With big banks on everybody’s radar these days, how do you cut through consumers’ financial services trust barrier? United Federal Credit Union had a decent membership at 100,000 but wasn’t attracting new members. Consumers were being lured to the big banks by enticing “pay to switch” deals. United needed a clever way to stand out from the crowded and confusing financial world, with low brand awareness, on a limited budget.
With low brand awareness, a launch campaign would require a powerful central idea that could engage consumers and differentiate enough to switch. The success of its launch rested solely on one big idea: if all these big bank deals are bad, hire a team of scientists to prove it! “Cleanroom” depicts a team of scientists eagerly working to discover that, as hypothesized, all big bank offers are bad. The solution? Switch to your local membership-free United Federal Credit Union.
To further extend the launch campaign, “Cleanroom” would drive all brand communications throughout the digital ecosystem. Core touch-points included dot com, web banners, and social media.
Utilizing the bad bank offers in “Cleanroom,” our team devised a series of social media posts that would directly call back to the research team’s findings. A verdict would be published along with the result of the bank offer in question.
To bring this campaign full-circle, another pitch idea that I had was to bring the cleanroom into the Credit Unions branches. Members or potential members could bring in other bank offers to have “examined.” Financial advisors in lab coats would present them with their options while demonstrating United’s offerings and products, too.
The message to think outside the bank and join the local membership-free credit union paid off for United. The TV spot aired regionally throughout Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Arkansas, and Nevada, gaining 8% brand awareness. New membership grew from 100,000 to 117,000 members, causing United to reach $1.5 billion in assets.
