The Denver-area based credit union is also preparing for a similar campaign in the fall that will feature billboards, signs at bus shelters and ads on the Internet.
The new awareness campaign, said Westerra officials, is aimed both at raising the CU profile while also hitting on banking's lack of homegrown institutions.
"In a positive way, our message encourages consumers to look at where they are banking, who owns the bank, and where the owners are located," said Nancy Bunte, vice president of marketing. "In many cases, the owners are not only outside Colorado, but outside the United States."
Westerra, which received several prominent mentions in Huffington Post online and later in mainstream media, has been plugging its "Move Your Money Local" ads since the beginning of the year.
One ad is in the Hub community section of the Denver Post, said Bunte, and another is a full page weekly ad which educates the public about credit union benefits and still another on social responsibility, mentioning the Huffington Post.
So far, the Huffington promotion has not produced any big spikes in members, deposits or loans, said Bunte but Westerra "finds the Move Your Money Local campaign very valuable to us in building name recognition and awareness that we are locally-owned."
The billboard ads along with spots in community newspapers and the Denver Post will start in September on a three month cycle costing about $30,000, said Bunte.
