Cooperative Advertising Campaign

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The 2010 phase of the Cooperative Advertising Campaign began June 7 with radio, metro bus advertising and social media.

Ninety contributors, including credit unions throughout Maryland, DC and Northern Virginia, the Virginia Credit Union League, MDDCCUA Chapters and numerous business partners have shown their support of the regional campaign.

Campaign Information:

Part of the three-year strategic plan developed by the MDDCCUA Board of Directors. Funded by credit unions in Maryland, DC and northern Virginia. Campaign development supported by ad agency and media buyer.

  • Audience: Female 25-54; Gen Y
  • Call to Action: Drive consumers to WhatsInItForMe.org for information about credit unions and to access credit union search engine.
  • Theme – Find Out What the Banks Don’t Want You to Know.

Eight-week campaign began June 7:

  • Radio in Maryland, DC and Northern Virginia markets
  • Metro bus advertising in same markets
  • Social Media – Facebook & Twitter

Research includes:

  • MDDCCUA Consumer Poll
  • Research from industry providers – CUNA, Filene Research Institute, member credit unions, Gen Y focus group.

Benefits to credit unions:

  • Social Media - Best Practices in Facebook, Twitter & other new media
  • Results from the MDDCCUA Consumer Poll
  • Collateral Materials Branded to Reflect Advertising
  • Heightened Profile on the WhatsInItForMe.org Consumer Website
  • Integration of cooperative branding Into Individual CU Strategies

The WIIFM website is linked to the credit union search engine www.FindACreditUnion.com. Your credit union will play an important part in the success of the campaign by providing your credit union’s profile to the search engine database. If you have retained your user name and password for the database from the 2009 campaign, please update your records as soon as possible with information about your credit union and your field of membership.

If you do not have a user name and password, please contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) of MDDCCUA – 443-325-0777, who will provide you with administrative access to the search engine and answer any questions you have about the site.

The highly anticipated Spring 2010 phase of the Cooperative Advertising Campaign has begun with radio ads, metro bus advertising and a WhatsInItForMe? Facebook page and other social media.

There are several components of the $170,000 campaign, including:

Radio Ads: providing extraordinary Reach and Frequency* - in Baltimore (94.9R/13.8F), in DC (93.2R/17.4F), and in NoVA (92.5R/15.8F). And, through our combined buying power, media buyer Target Media USA has negotiated 60 percent more in advertising reach and frequency, something no individual credit union can achieve on its own.

Stations:

  • WPGC 95.5 FM (Rhythmic CHR)
  • WRQX 107.3 FM (Hot AC)
  • WKYS 93.9 FM (Urban)
  • WASH 97.1 FM (Adult Contemporary)
  • WWIN 95.9 FM (Adult Contemporary)
  • WLIF 101.9 FM (Adult Hits)
  • WBIG 100.3 FM (Classic Hits)
  • WIHT 99.5 FM (Pop Cont Hits)
  • WLZL 99.1 FM (Spanish Tropical)
  • WWDC 101.1 FM (Alternative)
  • WHUR 96.3 FM (Adult Contemporary)
  • WTOP 103.5 FM (All News)
  • WMMJ 102.3 FM (Urban)
  • WERQ 92.3 FM (Urban Contemporary)
  • WPOC 93.1 FM (Country)
  • WWMX 106.5 FM (Hot AC)
  • WFRB 105.8 FM (Country)
  • WKGO 106.1 FM (Classic Rock)
  • WFRB 560 AM (News/Talk)

* Reach: The percentage consumers in the target audience hearing the credit union message.
* Frequency: The number of times consumers in the target audience are exposed to the credit union message.

WhatsInItForMe.org Website: The newly updated website whatsinitforme.org, developed by LMD Agency, defines credit unions to consumers on our own terms, testimonials, a consumer quiz, and a search engine – findacreditunion.com - to help consumers locate a credit union by affiliation or location.

Social Media: Become a fan of the Cooperative Advertising Facebook page at facebook.com/whatsinitforme, watch the growing number of participants and give feedback of your own.

To complement the radio schedules, Whatsinitforme.org will be featured through a Pay-Per-Impression campaign on Facebook that will target both Women 25-49 and Adults 18-24 within the three key market areas.

  • To further target Facebook users, advertisements will be served to persons that fit within a select keyword group (ex: financial services, student loans, ATM, home improvement, high school sports, credit unions, etc.) based on their profile information with Facebook.
  • Pay-per-Impression campaigns allow MDDCCUA/VACUL to set a daily maximum budget with Facebook based on the estimated number of impressions and the average bid for a select group of key words.
  • Daily deliveries will be monitored key words will be added or changed over the course of the campaign to ensure that this campaign continues to deliver impressions among the target audiences within the key geographical area.
  • Facebook campaign ads will link directly to the whatsinitforme.org website and will include a graphic and a sell through line that can be changed on a weekly basis and customized for the specific audience that is being targeted.
  • CU Toolkits: Collateral materials are branded to reflect the Coop Ad Campaign and the benefits of credit unions for your current and potential members – including tent signs, web graphics, original art for brochures, and your credit union name on the WIIFM website.
  • Measurements: Regular measured results in reach, frequency and website analytics will document your decision to promote your credit union through the campaign.
  • Social Media will work together with Radio to extend share-of-voice in their target markets among the key audience groups.
  • Weekly and Campaign summary reports will be provided for the online advertising components.

For more information about the Cooperative Advertising Campaign or contributing, contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)at 443-325-0766.




2009 Phase

The first phase of the MDDCCUA Cooperative Advertising Campaign is complete, and $215,000 in contributions helped move the needle in awareness of consumers, as well as credit unions that had not previously participated.

The campaign was a three-month radio and metro bus campaign running from September 14 to November 13 in Maryland, Washington DC and Northern Virginia. The theme You Have Options! Get Yourself to a Credit Union! was the call to action driving consumers to the WhatsInItForMe Website, where they could search for credit unions.

Media analyst Target Media USA developed a media plan for the radio and metro bus buy. Target’s recommendation for media purchases reflected stated goals for reach and frequency, and the buy was made. Target also negotiated to enhance the value of the original media purchase price ($152,000) by approx. 46% in additional spots, signage, web links and other added value.

The MDDCCUA Strategic Plan provided benchmarks for the initial phase of the Community Outreach strategy, and in many cases those measurements were attained:

Raise $180,000 to fund 3Q 2009 cooperative marketing campaign: Committee members raised $215,658.67 in contributions from 57 Maryland, DC and Northern Virginia credit unions. The final figure exceeded the fundraising goal by 19.25%. Participation by MD/DC credit unions accounted for approx. 69% of the contributions, with about 29% from Northern Virginia CUs.

Attain a campaign reach (87%+) and frequency statistics (10+):

The campaign exceeded goals in both Reach* and Frequency** for the target audience of consumers aged 25-54 (emphasis on female).

  • Baltimore Metro - 89.4% reach/17.3 frequency
  • DC Metro - 87.5% reach/17.1 frequency
  • NoVA - 87.1% reach/17/6 frequency

* Reach = percentage of target audience exposed per month to campaign.
** Frequency = number of times consumers in target audience are exposed per month to campaign.
(Ex. - In the Baltimore Metro area, 89.4% of the target audience was exposed to radio/bus advertising 10.4 times within a given month).

Measure visitors to WhatsInItForMe.org website:

  • August, 2009 – 621
  • September, 2009 - 1,582
  • October, 2009 - 1,665
  • November - 969

Visitors to WhatsInItForMe.org website in 2009 totaled for Sept., Oct. and Nov. were .4,508, compared to 2,408 during the same period of the 2008 campaign - an 87% increase.

Other highlights of the campaign included:

  • Average reach of the MD/DC/NoVA campaign measured at 88%. That means the CU message reached 88% of the targeted audience – adults 25-54 with an emphasis on women – and exceeds the original goal of 87%
  • Frequency averaged at over 15 – our consumer audience exposed to the CU message at least 15 times per week – well exceeding the original goal of 10 times per week.
  • The combination of reach and frequency translates to Gross Rating Points (GRPs) throughout the region of over 1300 points – well above average campaigns of 800/900 GRPs – and equivalent to GRP figures produced by McDonald’s in a typical product launch.
  • Additional added value has been negotiated to drive those averages even higher.
  • The Cooperative Advertising Campaign message went to over 180 media outlets and coverage of the campaign has been featured in both electronic and print media, including WTOP radio, the Washington Business Journal, the Baltimore Business Journal, Reuters News Service and other media outlets.
  • A recently conducted MDDCCUA Consumer Poll measured consumer response to the campaign, and help determine the factors most important to consumers in using CUs – including access, products and services.
  • Major consumer events are being planned for 2010 and beyond. Money Power Day in Baltimore, a DC consumer financial fair, and other regional events will help keep the profile of credit unions high and continue to educate consumers.

Events

Measure cumulative consumer participation of events (target 1,000)

The combined consumer attendance at events with MDDCCUA participation totaled approx. 300. Events include:

  1. Allegany County Financial Fitness Fair (advertising reach and frequency 52.9%/4.5 and on-site radio coverage)
  2. Harford County Financial Fair (advertising reach and frequency 20.1/4.2)
  3. Montgomery County Housing Fair (Sponsorship and participation in larger event--the most successful due to larger audience and participation).

Attendance at credit union-driven events did not meet goals. Indications are that events featuring CUs and minimal partnership with non-profits or agencies assisting consumers do not draw targeted numbers, even with radio and print advertising.

The Events sub-committee continues to determine best practices in event planning. A database of financial educators is in development; to be included in newly designed MDDCCUA web site to determine mission, contacts and event schedules and to act as a clearinghouse.

Public Relations

APCO Worldwide pitched Cooperative Ad Campaign to 180+ media outlets throughout MD/DC/NoVA at campaign launch. APCO has been contacted to provide measurements and cumulative value of the coverage.

Documented coverage includes numerous segments on WTOP radio business news (week of 9/14/09), articles by the Washington Business Journal, the Baltimore Business Journal, Reuters News Service and other media outlets.