Because bank products can be so similar across the industry, many financial advertising campaigns fall back on promoting “friendly and helpful service”— even when this claim is not borne out by consumers’ experience.
For Michigan Schools and Government Credit Union (MSGCU), this presented a marketing dilemma. With a member satisfaction rating of 97% over more than twenty years, they really did provide exceptional service. Their entire business model was based on promoting the financial success of their members. But how could they communicate this authentic claim in a market where the term “friendly service” has lost its meaning?
MSGCU teamed up with Brogan & Partners to create a new brand campaign that would define their commitment to member service, and ultimately build relationships. As we did our research, we heard stories of MSGCU team members visiting elderly members at home to set up online banking, or coaching young members on improving their credit scores to achieve home ownership. After hearing dozens of such stories, we realized that MSGCU is not just a credit union to their members. MSGCU is their financial champion.
With this as the cornerstone, Brogan created a modular campaign that recognized all the goals and roles of its members. We branded MSGCU as the financial champion of success seekers, goal getters, house hunters, home improvers, road warriors, busy multitaskers, and a host of other –ers.
We commissioned original brand music and created a library of photo assets featuring MSGCU staff and locations. And we created internal marketing materials to encourage staff to think of themselves as financial champions, coaching their members to success.
See more of the Financial Champion campaign
Three years later, MSGCU has expanded to include 7 more branches in Southeast Michigan, and the Financial Champion campaign is still going strong — as is MSGCU’s extraordinary commitment to member service by building engaging relationships that help members reach financial goals.
To see more of our best work, visit our original post in this series: Celebrating 40 years of creative advertising.
