit union League’s Statewide Adverting is to achieve maximum exposure for a powerful and consistent message about the benefits of credit union membership. It communicates those themes which are common to all credit unions and contributes to the consumers understanding of the “Credit Union Difference.” In this way the campaign works to supplement rather replace individual credit union advertising. It provides real material benefit to the League’s member credit unions by bringing the consumer to a point where they understand what a credit union is.

The League’s Marketing Committee has primary responsibility for guiding the statewide advertising campaign. The committee is appointed by the League’s chairman and it consists of credit union CEOs, marketing executives and volunteers. The committee meets a number of times each year to consider appropriate advertising strategies. The committee then determines the message, media and timing for the annual campaign.

The image campaign has two main components. They are public relations and paid media advertising. The committee strives to make certain that these components act in concert.

The work that the committee does is part of a twenty year effort that is one of the longest running and most successful statewide credit union image advertising campaigns in the country. This award winning effort is the result of the hard work, insight and creativity of the committee and the generous support of the credit unions of New Hampshire. 

In 2005 the League brought the campaign to a new level by introducing a new comprehensive strategy featuring television spots and a strong web presence. Our award winning  “Bag of Money” and “CEO” tv spots together with the new www.gocu.org became an important voice for credit unions in the New Hampshire financial marketplace.

Current Campaign

Last year the committee determined that because of shifting economic and market conditions it was time to consider a new message. As a result the committee undertook a discussion of consumer sentiment and the trends in evidence at individual credit unions.

However, it was also agreed that any new advertising strategy should capitalize on the message equity that the campaign already created. To arrive at consensus regarding direction each committee member was asked to comment on what they considered to be the most important message the campaign could communicate in the upcoming campaign year. The thinking was very consistent. The main points that were identified were:

• Credit unions are focused on the needs of their members and the community and committed to meeting those needs

• Credit unions are secure and trustworthy

• Credit unions are a part of the community

Rain advertising was called on to take this guidance and craft a creative strategy. That strategy incorporated two new television spots, a new look for ww.gocu.org and an aggressive public relations approach.

Television Creative Strategy

The firm crafted two television spots: Healthy Money and Electrician in the Board Room both of have a thematic connection with the spots done in 2005, Bag of Money and CEO.

The first spot Healthy Money reintroduces our bag of money which represents the savings of credit union members.  This time the bag of money is shown pursuing a number of vigorous activities (yoga, kayaking, racquetball) while the announcer asks if the viewer knows how healthy their finances are. They are then told that they can make their money stronger by doing business with a credit union.

The second spot Electrician in the Boardroom shows a group of business people while the announcer asks who managed billions in savings and made thousands of loans the camera focuses on an electrician repairing a fixture in the room.  The announcer goes on to explain that credit unions are owned by their members and that there are no outside shareholders to pay so credit unions can offer a better deal.

As it turned out the message of the ads was very appropriate for the times. These spots began airing in the fall of 2008 just as the banking crisis began in earnest and the economy began a sharp decline.

Web Creative Strategy

The strategy for www.gocu.org was to create a higher degree of interactivity through the integration of a blog function. Rain built a full blog facility into the site and conducted training along with the League to help member credit unions understand how to participate in the dialogue on the site.

The site also incorporated an active flash media function that links the site back to our media advertising themes.

Public Relations Strategy

The campaign continued to pursue an active media relations strategy during this campaign year. However this year we began working with a new public relations professional, Janet Stevens, who is affiliated with Rain. Janet’s insight, experience and contacts within the New Hampshire media community helped to secure positive placement for a number of credit union stories throughout the year.