When it comes to executing amarketing campaign that has to appease both members and businesspartners, credit unions should ensure the message doesn't getmuddled.

That's according to Mark Arnold, president of On the Mark Strategies, a Carrollton,Texas-based branding and strategic planning firm that serves creditunions.

After launching its “Expose the Truth” campaign June 9, aimed toeducate consumers and members about rate markups at autodealerships, the $3.1 billion Space Coast Credit Union in Melbourne, Fla., pulled the entireeffort July 18.

Critics, including trade group National Automobile DealersAssociation, said the campaign was misguided, failed to educateconsumers about all of their financing options and singled outAllyBank, which was ordered by the CFPB in December 2013 to pay $80million to more than 235,000 African-American, Hispanic, and Asianand Pacific Islander borrowers for discriminatory markups.

While SCCU said its intention was to help educate consumers,Arnold said the credit union should have stood firm if itsintentions were consistent with its core principles.

“Your credit union brand should stand for something, otherwiseit stands for nothing,” Arnold said. “Look at your core values andyour core brand. If your messaging that is causing controversyrings true to your brand and core values, then stick by it. If yourmessaging that is causing controversy goes counter to your brand,then that is a problem.”

Arnold said controversial campaigns are not necessarily a badthing because no one talks about a boring business.

However, the message has to be clear.

“My guess with Space Coast is that the language used sent mixedmessages,” Arnold suggested. “Their campaign championed consumersand their knowledge, yet those same messages countered messages fortheir business partners – the dealers. Your brand and your campaignmessages must ring true to everyone – your members, your businesspartners and your employees.”

He continued, “If you need to adjust your messaging because itcaused controversy for the wrong reasons, then returning to yourbrand and values is the way to execute it, just like Space Coastdid.”