In a bid to build traffic and enlarge the brand, the Michigan Credit Union League is launching Oct. 1 a co-op radio campaign to increase "Save to Win" savings raffle accounts at participating CUs.
The $500,000 campaign, touting the theme, "Own Your Money" and designed to build awareness, will run in all major Michigan media markets, a league spokesman said.
The league, which in 2009 pioneered the sweepstakes-type promos to build membership, particularly among low-income residents, said it now counts 42 participating CUs with 12,000 accounts.
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The league pegs consumer savings at $21.6 million through June, representing a jump from the $28.2 million total for all of 2010.
The prize-linked raffle idea, originally promoted by the Filene Research Institute, has now caught on in several other states – including Washington, Nebraska and North Carolina – though in some areas it has run into opposition from the banking lobby which has been effective in blocking enabling legislation on grounds the promotion amounts to gambling.
Aiding in funding the campaign is the non-profit Doorways to Dreams foundation which this week said that "through the generous support of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Boston-based Doorways to Dreams Fund has been able to make" important improvements in Save to Win.
"In particular, Doorways to Dreams and MCUL have tested a variety of prize variations and marketing approaches to attract and keep financially vulnerable households" to continue using the product, said the foundation. Under Save to Win in the past, savers receive entries in a prize pool for each $25 CD opened.
Separately, the Michigan league said nearly 50 CUs have now signed up for another media campaign promoting state tourism and called "Positively Michigan."
That program, which has the enthusiastic endorsement of Gov. Rick Snyder, provides a "grassroots channel" for CU personnel to put forward "useful ideas to make Michigan a better place to live and work," the league said.
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