Illustration for Marketing Maven Column at Enterprise Magazine

For Coast Capital Savings Credit Union, big bucks spawned big achievements and big awards in 2005

"With a marketing budget of $5.5 million last year, the big media buys meant Ferguson had to forego Coast Capital Savings annual RRSP marketing campaign. Still, the TV spots helped brand awareness jump to 89 percent in 2005 from 63 percent in 2003... The combination of a new brand, innovative products, a good agency and coordinated marketing campaigns all contributed to a grand statement that grew net membership by 340 percent last year, and captured the attention and accolades of Canadian marketers.

Even with a smaller budget, if you have something to talk about, I think you can have a breakthrough,” says Ferguson. “Credit unions were supposed to be about a point of difference. There’s a real opportunity to be different, but it takes a bit of risk. Just because your budgets are small or you’re only in one region, that doesn’t mean you can’t compete.”

by Diane Luckow