Pulling out all the stops to enhance its Northern California profile, the $3.7 billion Patelco Credit Union rolled out simultaneous marketing campaigns Tuesday, one on a "trust your CU" theme and the other spontaneous cash giveaways using a "Patelco Pays Your Way" pitch.
The dual campaigns, involving print, radio, TV and online spots, are linked to the CU's 75th anniversary celebration and are also marked by a newly-inked sponsor partnership with the Golden State Warriors NBA basketball team.
"We were delighted to conduct our first splash of the Bank on Trust campaign Sunday night with our ad banner visible to the fans in the Golden State arena," declared Ken Burns, president/CEO of Patelco, which is also combining the campaigns with a promo highlighting its headquarters relocation from San Francisco to Pleasanton, a growing Bay Area suburb.
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The five-week "Patelco Pays Your Way" promotion, which debuts today, involves Patelco staffers surprising consumers by paying for their gas, groceries, coffee and lunch, and also giving away $75 gift cards in line with the anniversary. In setting up the giveaway, Patelco is partnering with Lucky Supermarkets in Oakland in handing out $75 Lucky gift cards to 75 grocery shoppers. Patelco said it hopes to surprise 1,500 Bay Area residents in a campaign costing $45,000. Beside Lucky, others taking part include Tully's Coffee, Jamba Juice, ARCO stations and Panera Bread.
"We found through our research that Warriors fans are statistically more likely than the average consumer to be Patelco members, so we want to reach out to those Warriors fans who have not yet discovered us," said Burns.
Regarding the "Bank on Trust" campaign, Burns said use of the word 'bank' in the ads is a natural way for consumers to link up with the CU, since a year ago "we started talking about checking and moved away from share drafts." The same logic holds true today, he said. Overall, he continued, "we want to say 'thank you' to the communities and people who have supported us for the past 75 years since we could not have become the Bay Area's second largest credit union and No. 5 in California without their support and continued trust in us."
Alison Jones, vice president of marketing, said the "Bank on Trust" campaign, which aims to educate consumers on the CU role, has no target date for its end. "We will continue to run it, as long as we deem it effective," she said.
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