Listserv Update: January-March, 2005

CUNA Marketing & Business Development Council
March 22, 2005

The Listserv is a centralized list of e-mail addresses that is used for group discussions by members of the Marketing and Business Development Council. Posting a question on the Listserv is a great way to get immediate feedback from other marketing professionals on just about any question. In case you don’t check the Listserv regularly at http://www.cunamarketingcouncil.org/listserv/idx_listserv.html, here are some interesting subjects that have appeared over the last several months.

Youth Membership Scholarship Program We are interested in developing an annual scholarship program. We would extend the opportunity to apply for the scholarship to all 17- and 18-year-old members that are college-bound. We are considering this to be essay-based. I am interested in hearing from any of you that already have a scholarship program in place as to what criteria you use for selecting the recipient of the scholarship(s). Who sits on your selection committee? Anything else you'd like to mention about this type of program would also be welcome.

Using the Word “Member” I've recently heard the results of a focus group on CUs that using the word "member" has a negative connotation. The word is associated with fees and something you have to pay into or are trapped in. This is something that obviously CUs are not and do not want to be associated with. Also the words "join" and "belonging" are considered negative as well for similar reasons and also because they are related to possession and servitude.

Has anyone heard of this as well and found more positive ways to promote the credit union movement without using those words? What else can be used besides "member"?

Lobby Videos I am looking for information/recommendations for companies that offer videostreaming and/or news network services for CU lobbies. We would like to run news and info in our lobbies and intersperse that with product education/information. Any experience with this would be helpful.

Help with Disclaimers I am looking for the Cliff Notes version for compliance disclaimers related to advertising. We do not have a "compliance guru" to guide us. Do any of you know a good resource for all the disclaimers, etc. that we are required to list with advertising in print, radio and television?

Newsletter Names I need your help! We have brainstormed and can't come up with any WOW newsletter names. We serve five different counties in North Texas in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex with 50,000 members. Our current name is Current Interest. Has anyone heard of a WOW newsletter name or would you share your own? Copying is one of the best compliments, you know? We're really searching for a WOW and just haven't hit it.

E-Mail Marketing Programs Would anyone share information they have about e-mail marketing programs, such as a software program you currently use, or a particular vendor you use? Have your experiences with e-mail marketing produced results for your CU? Do you have any suggestions of pitfalls I should be aware of?

New Member Packets We're looking for inexpensive and streamlined examples of new member packets. Currently, we give new members TONS of brochures—enough information that it would probably take two weeks to sift through it all.

Do any of you have a simple, inexpensive new member packet that is light on the amount of brochures/information given to a new member? My object is to not have a new member tons and tons of brochures that overwhelms them.

Community Penetration We would like to start sending packets to new residents in our branch communities. Does anyone have a good, reliable source that provides them with new residents that have moved to the community in the last 30 days? We're not sure where to start on this project.

Auto Mortgage Loans as a Tax Advantage I’m looking for examples of credit unions that are approximately the same size as ours (22,000 members/$140 million in asset size) that offer members an auto mortgage by putting a courtesy lien on property that may allow a tax advantage by being able to deduct the interest on the loan at tax time. Would you mind sharing what type of outstanding balance you carry on this type of loan? I am thinking this is a product we can offer at the credit union that dealers wouldn’t be likely to offer at the dealership finance office.