Large banks, including Chase/Bank One, Wells Fargo and Bank of America, dominate the market for banking services in Central Texas, reflecting their ability to offer a range of banking services and convenience through multiple locations. To a limited extent, credit unions are able to effectively compete against banks in this expanding market because of state and federal banking deregulation, increased flexibility in membership criteria and expanded membership services.
United Heritage is one of the largest regional credit unions in Central Texas and faces intense competitive pressure from banks and large credit unions. In addition, credit unions from other areas have targeted Central Texas and are opening new branches throughout the region.
United Heritage’s overall brand, as communicated through its membership, marketing materials and Web site, had evolved over several years and had become fragmented and inconsistent. They selected Cartis Group to create a strong brand and help jumpstart its marketing program in this challenging and increasingly competitive environment.
Working with United Heritage’s CEO, Marketing Director and management team, Cartis Group developed a strategic and tactical marketing plan based on a substantial amount of primary and secondary research. The marketing plan included a comprehensive market and competitive analysis, target market segmentation analysis, strategic and tactical program recommendations and a methodology for measuring and tracking marketing performance metrics. As part of the planning initiative, the agency helped United Heritage define its strategic marketing objectives and reprioritize target market segments to reflect changing demographic trends within the region.
Using its BrandSmart methodology, Cartis Group enhanced and solidified United Heritage’s overall brand, including its positioning, messaging, marketing materials, Web site and identity system. The agency developed a new tagline—Be Smart. Bank Smart.—to level the playing field with banks and reinforce members’ decision to join United Heritage. This statement communicates a key message that credit unions are a smarter way of banking. This message, when conveyed across a number of dimensions, achieved several things for United Heritage:
The agency also recommended that United Heritage sell services to reflect “Life Events” instead of using an exclusively product-centric approach. Life Events brochures were created to connect with members based on their life stage. This customer-centric approach enables United Heritage to be positioned as a partner that offers financial solutions for their members’ lives.
Cartis Group completely redesigned the credit union’s Web site, www.uhcu.org. By communicating consistently with their members and making the Web site more navigable, United Heritage is able to identify with their tech savvy target market.
Cartis Group also made several operational suggestions that United Heritage implemented. These included free Web BillPay, which allows them to compete with area banks, and truly FREE Checking with no minimum balance or direct deposit prerequisite, which was unmatched by any other Austin-area credit union.
“The first week of the rebrand launch proved a great success. Many members and staff exclaimed at the new Web site and its amazing improvement in usability and features. We are very proud of the end result and the changes that have resulted from this rebrand,” noted Jenny Laudadio, Marketing Director for United Heritage.
