SAN JOSE, Calif. — If you're willing to be inconvenienced a little bit, Kathleen Litman says nearly any credit union can afford to produce a high-quality, professional television commercial.

Litman, vice president of marketing at $1.3 billion Technology Credit Union, has produced four 30-second spots in the past two years for about $30,000 total.

How did she do it?

Connections, baby!

“We advertise in some business publications that cater to technology professionals, and one of my publication contacts is also an actor,” Litman said, “so I asked him for advice.”

Through that contact, Litman connected with a young Los Angeles production company that was willing to work for cheap in order to build a portfolio.

Additionally, the company's three partners had numerous connections in the industry, which saved Litman additional money by giving her access to entertainment professionals on hiatus, off-hour production and studio time, and homes that were borrowed and used as sets.

The downside? Considerably more time spent coordinating and managing the product, and the stress of sometimes having to settle for Plan B.

“It was a bit of an adjustment, because I had to learn that things in the entertainment business don't work the same way they do in the corporate world,” Litman said. “It didn't matter if I yelled and screamed. If a location fell through, it fell through.”

Tech CU produced two commercials in 2006, “Mortgage” and “Click”, which promote mortgage lending and account security, respectively. Both were produced for about $12,500 each, Litman said.

This year's commercials, “Closet Space” and “Entourage”, promote home equity lending and business services. They cost more, about $17,500 each.

“I knew from the beginning I'd have to pay more if wanted to use them again, so we renegotiated,” she said, adding, “I think we still came out pretty good.”

Tech CU purchased airtime on NBC, the highest rated network in the San Francisco Bay area. Litman said she couldn't afford prime time, so she carefully selected air times during programs her members and potential members would be most interested in.

Although Tech CU has a community charter, the majority of existing and new members are technology professionals who work in the greater San Francisco Bay area. The marketing pro selected upscale sporting events like golf and tennis, as well as news programs, to capture her target audience. Litman said she spends about $10,000 per month for airtime, with her commercials running at least once a day.

The 2006 commercials ran from July through December of last year. The credit union took a three-month break from television the first quarter of 2007, then re-ran the 2006 commercials in April and May of this year while producing the new ones. “Entourage” debuted in June, and “Closet Space” debuted last month.

All four commercials are considered branding pieces. Although it's nearly impossible to track the effectiveness of branding pieces, Litman said, that approach does allow the commercials a longer shelf life. In fact, Litman said she planned to run “Mortgage” again soon.

Why would a billion-dollar credit union go to such lengths to pinch advertising pennies?

Until a few years ago, Tech CU was a SEG-based credit union that enjoyed strong relationships with active sponsor groups. Those relationships paid off in the 1990s, during the tech boom, and the credit union grew considerably.

After the ensuing tech bust temporarily devastated the San Jose economy, the credit union expanded its field of membership to include six counties in the Bay area, to insulate the credit union from further industry losses.

Long story short, board members and executives had never made room for a comprehensive advertising budget before, and were shocked at the high cost of production, particularly for television.

Thanks, in part, to the money she saved, Litman was able to afford additional television commercials on a local CBS station.

“CBS caught me on a good day. They pitched guaranteed ROI, from a commercial with just text and a nice message. We've got two great rate specials going on this month, so we're giving it a try,” she said.

Litman admits that her California locale gives her better access to the entertainment industry than others, but encouraged credit unions to search for creative production solutions in their markets.

“You hear that credit unions are getting more and more into television, but we all take different approaches based on our market and budget. Still, I think we've done something fairly unique in that we didn't use an agency, but we still produced something with a big institution feel,” she said.

“We were fortunate to tap into a hungry young company that needed to make a reel. It was a win-win situation, and I'd like to think part of it was a result of good old credit union ingenuity.”

–ivanaknapp@gmail.com

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