Vantage Credit Union recently held a putt-off in place of its annual golf tournament to help raise scholarship funds for area high school students.
In addition to playing two holes created by the Vantage Credit Union marketing department, employees at the credit union's administrative branch could stop in for lunch and enter to win attendance prizes. Participants enjoyed hot dogs, chips, popcorn, and chocolate chip cookies donated by Enterprise Rent-A-Car.
The Vantage CU marketing department constructed two holes at its headquarters for the event, making it easy for staffers to play.
On the first hole, 21 employees made holes-in-one and were entered to win a $25 Target gift card. The second hole was a par 3 and netted 2 holes-in-one, which won back entry money for the lucky golfers. Open to everyone from the CEO and senior managers to financial service representative and tellers, the event helped employees raise $552 toward scholarships.
“It was a great way for us to include employees in our scholarship fundraising efforts and for them to have a little fun in the process,” Vantage CU Marketing Vice President Kathy Palmer said. “It was successful and could very well turn out to be a credit union wide, annual fundraising event.”

CUNA Council Offers Green Advice

A new CUNA Marketing and Business Development Council white paper explores how to incorporate green initiatives into a credit union's brand and image.
“Going Green-A Marketing Perspective” builds awareness of underlying requirements for incorporating green into a credit union's branding efforts. According to the report, before launching a green marketing campaign, it is important that credit unions develop a big picture mentality about environmental sustainability that incorporates what they have done, what they are doing, and what they could do in the future. Without a demonstrated foundation of green commitment, the paper said credit unions run the risk of a backlash from environmental groups, who watch for unsubstantiated or inflated promotion of green efforts-also known as greenwashing.
“People who are interested in the environment and sustainability can smell trickery a mile away,” cautioned Kim Deppe, vice president of marketing for Community First CU. “There's a lot of suspicion particularly among young people about slapping something up against the wall and calling yourself green. Be sure that you're being genuine about it and truly representing yourself accurately, because the downside risk about trying to be something you're not is that you lose credibility with some very important audience segments.”
“Being eco-friendly is more than a passing trend; it is an important part of a credit union's business model,” said Ann Legg, council chair and vice president of marketing for Cabrillo CU in San Diego. “Being green is integral to sustainability, viability and relevancy.”
The paper is available online at www.cunacouncils.org.

Social Media Webinar Slated

CUNA is helping credit unions navigate the social media maze.
The Social Media Webinar Series explains how to develop and incorporate a social media strategy into credit union marketing efforts by using free tools such as blogs, YouTube, Twitter, MySpace and Facebook.
The four-session series runs Aug. 11-27 in conjunction with the CUNA Marketing and Business Development Council. Topics range from a social media introduction and tools to achieve business objectives to tying social media strategy into overall marketing plans and a peer-to-peer social media Web roundtable.
For more information go to training.cuna.org and enter “Social Media” in the event finder search engine or call 800-356-9655, ext. 4249.

Indiana CU Joins Initiative

FORUM Credit Union has been accepted as a member of the Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce Green Business Initiative.
Members of the Green Business Initiative pledge to continually strive toward environmentally safe and sustainable business practices and operations to ensure that the greater Indianapolis region is environmentally healthy and viable. Members also pledge to meet all existing federal, state and local environment regulations.
To maintain Green Business status, members must be, at minimum, a bronze member of the Central Indiana Clean Air Partnership and submit an application to the chamber's review committee. Members must also meet at least one green practice in each of the six categories including waste prevention, recycling, purchasing, energy conservation, water conservation and transportation.

Name That Checking Account

Connex Credit Union is turning to the locals and members for help in naming its new checking account. The “Unbank-Unnamed Checking” naming contest is designed to help personalize the credit union's new high-interest checking product.
“Our members are full of great ideas,” said Tansley Stearns, vice president of sales and service for Connex Credit Union. “As the Unbank, we never lose sight of the fact that our members play a tremendous ownership role in Connex. Now we're asking them to help with a creative effort.”
Contestants had through July 30 to submit their ideas online. One winner will be chosen and, in addition to bragging rights, he or she will receive $1,000.

MAC Names Paul Stull to Board

The Marketing Association of Credit Unions recently elected Arizona State Credit Union Vice President of Marketing Paul Stull to its board.
Stull was joined by Sarah Cecchin, assistant vice president of marketing for Pacific Service CU, and Carlos Cons, vice president of marketing for DataPage Inc., to serve on the MAC Board for a three-year term.
Cecchin, who is MAC's chair-elect and Cons, the association's suppliers advisory council liaison, were both re-elected to their posts.
MAC has offered professional development to credit union marketing professionals since 1988.

Ala. CU Makes Saving a Priority

Before a new school year begins, Alabama Telco Credit Union is hoping to make savings a top priority for parents and kids alike.
The credit union has unveiled its Kids Savings School, designed for kids ages three through 11 in an effort to jumpstart good savings habits.
“We feel this is a necessary and exciting product to offer our members. It not only teaches kids good saving and spending habits, it also helps them take the first step toward building a relationship with their credit union, making it easier for them to apply for other financial products as they grow into a teenager and young adult,” said Vice President of Marketing Stanton Davis.
In addition to visiting area schools during the upcoming 2009-2010 school year to promote the program, the credit union has created a special kids section on its Web site (www.alatelco.org) where children can play games while learning about money and savings. The site also serves as an educational financial resource for parents and teachers by providing tips on how to encourage and raise financially savvy kids.
“Based on a 2008 financial literacy survey of high school seniors and college students, 75% of young American adults are likely to lack the skills needed to make beneficial financial decisions…We feel we can be a valuable resource and educational tool when it comes to helping parents guide their children in the right direction financially,” said Davis.

We All Scream for Ice Cream

Point Loma Credit Union scooped up a few new members with its latest summer campaign.
The credit union offered current members a $25 Cold Stone Creamery gift card for each new member they referred. To sweeten the deal, the new member received one, too.
To help ensure that it grew not only in membership numbers but also in product and service usage, new members were required to open at least one additional account or service to receive the premium.
According to PLCU Public Relations Manager Michele White, the summer promotion exceeded expectations. About 398 new members opened 883 deposit products with a cumulative balance of $643,200. In addition, 33 new loans totaling $307,900 were opened.