LANSING, MI (March 6, 2019) — This spring, the Michigan Credit Union League (MCUL) will update its cooperative advertising campaign to maximize credit union awareness beyond geographical borders. As one of the largest cooperative ad campaigns in the country, CU Link Michigan is aligning with the Credit Union National Association’s (CUNA) Open Your Eyes to a Credit Union® category-level brand campaign to drive consumer consideration of credit unions.
“CUNA and MCUL collaborating on the awareness campaign is a great example of the value of the CUNA/League System and how we work together in areas of advocacy and promoting credit union value,” said MCUL CEO Dave Adams. “This is what the CUNA/League system is all about — being a catalyst for cooperative efforts that advance the credit union model state by state.”
With support from credit union contributions and matching funds, MCUL invests nearly $2.2 million in advertising year over year to amplify the credit union difference. Slated to begin in April, and running $2.2 million in media buys for a 12-month period, Michigan will magnify the Open Your Eyes to a Credit Union® campaign in tandem with other states around the country.
For the past two years, CUNA and MCUL have coordinated on statewide consumer research projects. Michigan-specific research showed that consumers in the state already know they are eligible to join a credit union. However, many consumers perceive that credit unions are not as convenient, tech-savvy or diverse in service offerings as banks. The goals of the MCUL ad campaign will be to debunk these myths by promoting credit unions as convenient, high-value, service-oriented, full-service financial institutions that offer great mobile banking features — all under the theme of “Open Your Eyes to a Credit Union®”, tying into recent national efforts.
“Building on two decades of successful cooperative advertising in our state, more than 54 percent of Michigan consumers now belong to a credit union and they hold over 19 percent of consumer household deposits,” said Adams. “These metrics are the highest of any top 10 state in the U.S. Our goal now is to reinforce the reasons why 550 Michigan consumers and 10,000 nationally are joining a credit union each day. When it comes to consumer and small business financial services, credit unions are the highest-value, most-trusted offering available.”
Organized in 1934, the Michigan Credit Union League & Affiliates [mcul.org] (MCUL) is a trade association representing Michigan’s credit unions. Based in Lansing, Michigan, MCUL works to strengthen the credit union community and its image by providing advocacy on important issues, coordinating cooperative initiatives and by providing high-quality solutions that help credit unions succeed and enrich the lives of their members.
Shawn Glinis
734.793.3449 | Shawn.Glinis@mcul.org
