HENDERSON, Nev. — The “Optiva” branding controversy over credit union name selection turned out to be a prime topic for debate at CUNA's Marketing & Business Development Council conference here. (See related coverage on page 1-36).

Jumping into the fray was one of the keynote speakers, Brian Collins, chairman and chief executive of the Brand Innovation Group of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, who called “Optiva” a “meaningless, horrible name and you can quote me on that.”

“It sounds to me like a medicine for a bad illness,” said Collins, who kicked off the four-day CUNA meeting with a talk on ways CUs can add more “surprise” and dynamic storytelling to their advertising.

The doomed Optiva campaign of the University of Iowa Community Credit Union in Iowa City is an example of a branding practice gone awry with faulty advance planning, charged Collins.

Quick to counter Collins were staffers from Weber Marketing Co. of Seattle, consultant and architect for the UICCU campaign who complained that Collins, despite coming from a top Madison Avenue firm, was out of his element and ill-informed.

Mark Weber, president of the firm bearing his name, said Collins' remarks made to a reporter were a poor way of finding fault with a process and naming strategy “in which Ogilvy & Mather has not experienced” certainly with CUs.

Getting criticized for “differentiating CU brands with unique names” is simply part of the consulting business, said Weber citing numerous examples of large corporations coming up with offbeat names.

“Maybe he hasn't heard of Starbucks,” jibed Weber.

Staffers from Weber, who had a booth at the conference and had speakers on breakout panels, pointed to Weber success stories including OnPoint Community CU in Portland, Ore.; Veridian CU in Waterloo, La., Kinecta CU in Manhattan Beach, Calif. and North Shore CU in Vancouver, B.C.

In his formal talk to CUNA conference attendees assembled at the Green Valley Ranch Hotel/Casino, Collins played on video screens some of the most popular and prankish Dove TV commercials, created by Ogilvy & Mather, which drew national media attention to the brand.

In addition, he pointed to various Hershey's Chocolate promotions, ads and billboards as further examples of enlightened creative approaches that could be employed by CUs.

In competing with banks, CUs ought to be taking greater advantage of their close ties to members in pitching a favorable advocacy message because “they have a strong, personal and unique story to tell.” Credit unions, he added, need not be intimidated by banks.

Too often the CU message gets lost, he said, but that need not be the case if marketers and senior management are willing to be “different, offbeat and innovative” in the branding message, he said.

Collins cited as examples of CU innovation “those powerful ads that I saw recently” produced by Thurston Union Low Income People Credit Union of Olympia, Wash., which depict human-interest stories on workers. “Those were excellent,” he concluded. –jrubenscut@aol.com

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Ogilvy & Mather Exec Blasts 'Optiva' Name

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