Dakota Credit Unions ‘All In’ on Consumer Consideration Campaign

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.

“Do the right thing for the right reason.” That’s a simple but profound statement that my father often shared with me, and one that I pass on to my children. For me personally, what I have always admired about our movement more than anything is our collective power to unite over a common objective – to rally for a just cause, to solve problems, and to embrace and serve our members and our communities.

Over the last 18 months or so, we have been sharing the Open Your Eyes research and data with our members at town halls, roundtables and chapter meetings as it was released and shared by CUNA. We have been successful in engaging our members by articulating the message that together, we can overcome the myths and barriers to growth. And, we can achieve measurable results across the country through this massive branding effort that carries a consistent, simple message that will be seen and heard by consumers nearly everywhere they go.

As each of our Dakota credit unions came on board, we generated excitement by sharing the good news in our daily electronic newsletter and social media platforms, highlighting Open Your Eyes-style pictures that featured individuals or group photos from contributing credit unions. This had a contagious effect and a buy-in result from our membership. In turn, more and more credit unions became interested and excited, and joined this important awareness campaign by pledging financial support, many making a three-year commitment. We (the Credit Union Association of the Dakotas) simply played the role of an enthusiastic cheerleader and pitchman.

As of today, I’m pleased to share that there are 42 Dakota credit unions contributing to this initiative. That’s 70% of our affiliated members, and 8% of the total current contributors nationwide! Yes, Dakota credit unions are “all-in” – and for the right reason.

To be diverse and fair, I’ll throw in a quote from my mother, a high school math teacher, who always said, “If you’re going to do something, do it right.” Which leads me to my next point.

Before joining the credit union movement, I was an owner/partner in a marketing and advertising firm that served a variety of clientele in various capacities, including corporate image branding, strategic market planning, creative writing and production, as well as public and media relations. I have sat in board rooms and across the table from business owners and entrepreneurs. I have personally created and pitched strategic marketing plans and creative concepts that would, in theory, produce positive results and a return on their investments. Many of these objectives were research based. But, for the most part, these efforts were more or less a “shotgun approach” that included a multi-media campaign by spreading a message across several mediums and platforms. Internally, I referred to these as “leap of faith” campaigns, hoping that something would hit the mark.

Why is this consumer consideration campaign different? The simple answer is that we’re doing it the right way – with research, data and a strategic targeted regional approach. With this campaign, the “shotgun approach” does work, because with our data, the digital aim is going to be right on target with a consistent message. The early metrics prove that it’s hitting the mark.

This campaign aims to grow membership, particularly among millennials and people between the ages of 35 and 54 who have children. That’s important because research shows, the latter group makes most of the financial decisions in the family – including where a family does their banking.

If I were that advertising/marketing executive today, sitting in your board room across the table from your leadership team and volunteers, armed with the data and research we have, and all the creative Open your Eyes assets and content, I would say that you surely need to be all-in on this as well. We are approaching this the right way.

The Navy Seals have a saying: “The only easy day was yesterday.” Put simply, if uniting our entire movement around this awareness issue was easy, it would already have been done. So, now is the time. I invite you, and I strongly encourage you, to join our 41 Dakota credit unions in being all-in on the Open Your Eyes to a Credit Union campaign.

Jeff Olson is President/CEO for the Credit Union Association of the Dakotas. He can be reached at 701-250-3940 or jolson@cuad.coop.