Parks says the Office Hero idea was actually inspired by 1-800 Got Junk?'s use of people wearing blue hair wigs around town to spread the word about its services. "They were everywhere in billboard advertising, on the streets and besides making me laugh it made me take notice. So much so we used them to haul away our old office equipment," said Parks.

Playing on the idea of credit unions being a better consumer choice, the Office Hero came to life-complete with a cape sporting the Call FCU logo in a triangle insignia. "When we go into offices in our costumes and give people the direct mail piece and mask it gets them laughing. Usually we leave just as quickly as we came in, but if they look interested we take some time to tell them about Call FCU," said Parks. "It makes for a great icebreaker and the campaign has actually taken on a life of its own." Word of mouth plays a major role in the campaign's success and appeal. Park adds that it makes a great impact if employees are asking their employer to have Call FCU as an employee benefit. With the help of marketing firm EDCreative, in addition to surprise visits from the costumed heroes, the campaign includes a media mix from billboard and direct mail to event appearances, and a coordinating Web campaign, which has a comic book feel that talks up the benefits of bringing Call FCU to their office and includes an interactive game. The "dress the hero" game gives visitors a chance to turn an ordinary employee into an office hero complete with cape and mask. Parks says the silly game further reinforces the benefits of membership as every object that is dragged over features messages like "Being the office hero will bring amazing service to the overly aggravated." The site even comes with a disclaimer, "Please note that if you become the Office Hero, Call Federal Credit Union is not responsible for the unrelenting pats on the back, high fives in the break room and unnecessary hugs you may receive from fellow co-workers."

"There is so much potential for this campaign," said Parks. "At first it was only going to run for a few months, but our simple concept has gotten a lot of momentum and taken on a life of its own. It is getting our brand out there with a more youthful image and there's so much we can do to build on this."

The initial campaign costs totaled approximately $10,000 and there are plans to further expand the promotion since the reaction has been so positive. In just three weeks the credit union has signed up a SEG groups ranging from 30 to 700 people and there have been some 700 hits on the Web site.

"We weren't well known before this, so from an awareness standpoint the campaign pays for itself considering the SEGs that are signing up and the interest by groups that hadn't heard of us before," said Parks. "It is about thinking outside the bank-so many credit unions try to be safe and conservative, which is how we've always been but that doesn't break through the clutter-by doing something different we're making people pay attention." [email protected]