Utah/Oregon Leagues Join California in Launching Advocacy Campaigns, But They're Voluntary

BEAVERTON, Ore. – With public advocacy and credit union awareness suddenly becoming front-burner strategy, two more state credit union leagues – the Credit Union Association of Oregon and the Utah League of Credit Unions – have launched pre-Thanksgiving statewide ad campaigns. Both projects-much like a far more expensive radio/newspaper blitz to start in January by the California/Nevada CU Leagues – are heavy on stressing the CU difference and helping individuals locate a CU that they are eligible to join. And unlike the mandatory California/Nevada ads where CUs must pay a special dues assessment or forfeit membership, the campaigns by the CU Association of Oregon and the Utah League of Credit Unions are voluntary. The CU Association of Oregon said it has raised more than $300,000 for its “Bottom Line: You” TV/radio campaign from 71 of its 95 CUs for the project which includes cost of the ads as well as all related expenses including a special Web site (www.bottomlineyou.org). The Utah League of CUs said it also has a Web site and that more than half of its 110 members have donated to its “Credit Unions: Difference Is You” branding campaign which also includes TV and is slated to run through yearend. The creative on both campaigns is being handled by a Salt Lake City agency, Summit Group, which for nearly five years has had the media advertising and marketing contract for the Utah League helping in its strategy to defend the industry against banker attacks-the most severe in the nation. The Utah League said in a statement its campaign was originated under the direction of its CEO Scott Simpson, and “co-developed by CUAO” with licensing now being pursued with other state leagues. The Utah League said it has two Web sites for its campaign products: www.bottomlineyou.org and www.thedifferenceyou.org, both of which will be available to other leagues. David Owens, a Utah League of CUs account manager at Summit, said feedback on the Utah campaign has been “tremendous” which is one reason management of CUAO, which saw the video earlier in the year, incorporated the concept in its “Bottom Line” venture. Results from focus groups show an interesting although not unexpected finding: the public in Utah knows more about CUs than those in Oregon. Or more specifically, non-members in Oregon know “next to nothing” about CUs whereas that was not the case in Utah considering for years the airwaves have been full of the bank/CU clash as waged by the Utah Bankers Association and the Utah League to influence the Utah Legislature. Up to now, the bankers are on the winning edge in Utah – at least as far as implementing punitive laws but the TV blitz in both states all lead to possible anti-CU bills, a certainty in Utah as orchestrated by the American Bankers Association. Apart from raising awareness, Owens said the Utah ad campaign is also providing an added benefit as an educational tool to make the public more familiar with CUs’ ability to offer business services. Though with a dominant message about CUs’ nonprofit structure and positive community role, the Oregon “Bottom Line” campaign “is humorous and entertaining featuring a `Hi I’m Bob’ narrator,” noted Amy K. Drew, the League’s manager of communications. Credit unions throughout Oregon are also decorating their lobbies with posters, fliers, and signage with a focus on the CU difference, said the league. Utah CUs under the Summit guidance are also doing the same with CU employees putting up yard signs. Drew said the Oregon campaign which began Nov. 16 and will include both TV and radio will run through February “at which time we’ll take a break and see if we need new commercials or see if we should be trying other ways to get out the message-whether it be billboards or the side of buses or whatever works.” The entire campaign, which is slated to run two years, tracks a similar window for the California/Nevada leagues planning to gauge results from a planned $6 million buy. The California/Nevada CU Leagues are using the creative services of a worldwide New York agency, Foote Cone & Belding, seen as needed for the major-and more expensive-West Coast markets. At the annual convention of the California/Nevada CU Leagues two weeks ago, credit unions overwhelmingly agreed to pay higher dues-double for the largest-to pay for that campaign seen as necessity for a possible onslaught of banker attacks in 2005 occurring in both states. -