Premier America CU Inks Deal With California State Univ., Northridge

Two credit unions have infused a healthy dose of competition into their brands just in time for spring. The $3.4 billion, Chatsworth, Calif.-based Premier America Credit Union secured a 10-year partnership with California State University, Northridge (CSUN) in the neighboring Northridge, Calif., which includes the renaming of the university’s athletic facility, the credit union announced last week.

Separately, the $1.9 billion, Atlanta-based LGE Community Credit Union announced last week that Dansby Swanson, a longtime LGE member and shortstop with the Atlanta Braves professional baseball team, will serve as a spokesperson for the credit union through an official, multi-year endorsement.

As part of the Premier America-CSUN partnership, the Matadome – home to CSUN’s men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball teams – has been renamed the Premier America Credit Union arena. According to Premier America SVP, Chief Experience Officer Marci Francisco, the CSU board of trustees officially approved the new arena name on March 23, signage is being updated to reflect the new name and a grand opening will be held at the start of the next school year.

Francisco said the partnership commitment has an annual value of $660,000 in the first year and will increase by 5% annually thereafter. She noted that under the agreement, Premier America received multiple official and exclusive designations, and gains significant branding, integration, program and marketing rights to support CSUN’s student body, faculty/staff and the nearly 390,000 alumni.

The new partnership between the Southern California entities also includes the opening of a campus credit union branch and the installation of ATM machines in time for the 2022-23 school year; the hosting of financial wellness and literacy programming; and the sponsorship of various student and campus events, including events at CSUN’s Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts as well as other events in coordination with the CSUN Alumni Association. In addition, Premier America has been designated the “Official Credit Union of CSUN,” the “exclusive” credit union partner of CSUN Athletics and the CSUN Alumni Association, and the official affinity credit card provider for the alumni association.

According to a news release from Premier America, its relationship with CSUN was secured in concert with multiple parties, including LEARFIELD (CSUN Athletics’ multimedia rightsholder), ADC Partners and Innovative Partnerships Group.

“Our organizations are a perfect match, and we’re honored to partner with CSUN,” Premier America President/CEO Rudy Pereira said in a statement. “CSUN’s deep commitment to building a brighter and more equitable future for its students, their families and the community is aligned with our core values. We look forward to working together as we promote financial well-being and provide opportunity and guidance to our richly diverse community.”

The credit union’s ties to the university extend beyond a shared geographic location and shared values. “Being headquartered less than three miles from the university and with a number of local branches near the campus, we do have members – as well as many team members – who are CSUN students or alumni,” Francisco said. “In addition, Rudy Pereira, our president and CEO, is a proud CSUN alumnus, having earned his undergraduate degree in computer science from CSUN.”

Over 2,000 miles east, LGE is expanding its brand awareness through its work with the Atlanta Braves’ Swanson, who grew up in Marietta, Ga., and graduated from Marietta High School – about three miles away from LGE’s first headquarters and four miles away from the credit union’s first branch, which was located in the B-1 building basement of the Lockheed-Georgia Company plant, LGE said.

“I’ve been a member since 2012, but I can remember LGE being a part of my life ever since I was little,” Swanson said in a statement. “Both of my grandfathers actually worked at Lockheed and then my mom did as well for a few years. It is cool to see that family history come full-circle with my new endorsement relationship with LGE and be a part of something my grandparents were also involved in. It is a great feeling to work with a brand that not only has ties to my family, but is one I’ve known my whole life and genuinely believe in.”

LGE hired Atlanta- and Hartford, Conn.-based marketing and communications agency GO and Atlanta-based film company Southend Films to produce two commercial spots featuring Swanson. The ads also feature Atlanta-based actor Marcus DeSean Jackson and journalist Kelsey Wingert, who provide professional sports-like commentary as Swanson uses LGE’s mobile app from a living room couch. Jackson then says, “Oh, the bank is open!” to which Swanson replies, “Actually, it’s a credit union. It’s like a bank, only better.”

LGE, which was founded in 1951 as the credit union for Lockheed-Georgia employees, now serves anyone living or working in Georgia’s Bartow, Cherokee, Cobb, Fulton or Paulding Counties.