One of the things that always impresses me when I speak at credit union conventions and conferences is the pride that the audience members have in their credit unions.
It’ s not surprising, it’s completely appropriate, and it is often expressed by their wearing of their credit union’s logo on their shirt.
But there are a couple of things that are ironic about this behavior…those who attend these events aren’t likely to be in a position to help other credit unions grow, and those who attend these events already believe in and support the credit union movement.
My point here is not to suggest that your credit union shouldn’t show your logo shirts at such industry events, but rather to encourage you to consider the real power of these shirts,
and to encourage you to create a plan for showing the shirts in ways that will lead to stronger member relationships, broader brand awareness, and increased visibility that supports the growth of your credit union.
ACTION ADVICE: Create a Show Your Shirt campaign that will increase the visibility of your credit union in your market among those who are going to help it grow in the future.
Here are 13 ideas to help you get started…feel free to share your best ideas in the comments section:
- Give new members shirts with your credit union logo when they open a certain bundle of accounts
- Give shirts away at your website via periodic drawings or to the Xth visitor each week or month
- Create special event shirts for employees and members to wear when participating in community events
- Give members a logo-shirt when they pay-off a loan
- Give members a logo-shirt when they refer a new member who opens more than one account
- Align different employees with the civic and service clubs in your local market and have them wear the shirt when they attend the meetings of these groups (and give them time off work to attend these events)
- Hold a shirt design contest for your members to create an annual theme shirt that you sell to raise money for a charitable cause
- Invite your members to submit photos or videos of themselves wearing your shirt in different locations, then feature the photos on your website or blog
- Donate shirts to local charity events for giveaways
- Make one day of the week ‘Shirt-Day’ and have all of your employees wear their favorite CU shirt on that particular day (assuming you don’t already have everyone wearing logo shirts every day)
- Sell logo shirts (or give them away) at your annual meeting
- Create a kid’s shirt and give it away to kids who join your credit union
- Offer a free shirt in exchange for sharing member feedback via in-branch or on-line surveys, or perhaps for taking the time to write a letter to share a compliment or a complaint that will help you grow
Surprised I just found this post. Love the ideas and we believe that credit unions can turn their members into walking and talking billboards with shirts. That’s what we are trying to do at http://www.cuswag.com. For us it’s about providing a t-shirt that looks good and feels good. Too many times CUs give away shirts that are just bad quality (cheap). No one is going to wear a cheap shirt and will most likely be chopped into rags for a car wash. To take the idea further, credit unions could charge for shirts as studies show people are more likely to wear a shirt they pay for than one they are given.
Thanks for sharing your insights Nida…I agree with what you are saying. Sometimes it does more harm than good to give away cheaper stuff that people will really never wear, and committed members who believe in the credit union would be willing to pay for nice shirts that help them show their support.
You could also use the concept to engage younger members by having a design contest for the shirt of the month or for special events, etc. The winning design is then sold or given to participants in the event!