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Information Central Resources 2005 Brand Research Post-Advertising Survey

Michigan Brand Campaign Research

When the Cooperative Advertising effort was developed in 2004, MCUL's Cooperative Advertising Forum established research as the initial and ongoing focus in order to conduct a meaningful, measurable program. The intent was and is to demonstrate to League members that a Cooperative Advertising movement is effective and necessary as a means to maintain and expand the credit union industry in Michigan. Research surveys continue after each annual campaign to monitor progress in consumer awareness of credit unions.

Getting Started

In late 2004, the Cooperative Advertising Forum commissioned its advertising partner, BERLINE, to conduct a Pre-Awareness Attitudinal Survey. Forum members were interested in gathering data on how consumers felt about four variables:

1. Awareness of the differences between credit unions and other financial services institutions
2. The idea that credit unions provide superior service as compared to competitors
3. The message that anyone can join
4. The steps to take to find a credit union near you

The Pre-Campaign Survey in 2004 established objectives that we still use today:

1. Benchmarks upon which to improve and measure yearly Brand Campaigns
2. The foundation upon which to develop the Brand Campaign’s Creative strategy—television and radio commercials and collateral materials.

Survey facilitators randomly qualified 1,400 respondents across the state for the first survey. Roughly half of the 1,400 surveyed identified themselves as primary bank customers, and the balance as primary credit union members. For each household, survey facilitators conducted the interview with an adult who was the primary decision-maker or equally involved in the household financial decisions. The number of respondents varies from campaign to campaign in order to limit costs, but the procedures remain the same. Consumers in each of the state’s seven DMAs are included in each survey. The DMAs are:

1. Alpena
2. Detroit
3. Flint/Saginaw
4. Grand Rapids
5. Lansing
6. Traverse City
7. Upper Peninsula

The 2004 Pre-Campaign Survey found that:

1. Good customer service, good rates and low fees are not enough to expand the credit union industry's market share.
2. Consumers choose credit unions when they recognize the significant advantages that credit unions give over banks.
3. Banks have historically dominated the financial services realm because of their huge marketing budgets—not because they offer better products or better service.
4. Beyond convenience, banks pale in comparison to credit unions.
5. If credit unions are to increase their market share, it will be at the expense of our largest competitor, banks.

Post-Campaign Surveys

Plans call for the Cooperative Advertising Forum to commission attitudinal surveys among Michigan consumers after each annual Brand Campaign. Post-Campaign Surveys have been conducted in late 2005 (after 2005 Campaign) and early 2007 (after 2006 Campaign) to measure the effects of the advertising spots on the awareness and understanding of consumers. The Post-Campaign Research results indicate that meaningful gains have been made in accomplishing these objectives, including:

• AWARENESS OF CREDIT UNIONS. Unaided awareness of credit unions jumped from 18 percent in 2004 to 26 percent after the 2006 campaign. This is an important indicator because it means that consumers are remembering credit union advertising specifically, without be prompted by our research facilitators.
• AWARENESS OF OUR DIFFERENTIATION. Credit unions rank higher than banks in four top attributes for choosing financial institutions, such as superior customer service, better rates, lower fees and treating customers with respect
• REINFORCE SERVICE. Credit unions maintain high marks regarding superior customer service.
• REINFORCE ANYONE CAN JOIN. 39 percent of Michigan consumers understand that anyone can join a credit union, up from 29 percent in 2004.
• FIND A CREDIT UNION NEAR YOU. The TV and radio spots tell viewers to visit our call-to-action Web site, www.lovemycreditunion.org, to learn more about credit unions. Results from 2007 show that the site gets significantly more visits in months when our spots are running on radio and TV.

Implications

• Overall the research indicates that the Cooperative Advertising effort is effective and meeting its defined objectives.
• There are important indicators that maintaining awareness levels for a statewide campaign requires a significant spend (in the $2 million range) and that media needs to run in condensed timeframes
  • The shift in overall advertising awareness is most likely due to the $900k reduction in media spending in 2006
  • Additionally, the 2006 $1 million media flight was spread out over five months vs. the 2005 $2 million media flight which was condensed into 3 months
  • The gains in unaided awareness are certainly attributable to the 2 year cooperative advertising program
• While credit unions performed well on important attributes, we need to ensure that messages are aligned with most important attributes, which are addressed in the collateral materials
• More emphasis on “best service” will be important as the banks are very focused right now on improving customer experience
• Like any effective program, successful branding and maintaining awareness requires strong, sustained support. To accomplish this, credit union leaders must begin to recognize Cooperative Advertising investments as voluntary dues assessments, rather than as marketing expenditures.

For more information

Visit the Michigan Credit Union’s League Web site. The Home Page has a menu option on the left margin for Cooperative Advertising. Or, if you prefer, contact Maureen Lafrinere, Marketing Associate, at mml@mcul.org or 800.262.6285, ext. 242.