CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Talk about organic growth. Carolina Postal Credit Union is still riding the wave of its popular "I Love My Hoopty" campaign.
Financial and professional market trend analysis and forecasting firm VRL KnowledgeBank based in the United Kingdom has set its sights on the $60 million credit union. CPCU will be featured in the firm's "Best Practices" report on successful Social Media.
The Hoopty campaign incorporated branch merchandising, direct mail and an interactive blog. As part of the campaign and contest, members submitted photographs and favorite Hoopty stories to win a CPCU emergency car care kit, which included duct tape and an "I love my Hoopty" bumper sticker.
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Direct ROI for the campaign came in at 325% and was tracked through increases in CPCU's unsecured lines of credit and installment loans.
After overcoming the initial communication challenges involving Southern accents and British elocution (much of which involved a lengthy explanation of the word "Hoopty"), CPCU Vice President of Marketing Deb McLean covered the original campaign conception, internal campaign goals, the challenges of social media, members' reactions, and the importance of customer engagement in social media and beyond.
The VRL KnowledgeBank Best Practices report will be out within the next few months.
"This campaign has legs!" laughed Joy Watts, CEO for CPCU. "Even though the 'I love my Hoopty' campaign and contest officially ended last fall, Carolina Postal left the blog active for our members' enjoyment. And they are still asking for our 'I love my Hoopty' bumper stickers at all of our events."
As if the UK-recognition wasn't enough, the credit union was also contacted earlier this month by Florida rap artist, Lyrikill, who has written a "I love my Hoopty" dance tune that he offered to CPCU for use on its Hoopty blog.
The "I love my Hoopty" video is posted on www.ilovemyhoopty.blogspot.com, and the song is available for download through a link to the artist's MySpaceMusic page.
McLean also had a few additional communication challenges with the rap artist.
"We decided it might be best to communicate via e-mail, which of course these days meant texting," said McLean. "So fortunately I had my 13-year old daughter on standby for texting translations. But I'm excited about his song and hope people check it out. This campaign has just taken a life of its own, and we couldn't be happier."
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