WASHINGTON -- Broadcasts, blogs and blast e-mails are among the ways the NCUA and the major trade associations have been getting out the word about the increased levels of share insurance.
Starting hours after President Bush signed a bill increasing the amount covered by federal share insurance from $100,000 to $250,000, the NCUA changed all of its materials to reflect the change and e-mailed new material to federally insured credit unions.
The agency has run advertisements in USA Today and other newspapers such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal featuring pictures of Uncle Sam and talking about the safety and soundness of credit union accounts.
NCUA Chairman Michael E. Fryzel appeared in a video urging credit unions to do more to reassure members of the safety of their accounts.
The agency also sponsored a Webinar, hosted by Vice Chairman Gigi Hyland, on share insurance that attracted more 3,300 participants last week.
Last Tuesday, CUNA President/CEO Dan Mica did a radio blitz in which he was interviewed on stations in major cities such as Boston, Chicago and New York.
"Consumers must understand that there is no significant difference in the level of federal deposit insurance at a credit union or a bank," he said during several appearances.
CUNA sent a radio news release featuring Mica's comments to more than 200 stations.
CUNA also developed a print advertising campaign that answers questions members may have about share insurance. They are aimed at both credit union members and opinion leaders.
They've also sent regular updates to members that were used in credit union and state league publications.
NAFCU President/CEO Fred Becker has also done radio and print interviews and, while the bill was moving through Congress, NAFCU sent blast e-mails to members updating them on the progress and also sent out inserts that credit unions can distribute to members.
In addition, the association has used its compliance blog to inform members about share insurance and other aspects of the bill, such as the program to allow credit unions and banks to sell troubled assets to the government.
"We're reassuring people because of a crisis of confidence in the economy that's not tied to banks and credit unions," Becker said.
The credit union leagues are also getting into the act.
The Pennsylvania Credit Union Association is running a three-week statewide radio campaign aimed at reaching all; consumers ages 35 and over at least seven times.
"It's designed to tell people that credit unions are safe and federally insured and to reinforce the notion that turbulent times like these are good times to check out credit unions," said Michael Wishnow, the association's senior vice president for communications and marketing.
He said this supplements the association's ongoing iBelong radio campaign, which is aimed at women between 25 and 49 to encourage them to consider credit unions for their financial services.
The Minnesota Credit Union Network is running a two-week, statewide radio advertising campaign to educate consumers about the safety of credit unions. Individual credit unions can tailor ads to their local market.
The network has also e-mailed more than 120 print and broadcast outlets, encouraging them to include credit unions in stories about the safety of deposits at federally insured financial institutions.
The network has also added a consumer-oriented page to its Web site, which answers questions about credit unions, share insurance and encourages people to join credit unions.
--cmarx@cutimes.com
