Last year, SPIRE Credit Union President/CEO Dan Stoltz transformed himself into the legendary character King Boreas of the Royal Family for the St. Paul Winter Carnival.

Along with fulfilling his full-time duties at the Falcon Heights, Minn.-based credit union, Stoltz made more than 300 appearances as the head of the Royal Family. The St. Paul Winter Carnival began in 1886, when the event's first King Boreas was crowned. Stoltz' official title was King Boreas LXXIX.

SPIRE has assets totaling $826 million, and serves members in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Its website proclaims the credit union is “driven by Midwestern values.”

marketing for community-based organizations Stoltz' local appearances as King Boreas were prime examples of how credit unions can leverage personal contact – something that is critical to community-based credit union marketing, according to several executives – to build business.

“The one thing I love to see when you're out [is someone saying], 'We see you everywhere,'” Jimese Harkley, philanthropy and community relations manager for the $1.4 billion America's First Federal Credit Union in Birmingham, Ala., said. “There's nothing that a piece of paper or an email can do that replaces face to face contact.”

America's First serves residents of eight counties in Alabama.

For America's First, community involvement includes sponsoring events that are staged by local chambers of commerce. It also entails working in area schools to encourage students to start saving money early – and those students often come to the credit union when they are older and have their own financial needs.

“It's amazing how many of them come back and say, 'You came to our class,'” Harkley said.

Community-based credit unions face unique challenges that other credit unions may not face, according to Andy Reed, president/CEO of Texas People Federal Credit Union in Fort Worth, Texas. For instance, he said, select employer group-based credit unions can easily approach prospective members because they already work for the company that the credit union serves.

That leads to a warm relationship, he said, adding that other credit unions must work harder to establish that warm relationship with prospective members.

Texas People was established as a SEG-based institution in 1946, when it was chartered to serve employees of the Texas and Pacific Railroad. Later, it was chosen as the credit union for two additional railroads, to which it responded by changing its name in 2003. With assets of about $22.2 billion, it now serves residents of 16 zip codes in Texas in addition to employees of the Union Pacific Railroad.

Casey Carlson, vice president of marketing for SPIRE, agreed with Reed, stating that if a credit union is SEG-based, some intrinsic loyalty is already present among employees.

“Communities are large,” Reed said, adding that credit unions must choose to use their marketing dollars wisely. “Marketing to the community is very new for my credit union.”

To succeed, community-based credit unions must utilize location-based, targeted marketing by approaching people in a specific area with offers that will appeal to them, he said.

Otherwise, marketing money will be wasted, he added.

“It's very possible that you will choose unwisely,” he said. “It's easier to prepare a promotion and send it to a million people.”

And with a marketing budget of only $33,000, Reed's credit union has little money to waste. He noted he has been working with a company to market auto refinancing to prospective members. “What drives people to credit unions is that they're looking for loans,” he said. “We gain their membership through refinancing.”

community-based marketing tips For a while, community-based credit unions were able to capitalize on banks' poor image, according to Steven Black, vice president for Boeing Employees Credit Union in Tukwila, Wash.

“Credit unions enjoyed that opportunity,” he said, adding that since consumers trusted credit unions more than banks, the institutions could market themselves based on that trust.

However, consumer confidence in banks has rebounded a bit, he said, noting that now, credit unions must find another way to differentiate themselves based on values and trust. For BECU, that has meant offering digital services as much as possible and using member data to provide better services.

“People are making decisions a lot quicker,” Black said.

The credit union is open to all residents of Washington State and has assets of more than $14 billion.

Aside from Stoltz's year-long commitment as King Boreas, SPIRE is committed to remaining active in its communities, Carlson said. For instance, the credit union holds an annual meeting/ membership appreciation event at which all attendees receive $25. The 2016 event attracted 3,300 people and featured a local sportscaster as a keynote speaker.

Carlson said the credit union has also used traditional media in its marketing, including TV, radio and billboards. Finally, the credit union is a founding sponsor of a minor league baseball team, the St. Paul Saints.

The community involvement appears to be working.

“Our efforts have helped SPIRE build strong brand awareness,” he said, adding that in a recent brand awareness study of financial institutions, SPIRE finished fifth in its market.

“Community-based credit unions really have to work hard to gain and maintain brand awareness on a community level,” Carlson concluded.

Instant Insights /

Personal Contact Critical to Community Credit Union Marketing

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