HARRISBURG, Pa. -The $2.1 billion Pennsylvania State EmployeesCredit Union is making the most of its marketing division. "Withouta doubt our members contribute to our growth and marketing is seenas a department that drives that growth by getting members to thecredit union," said PSECU Vice President of Human Resources CathyTama-Troutman. "So the board recognized that and moved the divisionfrom a support position to one that is viewed very much as anoperating area that produces results and income." According to VicePresident of PR/Marketing Consulting Joan Mallgrave that support iscarried through to ensure that the team of 27 managers (yes,they're all called managers) has all the tools at its disposal tosucceed- from research to a multimedia unit to develop Webinars andvideo CDs for training. All communications are generated from thissingle in-house department. "When Greg Smith walked in the door aspresident the very next day we had the latest software availablefor desktop publishing," said Mallgrave. "Since that time, thedepartment mushroomed and Greg and the board see that we geteverything we need without micromanagement." Mallgrave says it hasbeen great to see how marketing has grown from essentially atwo-person operation in the mid-80s' to now including units such asdocument management, the mail center and the recently formed publicrelations. The department, which consists of Public RelationsAdministrator Margaret Delmonico and PR Manager Melissa Etshied,has several responsibilities including implementing a financialliteracy program in schools, developing a publicity program,sponsorships and community involvement. The move is part of anoverall approach using the concept of Integrated MarketingCommunications, where all communications is coordinated into oneunified message from the various units within the department toensure repetition and consistency of PSECU's key messages.Delmonico says IMC has always been part of the marketing strategyhere, but this year it became more formalized with the credit unionreally looking at every delivery channel from the Web site ande-mail marketing to advertising and phone messages and making surethe look and feel of the message is the same. "I am thrilled to seea separate PR department this year. Before now, PR and businessdevelopment were the responsibility of one unit. It is great thatthe board recognized the need for a more comprehensive publicrelations program and approved the budget to support it," saidDelmonico. "Our focus is to make sure the PSECU story gets outthere because we have a good story to tell." Delmonico adds thateducating members and playing a real role in helping communityorganizations get their events off the ground by providing supportin manpower and not just dollars is a big part of that story. PSECUrecently had a great opportunity to be a part of the "The More YouKnow" public service spots on television network NBC. PSECUdeveloped and ran four spots featuring employees promotingvolunteerism and the credit union philosophy; the American HeartAssociation Heart Walk; The Harrisburg Criterium Bike Race; andfinancial literacy. The commercials ran in between the nationalspots each quarter. "What was great about those spots was that itbrought us such good will," said Delmonico. "The organizations werethrilled that we were doing this for them and the Pennsylvaniaassociation was happy with the financial literacy spot because itencouraged viewers to contact their local credit union, not justPSECU." Since marketing is such a huge strategic part of PSECU,when Mallgrave announced she would be retiring in 2005 it providedthe impetus to completely reorganize the department so that hersuccessor Marketing VP Barbara Bowker could begin the transitionprocess. Bowker was most recently the assistant vice president ofinformation technology services and has been with the credit unionfor some 17 years. Bowker's responsibilities include businessdevelopment, advertising, the mail/inventory center, documentmanagement, communications, research and a new loyalty project."One thing we notice is that it is far more cost effective toretain than to acquire. Therefore we look across the board at whatwe offer using all the data gathering tools we have at our disposalto really understand our demographics," said Bowker. "We want tofocus our loyalty programs on more than just card rewards. Our goalis to look at how we can deepen the relationship members have withPSECU. In order to do that, we are looking at the profitability ofmember accounts and what we can offer members to encourage them tostrengthen their relationship with us." So just how did themarketing department get such buy-in from the board? Bowker saysthe board is so supportive because they have the opportunity towitness results first-hand. "The department as a whole has done agreat job in including the board in different sponsorships andevents," said Bowker. "The board members really enjoy getting thefirst-hand experience of what the department does and they see thecommunity response-so there is that immediate appreciation." Forexample, PSECU Board Chair Kathleen Salmon promoted the upcomingJefferson Awards, which recognizes people for their exceptionalcommunity service. Not only was Salmon on television spots but theentire board was also invited to the awards ceremony. Bowker saysit also helps that the department tracks everything from members tocurrent promotions and provides solid monthly reports to the boardon not just the cost and the results but the percentage ofpenetration or how many people showed up at a particular event.Updates are provided to the board via a virtual board site.Mallgrave adds that having such a great team of people goes a longway to making marketing stand out. "It goes back to us all workingtogether and there is a real camaraderie here," said Mallgrave. "Soone unit may come up with an idea, the concept is shared and ifagreed upon, all units take ownership - it all leads to us workingas one very supportive cross-functional team."[email protected]