By Karen Hodgkiss
In the credit union world, GMA does not stand for Good Morning America—it’s the CUES Golden Mirror Awards. The 2013 winners are on display now, with 153 entries acknowledged for their excellence. In recent interviews, two of the 2013 GMA judges shared their impressions while they were fresh from the experience.
Mary Ann Schlung is the marketing director of Colorado Credit Union, Littleton, Colo. She is an experienced graphic designer and marketer, but somewhat of a credit union rookie: first year in her position, first time as a judge. She’s eager to take her credit union’s marketing to the next level. Her observations from being part of the GMA program include:
- There were impressive entries in all categories. As a judge, she enjoyed the insider’s view of what other credit unions are producing and how they are tracking results.
- The differentiation she noted was not in the products featured, but how each credit union branded products and added their own flare.
- Social marketing efforts abound. A number of credit unions are doing an excellent job of leveraging YouTube, Facebook and their own website to facilitate a dialog with members.
- The spirit of collaboration is alive and well in credit union marketing. The feedback was very constructive and there was an underlying tone of cooperation, rather than competition, to the judging and selection process.
Donald Halleck is the vice president of advertising and public relations for VyStar Credit Union, Jacksonville, Fla. He’s the savvy veteran: over 30 years of marketing and ad agency experience, five years in his current position, a GMA judge for two years. He observed what he humorously refers to as “the good, the bad and the ugly.”
- The good: Many credit unions did a nice job with clear messages and well coordinated campaigns. In addition, many showed true, out of the box creative thinking both with the programs they offered and how they were executed.
- The bad and the ugly: Some of the credit union creative missteps were due to campaigns that did not have a clear purpose or direction and many of the elements of the campaigns often weren’t consistent with each other. Their messages were also focused on the features of the product or service rather than translating these to the wants and needs of the target audience
Halleck also commented on the rise in social media over the past two years, and how it continues to evolve at a pace that is almost impossible to fathom. In addition, an effective strategy some credit unions are deploying is using their internal online banking to target ads to specific member segments.
Participating in GMA provides an opportunity to see how you compare to leaders in the industry. It can spur ideas and unleash your creativity. Here’s to another great year of awesomeness in credit union marketing!
Karen Hodgkiss is a freelance writer.
Stay tuned for the 2014 CUES Golden Mirror Awards season. View the 2013 winners gallery or see a complete list in the October issue of Credit Union Management™ magazine.
