<p>RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. – For Northern California credit unions increased public awareness is how they are spelling success. Featuring the national CU "Comfort Zone" ads, a four-month cooperative media branding blitz sponsored by seven credit unions in the Eureka, California area has increased consumer awareness by 7%. Among bank users awareness grew by 13%, and the number of consumers who said they had not joined a credit union because they didn't have enough information decreased 42%. That's not all, consumers' awareness of their ability to join a credit union jumped up to 72%. The campaign, which ran for 14 weeks during the fourth quarter of 2001, included purchases of 100 gross rating points per week on television and weekly print ads in such local publications as "The Times-Standard" and weekly news magazine "The Northcoast Journal".</p>