Press
The BA Group leads Canyon State Credit Union’s brand evolution and new website launch
PHOENIX, AZ (December 17, 2013) — Looking to better define and enhance its brand, Canyon State Credit Union (approximately $138 million in assets) reached out to The BA Group, a national credit union marketing and media agency, to assist in the credit union’s rebranding efforts including a new website.
The BA Group goes through a process they call “Good Old Fashion Planning” as Amy Herbig, CEO of The BA Group, believes that “Marketing is not just creative for the sake of being creative. Everything has to have a strategy, goals, and measurement capabilities.” A vital aspect of this planning is market research and disseminating surveys to the credit union’s staff and members. The BA Group fully immersed itself into Canyon State’s culture to better understand the credit union’s missions and values in order to move forward in evolving the brand.
The BA Group ran the credit union’s key staff through a brand planning session in which they discussed, analyzed, and questioned subject matters that play key roles in Canyon State, including its culture, reputation, and vision. With these insights in mind, BA developed numerous rebranding ideas that captured the heart of Canyon State Credit Union’s existing culture, as well as representing the credit union Canyon State aims to be in the future.
The outcome was a new logo, tagline, “Committed to You,” and website. The updated brand and more user-friendly website captures Canyon State’s energy, its Arizona heritage, and its genuine commitment to members. The BA Group refers to this full process as a “brand evolution” because it brings to life that which the credit unions have already built – a type of brand equity through their existing practices. Canyon State was already living its tagline, but The BA Group helped bring their story to life.
Jane Dobbs, President and CEO of Canyon State Credit Union, said, “We were looking to update our brand to align it with the credit union’s future direction. The BA Group initiated employee and member engagement to determine where we were, where we were going and how we were going to get there. One of the most exciting parts of this brand evolution is that we now have an updated technological presence which matches where we are going.”
Another marketing strategy unique to The BA Group is that all marketing efforts and campaigns must pass through various “filter points” to ensure that everything the agency does reflects the client’s evolved brand. These filters become guiding principles to help lead the agency and the credit union’s decision-making in order to ensure that every marketing effort aligns with the credit union’s new vision and mission. Every part of a marketing effort (whether a logo, website, or tagline, for example) must pass through these filters as a way of reflecting the personality, voice, culture, and values of the credit union.