2001 Best Practices Awards

Best Practice Award Winner for Business Development: Desert Schools FCU

Brad Loebbaka, senior director of marketing, and Cathie Kelly, manager of business development at Desert Schools Federal Credit Union in Phoenix, were faced with the following task: increase membership growth 10%, increase SEG acquisition 25%, and recruite at least 20 SEGs with a minimum of 200 members each.

They offered SEGs a new-hire enrollment package, new promotional posters, and distribution of payroll stuffers. In certain cases they deployed cash dispensers to better serve members, recruit new members, and promote brand recognition.

They also centralized their chamber of commerce activities for the credit union's 16 branches and hired a full-time member development representative to serve the educational community.

These efforts, combined with an impressive community relations program, helped the credit union acquire 104 new SEGs with 31,464 potential members. And the campaign has sparked some dormant SEGs to become top producers.

Best Practice Award Winner for MCIF Strategies: New England FCU

At New England Federal Credit Union in Williston, Vt., Marketing Manager Cynthia Morgan and her staff used marketing customer information files (MCIFs) and segmentation analysis to "create a profitability base from which to direct marketing and services for the best outcomes."

This included identifying and delineating five key segments: three based on loan and deposit balances, and two made up of members who conduct their financial business while in the workplace and those who do so primarily through electronic access.

As a result, the credit union can now better reward the members of these five segments by offering special incentives. Members receive special benefits based on their level of participation or for using the credit union's eMember program, which has grown to 414 accounts. Members can also receive benefits if they use direct deposit and are employees of a business that has either a CU branch or an ATM at its work site.

The credit union has seen growth in each group and a significant increase in member satisfaction.

Best Practice Award Winner for Sales/Incentives: University of Iowa Community CU

University of Iowa Community Credit Union in Iowa City needed to convince existing ATM cardholders of the advantages of its SHAZAMChek debit card and increase point-of-sale (POS) transactions among current users. The credit union achieved its objectives through a unique incentive program initiated by Jim Kelly, second vice president and marketing director, along with the marketing department and a team of two volunteers from each branch.

For each POS transaction, a debit cardholder's name was put into a drawing for a cruise. Staff people were given $4 for every ATM-to- debit-conversion form they submitted. An additional $1 was given to the ATM department for handling the paperwork.

Employees were able to track their progress through charts on the credit union's intranet. During the promotion, ATM cards decreased by 1,614, and debit cards increased to 1,489 cards. POS transactions increased by 37% over base figures and increased gross revenue $26,698, which exceeded the cost of the cruise and staff incentives.

Best Practice Award Winner for Name Change/Branding: Pacific Resource CU

Mara Fein, VP of marketing and business development, and her staff at Pacific Resource Credit Union in Los Angeles, successfully changed the credit union's name and logo through careful research and creative thinking.

A merger and conversion to a state charter necessitated the new name and logo. The merged credit union's field of membership included its original ARCO employee/members plus potential members of other California energy companies located nearby.

After conducting focus groups with current members and human resource directors, credit union staff chose the name Pacific Resource Credit Union, emphasizing the credit union's coastal location and the double meaning of Resource - natural resources and financial resources.

The new logo incorporates elements of the old logo to retain existing members. Its new elements demonstrate openness and progress to potential members who worked for former ARCO competitors. Following the name change, the credit union lost 38 members, but gained 203 and doubled branch traffic.