Cooperative Advertising Campaign

Raising Public Awareness of Credit Unions.

The Maryland and District of Columbia Credit Union Association and Northern VA Chapter of the Virginia Credit Union League Consumer Awareness Campaign Media Plan consists of comprehensive radio advertising supported by bustail/transit placement. The advertising message directs listerners and viewers to WhatsInItForMe.org for consumer information and the ability to locate credit unions in their area.

2009 Phase

The first phase of the MDDCCUA Cooperative Advertising Campaign is complete, and initial results indicate that contributions have 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 total 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 include:

  • 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.