DOVER, Del. — Delaware Federal Credit Union found itself in a position many longtime, traditional credit unions do–trying to break out of the boxes consumers have put them in.
Those boxes include consumers' limited view on who can join the CU and what it offers. Following more than 40 years of service to the Delaware community, Delaware FCU surveys within the last three years unearthed a large segment of consumers that either did not know what a credit union was, believed that the various credit union branches across the state were all a part of one big entity, or thought one must be a state employee to become a member. The surveys also revealed that Delaware FCU members seemed to think that banks had a more modern edge and more products and services. That response was telling, even if inaccurate, and set the FCU off on a re-branding endeavor that has resulted in a new name: Del-One.
The Del-One name, logo and tag line–"The One Way to a Better Life"–was unveiled on credit union branch interiors and exteriors on Oct. 2. The credit union also launched a redesigned Web site that incorporates quicker access to the online branch, an in-depth learning center, a bilingual reference section, special product promotions and a section dedicated to financial literacy for youth.
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"[The surveys] told us that we hadn't done a very good job at marketing and getting our message out that we were open to many different fields of membership and that there were misconceptions as to what credit unions could provide," explained Sharee Coleman, vice president of marketing at Del-One. "So we took all of that knowledge and re-branded and got rid of our logo. Because it was a silhouette of the state of Delaware we felt that it fed into the misconception that we were only available to state employees. By coming up with something that reflects the organization better as a whole, it would get the message across better."
A tree has replaced the silhouette of Delaware as the new logo, a move that reflects values including growth, strength, stability, helping members stand tall in the face of adversity and a desire to branch out to the underserved, Coleman explained. Despite the facelift, the more than 29,000 members will not be required to take any action as a result of the change. All checks, credit and ATM cards, and other Delaware FCU official documents will continue to be honored by the credit union and merchants during the transition.
The credit union's board was involved in every step of the process including the research phase, when making the decision of whether to enlist in expert help and when it was time to institute a plan. The organization turned to New Hampshire-based marketing advisor Tracey/Edwards/O'Neil to help develop the name and the rollout strategy and Clinton, Md., credit union marketing communications company Visions, Ink to create a logo and graphics. Both the board and the credit union's employees offered input on proposed names and logos.
The re-branding effort includes six branches and cost between $50,000-$100,000, Coleman said. The price tag was reasonable considering that Del-One has achieved "a totality of one look and image," Coleman added.
That image will be put to the test in the near future when Del-One evaluates the re-branding process much in the same way it decided to re-brand in the first place.
"We started out researching whether we had a brand recognition issue and we'll use those methods for feedback on the changes," Coleman said. "We'll go back and do written and phone surveys. Plus, we send out 200 surveys every month to our members and new questions about the re-branding process have been added to those surveys. Our members are very vocal so we've gotten feedback already online and I'm sure we'll get plenty more." –[email protected]
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