PLANO, Texas — The Cornerstone Credit Union League has released what it says is its first-of-its-kind “Feel the Difference” consumer awareness campaign toolkit, which is designed to help unite credit union messaging and provide both off-the-shelf and customizable campaign materials that support and complement individual credit union branding and advertising efforts across Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.
In a statement published on the league’s website, Cornerstone SVP Communications and Outreach Jon Gorman described the campaign as a “multi-tier effort in which Cornerstone will work to overcome consumer misperceptions of the credit union difference—a difference you can feel—while also providing credit unions with tools, resources, and strategies to impact consumer consideration of and commitment to credit union membership.”
"We know that each individual credit union brand faces the same initial challenges and barriers based on the position of the industry as a whole," Gorman said in the statement. "Therefore, a success for the industry is a success for every credit union. That being the case, Cornerstone is committed to helping advance our shared cause for the good of the credit unions that we serve.
Cornerstone CEO Dick Ensweiler added, "Cornerstone is delivering significant value to our member credit unions through the Feel the Difference campaign, not only in the materials we are delivering and the advertising we’ll be executing to affect consumer awareness, but also as a result of our strategic decision to fund all startup costs without having to ask credit unions to pay for the campaign.”
According to the CCUL, the materials and strategies, including a summary of qualitative and quantitative research findings gathered across the region during the past year, can be used by member credit unions and chapters now and into 2017 when Cornerstone said it will begin an aggressive paid digital advertising campaign to affect consumer awareness of credit unions among Millennials, Generation X, and underbanked and unbanked Hispanics.
The purpose of this paid digital campaign, ultimately, will be to drive consumers to a credit union near them from a list of Cornerstone member credit unions. In short, the campaign efforts will drive prospects right to member credit union websites, without any investment of their own.
GDC Marketing and Ideation has been selected to support these awareness efforts by Cornerstone.