(This column from credit union branding guru DeniseWymore is in response to the renaming of GTE Federal Credit Unionto GTE Financial. A column from President/CEO Joe Brancucci explaining the movewas posted in this space last week.)

I've been pretty outspoken on the plethora of ridiculous namechanges in credit union land. So I have to say it upfront; I knowthere are some credit unions that had to drop their sponsor name.They were told they could no longer use it (best example is JohnDeere Credit Union) – or they didn't dare continue to use it (inthe case of Enron Credit Union).

I don't know the exact number, but my guess would be that over50% of all credit unions have changed their name in the pastdecade. Some name changes simply broke my heart – Lockheed why didyou change to Logix? Some made me scratch my head – WeyerhaeuserLongview to Red Canoe – and some just pissed me off – Group Healthto Salal. They all kept the credit union distinction – but in myopinion bastardized their brand.

On Aug. 11, 2012 the Tampa Bay Times announced “GTEFederal Credit Union broadens its name.” At first I thought – whywould you want to ADD words to an already long name? Truth is theyshortened their name considerably in an effort, according to CEOJoe Brancucci, to broaden their base. GTE Federal Credit Union isnow GTE Financial.

At first glance this sounds like a finance company for GTE. AndI assume that GTE was the General Telephone & ElectronicsCorporation which no longer exists.

To their credit they did NOT drop the name of their sponsor – nothey dropped the name of their business model. They are no longer acredit union – in name.

But like the credit unions I mentioned above, the press releasehad a similar rationale for changing the name.

Last week in the Credit Union Times Mr. Brancucciexplained in more detail why “financial” is a better brand namethan credit union. He said: “The use of the term 'financial' willconvey that membership is open to every individual and business inour communities and not simply select groups.”

Or put another way, even though we were founded by (insertamazing brand names like Boeing, Texaco, Portland Teachers, FortBliss Army Base, IBM) we are community charter now. And people areconfused. They STILL think they have to work for them in order tojoin. So logix would tell you to gogeneric and your problem is solved. Wrong.

Here's what I know about human behavior. If someone wants to getinto your club bad enough they will find a way to do it. It's notlike we're the DMV and we scrutinize the hell out of ourapplicants. We have been “finding a way” to let people in fordecades. Remember when Costco was closed to the general public? Myfriends and I always found a way to get in there. Because we wantedit bad enough.

In the Tampa Bay Times article, Brancucci acknowledgesthat the recession has taken its toll on the – er, business (Iguess you can't say credit union). And that they were not asfocused on the right things. It's no secret GTE and a lot ofFlorida credit unions have been hit hard in this recession. Beingfocused on the right things, in my opinion, would be improving theexperience to the member not the distraction and incredible cost ofre-branding.

He also acknowledged the past by saying, “We are proud of ourheritage and look forward to making sure we stay relevant for afuture generation of members.”

Again, I applaud Brancucci and board for keeping the GTE intheir name. There's 70 years of brand equity there that doesn'tdeserve to be kicked to the curb. How you stay relevant for futuregenerations of members is in your product offerings and service.The great paradox of brand is that to be consistent a brand mustkeep changing. I do believe the GTE Credit Union logo needed a facelift and I really like the new font – I'm just not digging theFinancial.

Here's the deal. Your brand is your reputation. Period. Ifyou have an excellent reputation, your name is not a hindrance. Youslap “Financial” on the end of your name you will not get peoplebeating down your door to join because they THOUGHT they had towork for GTE or some other employer group to join.

Consider USAA and Navy Federal Credit Union. Two fiercecompetitors for the same member – neither dares to change theirname. USAA originally stood for the United Services AutomobileAssociation – but now is synonymous with service excellence. NavyFederal Credit Union serves ALL branches of the military now. Yettheir brand is so strong – Marines, Army, Air Force are joiningwithout confusion or hesitation.

Now more than ever I think we need to stick together. The bigbanks continue to do stupid things. Thank you Bank of America forBank Transfer Day. How we will have a unified message when wedilute the credit union brand?

Oh, and another thing, if you're thinking “Denise, no one reallyknows what a credit union is?” After 105 years of existence, whosefault is that?

Denise Wymore is acredit union branding guru based in Camas, Wash., and CochitiLake, N.M.