Mazuma CU Finds its 'Happy'

Mazuma Credit Union, headquartered in Overland Park, Kans., has built a successful rebranding campaign on the strength of a succinct but powerful phrase: “Bank Happy.”

“We started with a simple idea,” explains Andy Dickhut, Mazuma CU’s brand manager. “And that was that Mazuma is always at its best when members leave here a little happier than when they came in. From that core idea, we developed a whole new brand with a new personality and a new approach to serving our members—and of course, a new logo and new website to go with it.”

Being Happy

The “Bank Happy” campaign, which launched in April 2014, has infused Mazuma CU with a memorable identity that has boosted brand awareness throughout the Kansas City metro area.

The rebranding effort made such a favorable impression on 2015 CUES Golden Mirror Awards judges that Mazuma CU pulled off the rare feat of winning the competition’s two top prizes. Mazuma CU received the CUES GMA Brand of the Year while Dickhut was named CUES GMA Marketer of the Year. The campaign also picked up first-place awards for rebranding/brand building, public/community relations, social media and radio.

Mazuma CU has infused its new upbeat personality into every aspect of its “Bank Happy” campaign. “The personality traits we identified are ‘quirky,’ ‘fun,’ ‘dynamic,’ ‘confident,’ ‘aspiring’ … those are the things that we adhere to in every piece of communication that we do,” Dickhut says.

Being Quirky

A unique vocabulary was developed to complement Mazuma CU’s new personality. Employees are known as “Mazumans,” and whenever they want to put a unique spin on a new initiative, they challenge each other to “Mazumafy” it.

The word “Mazumafy” also is featured in the credit union’s blog, mazumafykc.com, which transcends the typical financial institution blog by covering such off-beat topics as “12 KC-Inspired Tattoos” and “21 Signs You’re a Kansas City Hipster.”

One of the key ways Mazuma CU shows its quirkiness is through the antics of its new spokesperson, Mazuma Mike. “Once we had the idea for this happy, fun and quirky brand, we decided to put a face to it, which is how the strategy for Mazuma Mike was born,” Dickhut explains.

Portrayed by a local improv actor, Mazuma Mike appears in the credit union’s TV and radio commercials and also has a strong following on social media channels like Facebook and YouTube. With his positive attitude and self-deprecating humor, Mazuma Mike embodies all the traits of the “Bank Happy” brand. “We compare him to Phil Dunphy of “Modern Family”—a funny, upbeat guy who has a unique view of the world around him,” Dickhut says.

One of Mazuma Mike’s TV commercials, for example, shows him awkwardly trying to socialize at a dance club and losing out to the competition at a school bake sale. The one thing that Mike has going for him, however, is his love for Mazuma CU, and his goal is to inspire others to love it as well.

“Nobody else in our market is using a spokesperson as a marketing vehicle in this manner, so this has become a great way for us to differentiate and humanize our brand,” Dickhut points out.

Employee Effect

Mazuma CU employees—aka “Mazumans”—also play an important role in humanizing the brand. They energize the in-branch experience by doling out high fives and spontaneously breaking into dance. Instead of wearing business suits and dress shoes, they dress casually in Mazuma T-shirts and sneakers.

They also regularly take part in the Happy Brigade, Mazuma’s community involvement initiative. As part of this program, Mazumans travel around town in a custom-wrapped van performing “random acts of happiness” for senior citizens, underprivileged youth and others in need. Plus, through the CU’s 40 Hours for Good program, each Mazuman is given 40 paid hours per year to volunteer in Kansas City.

Brand Awareness Up

Thanks to the “Bank Happy” campaign, Mazuma CU’s brand awareness has increased in Kansas City by 7 percent in less than a year, as measured by the Cvent Brand Awareness and Attitudes Survey. Tangible return on investment is reflected in robust growth over a 15-month span in which Mazuma CU has seen its asset size rise from $470 million to $524 million and its membership increase from 53,500 to nearly 56,000.

The news that Mazuma CU had won the two top CUES GMA honors has made the happy environment at the CU even happier. “We were blown away,” says Dickhut. Of his personal achievement of winning the CUES GMA Marketer of the Year, he adds, “I couldn’t be more honored.”

However, he stresses that the CUES GMA honors are really a testament to Mazuma CU’s entire creative team, which includes Brand and Social Media Specialist Kim Funari and Graphic Designer Katie McNeil, as well as the creative work provided by CUES Supplier member BYM Agency (www.bymagency.com), Overland Park, Kans.

“My team works hard at being unique and original,” Dickhut says. “It’s an awesome accolade for them to see that their work is turning heads and people are recognizing it as something different.”

Diane Franklin is a freelance writer based in Missouri.