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2013 Diamond Award Winners Honored At Council Conference

MADISON, WI – First Entertainment Credit Union was awarded the “Diamond Best of Show” – the highest “Best of Show” award in the CUNA Marketing and Business Development Council’s Diamond Awards competition. The winners were acknowledged during the council’s 20th annual conference, which took place March 24-27 in Anaheim, Calif.

Entered in the Brand Awareness category, First Entertainment Credit Union created three commercials to highlight the difference between the credit union and a bank; a key component of their brand. Each commercial emphasized the location on the studio lot and focused on a specific product or service. By the end of the commercial’s run, the spots are expected to have been seen by over 50,000 individuals.

This year’s awards competition received over 1,100 entries. Judges awarded six entries as Best of Show, along with 88 Category’s Best and 207 Diamond Awards. Other Best of Show honorees included:

  • “Color” Award for Best Use of Art: Operating Engineers Local Union 3 Federal Credit Union in Livermore, Calif., for its entry in the Plastic Access Card Design category. Operating Engineers Local Union 3 FCU rebranded and redesigned their credit and debit cards to be inclusive of all labor organizations. The cards incorporate a bold rugged look, include the new color palette and allow members to upload a custom photo or choose from a catalog of images which include the new OE FCU branded choices.
  • Best Use of Humor: America First Entertainment Credit Union in Hollywood, Calif., for its “Don’t feed the goat, No Dead Leaves, Terms and Conditions” ad campaign. First Entertainment CU used fun, light-hearted TV ads featuring a well-known character actor to highlight the differences between a bank and the credit union.
  • “Cut” Award for Most Edgy: University of Kentucky Federal Credit Union in Lexington, Ky., for its Complete Campaign. University of Kentucky FCU created a campaign to create awareness of the value and benefit they offer to members in a fun and not so traditional way. They did this through billboards, print and online ads, postcards and staff buttons all directing to their lipstickonabank.com micro-site which touted them as a better option than traditional banks.
  • “Clarity” Award for Most Sentimental: Travis Credit Union in Vacaville, Calif., for its Annual Report. Travis CU’s annual report theme of “Looking Bank. Reaching Forward.”captured the credit union’s humble beginnings and showed members how they have grown over the decades while remaining committed to the vision of the founding members.
  • “Carat” Award for Greatest Impact: Woodstone Credit union in Federal Way, Wash., for their Awareness Campaign. As attitudes towards big banks declined, Woodstone Credit Union created a campaign to differentiate themselves in a heavily “over-banked” market.

“This year’s Diamond Awards featured the best of the best in marketing and business development in the credit union industry,” said Nancy C. Hutchinson, Chair of the CUNA Marketing & Business Development Council Diamond Awards. “This year we endorsed a new matrix scoring system along with a redesign on the actual Diamond Awards, the members of the council were awestruck at the “New Design of the Diamond Awards!” “In the credit union industry these awards hold us in high regard at our credit union and in the industry; all who won were very deserving of this recognition.”

The Diamond Awards, representing the pinnacle of credit union marketing and business development, features 33 categories, ranging from direct mail and Web site marketing to public relations and social media. Judges evaluated entries based on strategy, design and production, creative concept, copy and communication, and results.

A complete list of award winners is available online at www.cunamarketingcouncil.org.

About CUNA Marketing and Business Development Council
The CUNA Marketing & Business Development Council is a member-led partnership of marketing and business development professionals dedicated to providing education, leadership, networking support, professional development tools, and expertise to its members in order to shape the enhancement of the role and diversity of operations in the credit union industry. The CUNA Marketing & Business Development Council is one of the six organizations that make up the CUNA Councils, a network of more than 5,500 credit union professionals. For more information, visit www.cunamarketingcouncil.org or www.cunacouncils.org.


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