Onsite: East Coast CU Marketing Conference: Wrap Up
by Bo McDonald, Your Marketing Co
Kelley Parks from gira{ph} kicked off the second and final day of the East Coast Marketing Conference “Back to the Basics Bootcamp” sessions Friday morning. After a 2am (false) fire alarm at the Great Wolf Lodge, many tired attendees rolled in to hear Kelley tackle the age old dilemma of credit union marketers, and that’s doing something with nothing. “Out of the box but still in the budget” had some great suggestions for credit union marketers to bring back to their credit unions, including identifying key problems that credit unions could solve in their communities and among membership, and unique groups that credit unions could target. Kelley walked attendees through identifying the “norms” of banking, and some ideas on how to break through those norms to make their credit unions stand out in a very crowded banking world. Attendees were reminded that no matter you asset size, you can still THINK like the large brands without having the budget of Coca-Cola or Apple.
Overall, the themes of each guest speaker were about the need for change in processes and operations in credit unions. As we continue to struggle with growth and maintaining profitable numbers, each attendee seemed to understand that change is going to be necessary for not only growth, but for survival of each credit union. In Troy Halls’ session on Thursday afternoon it was pointed out that the average age of credit union members nationally is 47, and your goal shouldn’t be to bring the average age down, but for longevity of your credit union (whatever that looks like on an individual basis.)
The staff at the Virginia Credit Union League, The North Carolina Credit Union League and the Marketing Council participants of the NCCUL should be proud of their efforts to put this conference on. The selection of speakers and variety in topics was a huge asset for those in attendance.
Bo McDonald is president of Your Marketing Co, A veteran of major market media sales and programming, Bo got his start in radio working for a variety of large radio conglomerates including Clear Channel Radio and Citadel Broadcasting. After several years and requests from clients Bo went out on his own to form his own marketing firm. Today, that marketing firm has evolved into a boutique firm serving only the needs of credit unions in the form of marketing, business development, and product development. Why credit unions? Thanks to his parents who are avid credit union supporters, Bo has been a member of credit unions from a young age.
