"Brilliant!" exclaimed millennial employee Tyler Kuhn, who works in marketing and community relations at the $462 million Dover Federal Credit Union in Dover, Del. "You guys did a brilliant job."

Nhu Q. Yeargin, a board member of the $2.5 billion Langley Federal Credit Union in Newport News, Va., said she loved the diversity of the images portrayed in an Open Your Eyes marketing video.

"In my view, we need to be all in, and to be all in we should seriously consider recommending that this (marketing campaign) be part of our duty to want to go for this nationally." said Dave Gunderson, president/CEO of the $1.4 billion Credit Union of Southern California in Anaheim.

Several other credit union professionals had similar remarks, noting that they were impressed with the extensiveness of the research compiled by CUNA's Creating Awareness Advisory Group, organized about two years ago to find why the industry's market share is lagging. Over the last 25 years, the credit union industry's market share has grown by a paltry 1.8%, from 5.6% in 1992 to about 7.4% in 2017, according to CUNA. In contrast, the nation's top 100 banks have substantially expanded their market share from 41% to 75% from 1992 to 2006.

While it seemed credit union executives were eager to leverage the Open Your Eyes initiative as soon as possible, Douglas Kiker, CUNA's chief communications officer who organized and led the Creating Awareness Advisory Group, strongly recommends that credit union executives first invest the time to read and study the Open Your Eyes messaging guide because it explains what the research means and how it can work in the marketplace.

"This is a document that we are going to spend a lot of time helping credit unions utilize through webinars, one-on-one training sessions and through all sorts of training vehicles," Kiker said. "We really do want to bring this to life, and help you as you begin to think about your marketing and begin to think about how you might take advantage of this tremendous investment that we have made into this document," he said.

In addition to explaining the research, the messaging guide outlines the brand platform and its tone of voice. The handbook also highlights the research-based key insights as well as the dos and don'ts for various marketing messages that appeal to consumers to consider joining a credit union.

For more information about how to access the guide, contact CUNA.

The research is based on thousands of member and non-member interviews, dozens of focus group sessions held every region of the country, and the development of marketing messages, which were validated through research to attract consumers.

To be sure, the Open Your Eyes project was not designed to replace a credit union's marketing initiatives, but only to complement and enhance them, Kiker noted. However, credit unions are welcome to leverage the research and apply it to their own marketing projects. The Open Your Eyes project is expected to expand as regional initiatives are rolled out.

"When we first began our work, we thought that maybe we'd have to focus on educating the consumer as to exactly what a credit union was," said Teresa Freeborn, president/CEO of the $917 million Xceed Financial Credit Union in El Segundo, Calif., an advisory group member. "It turns out that a good number of those already knew who we are, and further, they actually like what we stand for,"

"Sadly, they just don't think of us as a go-to for their financial services. We're not top of mind," she added. "Our work evolved to focusing on placing the category of credit unions firmly in the consideration set of consumers. This is when they're looking for very specific financial products and services. We actually began our process by taking a step back, asking if what we were saying as an industry and the image that we're projecting as a credit union category reflects the modern evolving consumer tastes."

The research revealed that credit unions have two major myths that are hindering marketplace growth.

"There's a lot of outdated thinking out there —- that you have to serve in the military, that you have to be a schoolteacher, that you have to work for a particular company," she said. "All that still persists"

The second myth is that consumers believe because credit unions are local financial institutions,  it also means credit unions are small, unsophisticated, and  have limited offerings and technologies.

The research showed that consumers think credit unions don't have ATMs nationwide and worry about getting cash when out of town or on vacation. Other consumers noted that they once belonged to a credit union but moved out of town and didn't know they could join another credit union, and some consumers believe credit unions are unable to meet all of their financial needs.

To help overcome these longstanding myths, the advisory group leveraged the talents of branding experts from BrandCap, a London-based firm that opened shop in New York in 2016 to meet the growing demands from its U.S. customers such as Fruit of the Loom, Spalding, Russell Athletic and Frontgate. BrandCap's specialty is to blend qualitative and quantitative research and its commercial acumen with creativity to help organizations develop a brand identity as an asset, not a silver bullet, to improve business performance.

Kiker explained BrandCap was hired because it had no history with credit unions, ensuring the firm would be able to objectively assess the industry's issues and create solutions.

Based on the research, BrandCap developed the creative idea of Open Your Eyes, that has an inherent call-to-action message for consumers to consider or reconsider credit union, Kiker said.

Here is the copy that accompanies the  Open Your Eyes video that flashes black and white images of people from different multicultural backgrounds:

Hey, America. Yeah, you. Hello, you. Do you have treadmill money? You know, go to work, go home, pay the bills, repeat tomorrow and the next day? Yeah, you've got treadmill money. You work hard. Your money's working hard for someone else. You can break free. With a credit union, you're a person, not an account number. As a credit union person, you own a piece of the pie. What does that mean? Checking accounts that give you a little extra, savings too, and loans you can do more with instead of being held back by. With easy access to your money coast to coast, 24/7, you can dare to dream of getting a little more every day. Break free. Open your eyes to a credit union. Join the millions of Americans already getting a little more.

Notice the ad copy doesn't mention the word member? That's because the research shows for new people the word member can backfire. Some consumers think it implies something with a fee attached or a contract that is difficult to cancel such as cell phone contract or gym membership. The research recommends credit unions use the word sparingly.

Graeme Trayer, managing director of the Wash., D.C.-based the Glover Park Group, who tested the effectiveness of the Open Your Eyes video after showing it to cross-section of non-member consumers, reported that 65% of consumers said that the video expanded their knowledge about credit unions.

"It took on the myths," he said. "It took on the misunderstandings. People like the idea of credit unions, but they're held back by some of the stereotypes. This video, this idea (Open Your Eyes) takes those on. We don't just get across the product benefits of credit unions through Open Your Eyes. We also speak to our characteristics, our values, a tone of voice. It does this by putting a much more modern light on our brand. It modernizes brand perceptions of credit unions. People like the fact that video had lots of young, dynamic, energetic faces. They like the diversity within the film. They even said it made credit unions look hip and fun."

According to Trayer's research, 66% of consumers who viewed the video said, 'this is not what I expected to see from credit unions,' and 75% said the video sparked their interest in a credit union.

"What we have here is a really powerful idea. We've tested many other options, none of which did as well as this," he said. "This has potential. It has potential to take on those stubborn misunderstandings that have held back this movement for too long. It has the potential to show a very clear, crystallized articulation of why and how a credit union is the best choice, the right choice for Americans across the country. It has the power to really power your individual marketing efforts, your individual new business efforts."

Of course, in addition to the video, the theme messages of Open Your Eyes can also be applied across all digital and traditional mediums.

"We want a digital campaign using the tools of the internet and social media, alongside more traditional media to reach (consumers)," said Edward Bolton, BrandCap's creative director. "It'll be things like Instagram campaigns, on Facebook, digital display ads, as well as more traditional media….even print."

In the near future, the advisory group plans to announce regional campaigns in partnership with credit unions and leagues to promote the Open Your Eyes messages, which will be tested and evaluated for their effectiveness.

"That's the other beauty of the campaign is that it's flexible," Kiker said. "What might work in Miami might be different than what works in Vermont, but the point is it's not locked in stone."