Georgia Credit Union Affiliates Debuts Co-op TV Ads, a First for the State

DULUTH, Ga. – Georgia Credit Union Affiliates is embarking this month on its first co-op image campaign on TV with 84 CUs in the League agreeing to bear the cost of the seven-week ad blitz. The theme for the 30-second spots is “Georgia Credit Unions: You’ll Like Us Better” with ads slated to run in six Georgia markets: Atlanta, Albany, Augusta, Columbus, Macon and Savannah. A chief goal of the League is to increase CU awareness in the state and the community about the role CUs play, said Molly Hevia, vice president of Growth by Design, a marketing unit in the Leagues’ service corporation, and who has led a task force of marketing executives in developing the ad series. Actual production is being handled by WSB-TV, an ABC affiliate in Atlanta which will be running the commercials on Georgia sister stations. The GCUA campaign, said Hevia, particularly targets women 25-54 “because women are the primary decision-makers in most households.” The ads are to be aired on several shows with a large female audience including Oprah Winfrey and Good Morning America. The GCUA campaign, said Hevia, ties in to CUNA-based programs which guide the public toward selecting CUs for financial needs and she noted that in Georgia 20% of the population belongs to one or more CUs. The ads direct Georgia consumers to a League Web site, www.georgiacreditunions.org, which serves “as a search engine for consumers to input their own personal information in locating a credit union to join.” League officials said that in the past, radio had been the predominant medium for co-op commercials but it was felt a strong image message would work well on TV in 2005. “We’re very excited about this kind of campaign,” said Hevia noting that previous radio ads were placed during International Credit Union Week. The TV ads, costing $166,000, will run through February and resume again in September with a total tab of about $300,000. In launching TV commercials, Georgia CU Affiliates joins a dozen or more state leagues in pitching image or advocacy ads this year with big campaigns breaking on the West Coast as well as in Maryland and Maine to name a few. Hevia said the GUAC commercials stress to consumers that CUs “really do help their members in everyday situations through life’s certainties and uncertainties.” -