It was announced at this year's Americas Credit Unions Conference that the Open Your Eyes to a Credit Union campaign is launching in three more states on July 8 – including North Dakota, South Dakota and Indiana. For our credit unions in the Dakotas, the timing of the development, rollout and launch of the consumer consideration campaign couldn't have come at a better time.

Dakota credit unions have had consistent market share of deposits for the last decade or more, hovering at around 11% in North Dakota and 6% in South Dakota. Our population is growing in both states; in fact, for North Dakota, our population is at an all-time high. Our economy is strong, and we have jobs – more job openings than we can fill. Yet, in North Dakota, credit union membership dropped by 1% last year. Conversely, membership in South Dakota grew by almost 3%. From our perspective, now is the perfect time to enhance our consumer consideration potential in North Dakota, while building on the momentum of the growth in South Dakota.