News and events

Weber Marketing completed a 3-branch merchandising project for Red Canoe Credit Union in late July. Red Canoe’s main branch, in Federal Way, WA, is 5,000 square feet, and the other two branches in Longview, WA, are roughly 1,200 square feet.

Weber Marketing’s merchandising team selected images of nature, including mountains, lakes and ferns, illustrating Red Canoe’s passionate and progressive brand with a distinctively Pacific Northwest feel. Nature photographs are arranged in a wide brand feature that stretches all the way behind the tellers, along with evocative words like “journey” and “discover.”

“It tells a story of the spirit and essence of the Pacific Northwest,” says Sarah Van Arsdale-Cook, Weber Marketing’s Senior Graphic Designer behind the concept. “It’s unique because Red Canoe doesn’t use cliché photos of smiley, happy people. You don’t feel like you’re in a typical financial institution. It’s very specific to the area.”

Weber Marketing also replaced ads with nature photos underneath clear panels in Red Canoe’s kiosks. “No detail was missed,” says Van Arsdale-Cook.

Canoe paddles, both real and graphical, adorn the credit union’s branches, playing up on Red Canoe’s theme. “The paddles now have an iconic tie to the credit union,” says Amy Davis, VP Marketing at Red Canoe. “People look at them and immediately think, ‘That’s Red Canoe.’”

The new branch merchandising also ties to Red Canoe’s roots and previous name, Weyerhaeuser Employees Credit Union. The new brand celebrates what Weyerhaeuser is about — the timber industry, the outdoors and the Pacific Northwest — and brings it inside Red Canoe’s branches.

Despite the initial reaction and debate about the new name, Red Canoe’s members and staff are now extremely excited about the look of their branches. Weber Marketing is slated to install merchandising in two more Red Canoe branches in early to mid 2008.

To rebrand your financial institution or branch experience, contact Randy Schultz at 206-826-0322.

An article in the July 2007 issue of Credit Union Management Magazine entitled “The Name Game” examines credit union name changes over the past few years. Reporter Bryan Ochalla poses the question: “Have members had it with credit union name changes?”

A quick glance at a few of Weber Marketing’s recent successful name changes suggests that it isn’t the case. Achieva Credit Union (formerly Pinellas County Teachers Credit Union), iQ Credit Union (formerly Clark County School Employees Credit Union), TruGrocer Credit Union (formerly Albertsons Employees Credit Union), and OnPoint Community Credit Union (formerly Portland Teachers Credit Union) are all Weber Marketing clients who smoothly transitioned to new names without controversy.

Ochalla’s article also asks readers the question: “How do companies like Weber Marketing come up with names like Optiva and Veristate and why do credit unions decide to go with them?”

“We try to pick names that don’t get anyone in legal trouble,” says Pilcher. “That can be quite a trick when most of the common words are taken. It’s like trying to find a good URL, especially when you’re in a sort of ubiquitous industry like financial services.”

The final decision on a name is always made by the client. Weber Marketing usually develops about 300 names for each client and shows them roughly 75 of those names throughout the course of the project. “We give the credit union choices,” says Pilcher, “and they can go the direction they want – safe and conservative or something a bit more creative and distinguished.”

Another feature article, “Winning Vendor Relationships a Two-Way Street,” in the July 2007 issue of Credit Union Business magazine discusses the multiple tools Weber Marketing uses to manage relationships with their credit union clients.

“Our clients can’t afford to fly out every time we need to talk,” says Pilcher, “So we’ve become exceptionally good at managing long-distance relationships.”

Usually, Weber Marketing will initiate relationships with new clients with in-person meetings to give everyone a chance to put faces to names. But because of the nature of the work, urgent face to face communication is rarely needed and the majority of the communication is handled via phone and e-mail.

“We’ve found that our relationships and communication styles work out really well for everyone,” Pilcher says. “There are a few times when an in-person meeting would be a little easier or more convenient, but in today’s digital age, it’s not really a significant problem.”

For more information, contact Randy Schultz or Jeffry Pilcher at (206) 340-6111.

Weber Marketing Group recently completed a branch merchandising project for Service 1st Federal Credit Union in Danville, Pennsylvania.

Weber Marketing designed, produced and installed retail graphics and brand displays in four of the credit union’s existing branches. The project also involved interior design consultation, updated wall colors and recommendations for exterior signage.

Click here to view photos from the project.

The four-branch rollout is part of a larger rebranding effort led by Weber Marketing, which included a new logo for the $200 million credit union. The unique look-and-feel is one of the most distinct and dynamic in central Pennsylvania.

To rebrand your branch experience, contact Randy Schultz at 206-826-0322.

Weber Marketing Group earned a record 33 awards in 2007 from the top three credit union industry organizations – Credit Union National Association (CUNA), Credit Union Executives Society (CUES) and the Marketing Association of Credit Unions (MAC). The awards honor the best marketing efforts in various media from credit unions around the country.

In all, Weber won awards for 14 different clients in 2007. Categories included image enhancement, logos, branch merchandising, point of sale, brands, outdoor advertising, plastics, annual reports, brochures, name changes, coordinated campaigns and radio.

Weber won seven awards in 2007 for its work on Arizona State Credit Union, which was also a MACQUEE finalist at the 2007 MAC Awards.

In recent years, Weber Marketing Group has been honored with 35 credit union industry awards for branch merchandising, 18 for logos, 18 for branding and 11 for radio advertising.

For its June issue of Credit Union Management magazine, CUES tapped Weber Marketing Group for industry insights on how employees can ‘live the brand.’

The article, “Reflecting the Brand,” stresses the role staff play in an organization’s branding efforts.

“Every interaction your staff has with a member is either building your brand or not,” says Jeffry Pilcher, Creative Director at Weber Marketing. “Many organizations invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in their brands only to have that investment undermined when employees don’t understand or live out the brand.”

The article teaches readers how to hire with brand in mind, and how to introduce and implement a new branding strategy.

There is also an in-depth case study on how Weber Marketing helped Navigant Credit Union successfully launch its new name and brand with staff.

Tim Draper, VP of Marketing for Navigant, said Weber’s ‘Branding Boot Camp’ was a good way to get staff’s involvement, participation and buy-in. “We wanted their input regarding what they can do to support our brand.” It also helped “immerse every employee in a short period of time in how we wanted to position ourselves in the market,” he added.

For more information, contact Jeffry Pilcher, Creative Director, at 206.340.6111.

Weber Marketing Group was involved in several events at the CUES Nexus Conference in Dallas on May 24-26, and honored with 12 awards:

• Kinecta Federal Credit Union, Point of Sale, First Place
• Plus4 Credit Union, Point of Sale, First Place
• Neighborhood Credit Union, Point of Sale, Second Place
• Arizona State Credit Union, Image Enhancement, Second Place
• Arizona State Credit Union, Card Design, Second Place
• American Eagle Federal Credit Union, Point of Sale, Second Place
• TruGrocer Federal Credit Union, Image Enhancement, Award of Merit
• TruGrocer Federal Credit Union, Logo, Award of Merit
• Los Angeles Firemen’s Credit Union, Logo, Award of Merit
• Visterra Credit Union, Logo, First Place
• Numerica Credit Union, Radio, First Place
• USA Federal Credit Union, Annual Report, Award of Merit

Mark Weber and Catharine Downes, AVP Marketing at North Shore Credit Union, spoke on Branded Retail Merchandising to an audience of over 80 people.

At the CUES Hallway, Mark and Randy Schultz, Weber’s VP Marketing, addressed retail merchandising, branding and the importance of video messaging.

Reflecting on the conference, Mark said, “There’s no doubt about it. 2007 is a tough year. The financial industry is fighting problems with subprime mortgages, sluggish member growth, a fickle economy and tighter budgets. That’s why branding and naming remain huge strategic issues on the top of everyone’s minds.”

“Many credit unions are looking at evolving their brands to meet the needs of Gen-Y in a Web 2.0 world,” he observed.

Later, Mark spoke again as part of an impromptu panel, including Trey Reeme of Open Source CU on youth marketing. Topics included: the financial knowledge of our youth, early life-stage triggers when kids need to have their own accounts and establish credit, and the self-sufficient responsibilities that come with checking accounts and credit.

For more information contact Randy Schultz at 206-826-0322.