By Christian Mullins
This morning I read on CU Tomorrow a case for creating a national brand for credit unions. As discussed by Jill in the post, the argument has typically been split between those who desire a national logo and those that wish to keep their full individuality. I think the idea has true merit, as several industries have been able to accomplish this feat, though several monumental questions remain, including who will pay for this and which credit unions or industry groups will influence the initial, then continued direction of the branding?
After deciding those questions are better left answered to those who would devote more than a few minutes to their answer, I shifted my focus to current national efforts. Various state credit union leagues create advertisements for their credit unions, but the only national attempt I could find was The Little Guy, which was created ‘to illustrate the key differences and provide our members with a BIG voice on the (Capitol) Hill’. Technically, this is more of a lobbyist effort, but an effort to educate (or influence) Congress is, in my opinion, considered national.
A lot of people like The Little Guy, but I have to admit that a combination of Charlie Brown and (Family Guy’s) Stewie, sporting Little Orphan Annie’s eyes no less, is not my first choice for industry or member representation.
And therein lies the problem with creating a national brand. No matter how well thought out, beneficial, or original the idea may be, a solid portion of the industry won’t like it, whether it’s for economic, philosophical, aesthetic, or selfish reasons. On the flip side, conforming to the majority may water down the message so much that it hurts rather than helps the cause.
It’s a difficult topic and I look forward to reading additional articles and posts on the subject.
August 5, 2008 at 8:50 am |
[...] a national advertising campaign. Jill started a great conversation on the blog, even sparking posts on other blogs. This is a hot topic right now, so check out the above links to read through the posts and [...]
August 12, 2008 at 10:44 am |
I’m in charge of our state Oeague’s marketing awareness campaign. It can be challenging getting 67 credit unions in on one brand. However, there is a one common theme we find in our research — what is a credit union and what can it do for me.
CUNA’s membership growth committee says that trust, care and an emotional appeal resonate with more people when you’re talking about financial instutitions.
Each CU has their own brand. However, I am just glad to see more people talking about it and raising awareness for CUs!
Thanks, Christian for posting.
September 27, 2008 at 4:06 pm |
I’m against a national branding campaign for reasons I’ve outlined here and here.
National credit union strength lies in its DIVERSITY, not its homogeneity, which is the opposite of the goal of a national branding campaign. Unless the message involves the diversity of the credit union movement, in which case it’s not a branding campaign anyway, but rather an image or awareness campaign. Which is not the same as a branding campaign.