The $150 million Palisades Federal Credit Union in Pearl River, N.Y. is getting plenty of media buzz this week from a TV/radio/online branch promotion encompassing raffle giveaways leading up to a potential $100,000 "Guess the Vault Code" grand prize.
National newswires have already picked up the weeklong campaign, called "Big Bad Grand Opening," in which Palisades hands out $1 bills as "Free Vault Samples" leading to the grand opening on Saturday of the CU's Orangeburg branch, its fifth serving Rockland County.
"We are particularly pleased that a special website we set up, www.bigbadgrandopening.com, has already received 5,000 hits, which we think is pretty good for the week," said Anthony Pili, vice president of marketing and sales.
Under the promotion, residents are invited to walk into the branch to receive an actual "sample $1 bill from the vault" which will double as a raffle entry for a $1,000 prize in addition to other giveaways. The celebration culminates with announcement of the vault code and the possible winner of the $100,000 grand prize for the lucky individual who guesses the right five-digit vault code. If no one guesses the code, $1,000 is given away to a raffle winner, said Pili.
The local advertising for the branch, which highlights a "raffle every 10 minutes for valuable tickets and gift cards" plus magicians and clown acts, began a month ago, said Pili. The CU's goal is to expand its market penetration and awareness throughout the county where "we've basically been identified as a Pearl River credit union."
In a statement, Mark Welshoff, president/CEO, explained that Palisades is "excited to bring old-fashioned community banking to the residents of Orangeburg and the surrounding communities," adding, "We invite all residents to stop by the branch to celebrate with us throughout the week as well as participate in Saturday's festivities."
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