News and events

Weber Marketing Group is pleased to welcome a new addition to the team.

Jennie Morrison was recently selected as the top candidate for the account coordinator position from a pool of more the 150 applicants. In this role, Jennie will focus on assisting the account team with agency retainer clients.

Morrison previously interned for several agencies and marketing firms and most recently completed an assistant account executive internship with Ruth Edelman Integrated Marketing. She is a recent graduate from the University of Montana with three degrees which include Marketing, Management Information Systems, and International Business.

Jennie is new to the Seattle area, and in her free time she enjoys golfing, fly fishing and spending time with her golden retriever Izzy.

Weber Marketing Group recently presented at the Credit Union Executive Society’s (CUES) CEO/Executive Team Network in Las Vegas on November 7. Mark Weber, Weber Marketing Group’s CEO, presented “Strategic Brand Positioning: A Game Changing Competitive Advantage” along with Juli Anne Callis, President and CEO of National Institute of Health Federal Credit Union.

“It was amazing to see how many credit union leaders are now moving from recession challenges and regulatory burdens, towards mobilizing their staff and organizations for positive growth,” said Weber. “They are now setting their brands apart from mega banks in relevant, meaningful ways. While ‘Bank Transfer Day’ was a fun event, credit unions wanting sustainable new member growth must focus on raising awareness and building a clear value proposition, passionate culture, and a brand image that appeals to the younger generation.”

Weber continued, “John Moore, formerly with Starbucks, put the challenge of building brands in great perspective when he said, ‘you face a growth paradox that the smaller you are, the bigger you must look – so that people trust your brand.’ And Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz often said, ‘get big, but stay small.’ I think that starts with marketing as much to your employees as your members. You must earn their loyalty first.”

Mark Weber and Randy Schultz, VP Marketing at Weber Marketing Group, also facilitated a summit meeting at the conference for credit unions with under $300 million in assets. Key topics discussed included:

• NCUA and new regulations in sight for 2012
• Enterprise Risk Management programs that can increase efficiency, profitability and financial performance
• How branches of the future will look and function for members
• Technology advancements for members and how to integrate them into internal processing systems
• The importance of credit union collaboration to maximize the recent momentum toward credit unions

To learn more about any of these topics, contact Randy Schultz at 206-826-0322.

Weber Marketing Group is seeking a passionate, self-motivated and relationship driven individual to join our Client Services team with a minimum of five years agency, or financial services marketing background or experience.

RESPONSIBILITY OVERVIEW

Account Management:

• Work as part of a larger Client Services team to understand client goals/objectives and challenges, translating those into marketing strategies with clearly defined sets of marketing actions and tactics
• Manage multiple projects simultaneously on a day-to-day basis; schedule and prioritize projects within strict deadlines including branding, campaigns, media plans, segmented direct mail, web projects, and social media
• Strong marketing consulting and project management skills and the ability to oversee all aspects of project planning, budget management and partner coordination
• Build relationships with new clients, plus maintain and grow long-term existing client base
• Educate and inform clients on industry trends, tools and agency services
• Serve as the liaison between client and agency (client day-to-day contact)
• Fiscally minded; comfortable with numbers

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities:

• Financial services marketing experience a HUGE plus
• Confident and skilled in making group presentations; presenting clearly and concisely to clients, vendors and agency teams
• Excellent written and copy editing skills – marketing strategies/plans, creative briefs, work orders, schedules, proposals
• Resourceful and investigative by nature
• Ability to engage and work well within teams
• Operates with a sense of urgency; ability to work fast and juggle many aspects of project planning and implementation

As part of the Weber Marketing Group team, you’ll enjoy working in Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood, only a short trolley ride to Lake Union, the heart of downtown, and Pike’s Place Market. Plus, our office is located inside one of the first Gold LEED buildings built in decades and represents our values as an agency.

Competitive salary and robust benefits package, including medical, dental, vision, 401-k, vacation and sick time.

Interested parties should send resume and salary requirements to: [email protected] (no phone calls please).

Nevada Federal Credit Union has changed their name to One Nevada Credit Union as of October 1, 2011. Weber Marketing Group worked with the $677 million credit union to develop their new name and transformational brand.

The NFCU leadership team spent several months with Weber Marketing Group conducting research with members and non-members, holding naming and branding workshops and strategy sessions as part of the transformation process.

“The Weber Marketing Group team was great to work with,” said One Nevada’s Senior Vice President of Marketing Greg Barnes. “The process of changing the name and brand of the credit union was extraordinarily complex because of our 61 year history and passionate long-time employees. We weren’t the easiest client to work for, but in the end they helped us come up with a fresh name and brand that we will build on for years to come.”

The word “One” in the new name symbolizes strength and unity. The credit union serves both northern and southernNevada, providing unified services to the population centers of “One” state. The word “Nevada” conveys the message that the credit union is all aboutNevada. They are Nevadans, serving Nevadans.

One Nevada Credit Union has 19 branches and close to 80,000 members. For more information visit www.OneNevada.org.

To learn how your organization can benefit from a new name and brand, contact Randy Schultz at 206-826-0322.

On October 1, 2011, Yakima Valley Credit Union and Catholic Credit Union, both located in Washington State, will officially merge to become Solarity Credit Union. Weber Marketing Group worked with both credit unions to develop the Solarity name and transformational brand.

“Bringing the two credit unions together from development to execution was an exciting, collaborative process,” said Weber Marketing Group’s Senior Account Manager Ruth Kapcia. “We spent a six month period guiding the executives and staff through several stages of the process, which included strategy, branding, and naming workshops, in order to better understand who they were and their vision for the future. Our goal was to help them tell the story of how great they are together with a focus on what was best for their members and community.”

The name “Solarity” represents the sun’s energy. It reflects the credit union’s commitment to engage their members in achieving their financial aspirations, enlighten them to endless possibilities, and empower them to live up to their potential and accomplish their goals.

“Weber Marketing Group led our renaming/branding team through an exciting process, pushing the team to think outside the box,” said Yakima Valley Credit Union’s VP of Organizational Development Debra Hickman. “We are excited to become Solarity Credit Union and engage, enlighten and empower our members to reach their financial goals.”

For more information on Solarity Credit Union, visit www.solaritycu.org (site goes live October 1).

To learn how your organization can benefit from a new name or brand transformation, contact Randy Schultz at 206-826-0322.

Nice-looking is no longer enough for financial institutions, according to a recent article in CU Management Magazine. Branches should be built on a solid brand that communicates a consistent message upon every visit.

Reporter Jamie McMahon interviewed Mark Weber, CEO of Weber Marketing Group, and Paul Seibert, CMC & VP Financial Services at EHS Design for an article on branch transformation in the August edition of the magazine. According to Weber, a strategic approach to branch design is more important than ever, as a 2011 JD Powers Study shows brand image and, by extension, brand image is the No. 1 factor in people’s selection of a banking provider.

“Today we’re really trying to understand how facilities can become a greater tool for changing behavior of members, for enhancing brand experiences, and for setting an organization apart in the midst of an industry that looks a lot alike from one branch to another,” states Weber.

Seibert believes a particularly well-executed rebranding will also improve the energy level of employees, leading to consistent, exceptional service. “Rebranding can reinvigorate an organization,” he says. “Also, if you’re looking to make branches more about relational development, for example, it can attract that type of employee well-suited for the environment.”

Click here to read the full article.

Click here to learn how Weber Marketing Group can help transform your branches.

Weber Marketing Group has noticed a rising trend of credit unions transforming their brands to capitalize on the current market conditions.

“We’re seeing a seismic shift in the industry’s attitude as it relates to name equity versus confusion of eligibility,” said Randy Schultz, Weber Marketing Group’s vice president of marketing.

The agency is currently in the process of renaming and rebranding eight separate credit unions across the country, including Nevada Federal Credit Union, Postal Federal Community Credit Union, Armour Kankakee Credit Union and the soon to be merged Yakima Valley and Catholic Credit Unions. Weber will soon announce the remaining four credit unions undergoing the same process.

“Credit unions continue to push through the current economic challenges and are now becoming trusted financial advisors to more members than ever before,” says Schultz. “As a result of the industry’s growth and increased presence in members’ minds, they are now seeking to transform their brands and change their names to establish stronger identities to better compete with larger financial institutions.”

Weber Marketing Group’s Mark Weber, CEO and Randy Schultz, VP Marketing will host a session on Strategic Brand Positioning at the CUES CEO/Executive Team Network in Las Vegas on November 7.

Session attendees will learn:

• How to understand the status of a brand.
• How to use a brand as the rallying cry of internal transformation to drive growth and build a unique value proposition.
• How staff and dollars invested to rebrand will pay off.
• How a brand can create a totally unique member experience across different locations and channels.

The CUES CEO/Executive Team Network will be at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, November 6-9, 2011. If you are a credit union CEO or Executive Team member and want to attend, or for more information, click here.

Weber Marketing Group is honored to receive the Marketing Association of Credit Unions (MAC) Agency of the Year Award for our work in 2010. The winner was announced at the 2011 MAC Conference in San Francisco last week.

We are thankful to our clients and partners who helped make 2010 a successful year.

Click here to view the video Randy Schultz, VP Marketing at Weber Marketing Group, presented at the MAC Conference. It highlights some of our best work in 2010.

Weber Marketing Group, a strategic branding and marketing agency focusing on the financial industry and emerging growth companies, has launched their facebook page. Discover the amazing story behind WMG’s connection and involvement to the world outside of the credit union industry. Come and join the fun!