8 minutes
Things have decidedly changed—and will continue to change—for CU marketing teams. Still, agility, resourcefulness and the ability to bring the business units on board remain essential. So is generating enthusiasm and understanding among staff toward achieving organizational goals. An exceptional team is not a cookie-cutter solution or even about finding great talent, but finding the innovators who seek solutions outside the norm.
Operate Like an Ad Agency
Tara Graff, VP/marketing and business development for $1.8 billion/165,000-member Royal Credit Union, Eau Claire, Wis., believes in bringing as much marketing as possible in house.
When Graff joined the CU 18 months ago, it was outsourcing nearly everything. “We were paying lots of money for design and creative. But we also needed more flexibility and control to move forward on projects.” As a former ad agency professional, her vision was to develop a marketing team that functioned as an agency.
“No one knows your brand as well as you,” stresses Graff, a CUES member. “A freelancer or agency, used occasionally, can bring fresh ideas and shake things up, but for consistency of voice, the internal agency model works for us.” Today, many facets, from copywriting, graphic design and website management, to social media and data research, are handled internally.
Graff presented her case to her CEO in 2015, documenting that despite adding several full-time equivalents (growing from eight to eventually 11 employees) there would be cost savings as well as numerous intangible benefits. (View a list of Royal CU's marketing positions, along with their primary duties.)
“Hiring a full-time website coordinator required the most deliberate presentation,” she says. “I outlined the cost of our outside Web design services and maintenance compared to an internal position. I also emphasized the obvious benefits, like having the ability to quickly change direction, and the more subtle, like immediately fixing seemingly small things like typos that can damage your brand.”
While most CUs cannot justify a large staff, Graff recommends that every CU should at least have a strong internal analytics person. “Being able to know and predict your members’ buying behaviors at a high level is a necessity and a priority for us going forward.”
Graff adds that outsourcing can be appropriate for highly specialized functions, such as video production. “Most CUs can’t do expert video production in house, but for things like television, it is important to have polish. Short, fun and relevant videos can be crafted internally, but for others, professional development makes a difference.”
Making the Case for More Staff
“See who you can develop internally first; then assess the gaps,” says Graff. “Arm yourself with as much research as possible before you meet with your CEO. Show the savings or clear benefits of adding a person to your staff. Note the intangibles. These can sometimes be overlooked in the process but are important.”
However a CU chooses to structure its team, Graff imparts that the CEO will want to see how adding talent can improve performance, save money or increase profitability.
A Most Unusual Solution
Bo McDonald, CEO of CUES Supplier member Your Marketing Co., Greenville, S.C., encourages CUs across the country to think differently about their marketing. “CEOs are desiring a change in how their marketing is delivered and brand presented and leveraged,” he says.
When one client, $87.5 million/9,600-member Carolina Collegiate Federal Credit Union, Columbia, S.C., asked for help after the departure of its sole marketer, McDonald was happy to oblige. “I was brainstorming options with the CU’s COO/EVP, CUES member Helen Beam, who also oversees marketing. We wanted a better solution—one that would encourage collaboration between the CU and agency and avoid a disconnect between strategy and execution,” he reflects.
“I proposed that we (Your Marketing Co.) hire a full-time marketing person to work onsite at the CU," who would assist in developing and executing high-level strategy, manage internal communications, and serve as a liaison between the agency and CU.
Finding the Right Fit
Without question, the person would need to be mature enough to work away from the agency and have the temperament to float between two very different cultures. They would also need to be assertive in asking the right questions of the CU’s staff while congenial in building rapport and support for marketing initiatives.
The employee selected by both Beam and Your Marketing Co. is now fully integrated into both working environments, resulting in a clearer marketing direction and more robust implementation.
Like any CU employee, the marketer has full access to the CU’s core system and is similarly integrated into the systems at Your Marketing Co. Every other Friday afternoon, for example, she visits the agency (about 90 miles away) and connects by video conference on the others. “Just as any of our staff, she attends project management meetings and works with the project manager to ensure plans are running smoothly,” says McDonald.
Regarding compensation, part of what the CU would normally pay in a retainer goes toward the employee’s salary, while the employee, whose time is 100 percent dedicated to Carolina Collegiate FCU, is paid directly by Your Marketing Co.
“The initial sharing idea sounded good, but I had some hesitancy as this was new territory,” says Beam. “I quickly decided we should dive in and try it. It’s proven to be a great decision, and I would recommend it. The results in a short period have been impressive.”
The initiative has been so successful that McDonald says he’s working on a similar plan with another CU.
For Arrowhead CU, Lean Staffing is the Way to Go
Emily Friesen, SVP/strategic marketing for $1 billion/126,000-member Arrowhead Credit Union, San Bernardino, Calif., has a small but mighty marketing team and an extended staff of freelancers to get the job done.
“Internally, our team operates as brand experts and creative directors,” says Friesen. “They have the flexibility to engage a variety of freelancers, matching talents and selecting the right one for each project.”
Friesen believes the ideal freelancer brings a fresh perspective to the table and can tie that view into the existing brand. “Our favorite freelance-partners can take basic direction and run with it. Selecting the right person for each project helps to ensure no one gets burned out. And, if a freelancer gets creatively ‘stumped,’ we have others who can step in. It’s a model that’s allowed us to be very efficient.”
Freelancers have interconnecting roles:
- Major creative concepts—About 80 percent of a promotion is developed by the CU’s ad agency; the CU then brings approved concepts in house to version out for individual campaign components.
- Newsletter—It’s regularly outsourced with a trusted freelancer, with the CU providing direction, copy and coordinating production.
- Additional design—The CU completes “quick-need” projects in house, anything requiring more than an hour or two of work goes to a freelancer.
To find the right talent, Friesen recommends networking with other marketing professionals. “Also ask vendors or a new hire if they have someone they recommend. Don’t be surprised, though, if colleagues keep their favorite freelancers close to the vest. We all value good talent.”
While Friesen loves her pool of freelancers, there are priorities she’d never consider outsourcing. These include strategy development and project management.
She also says not to underestimate the value of hiring an internal marketing coordinator. “Whether it’s organizing projects, keeping the branches properly stocked or obtaining quotes, the right person keeps everything running smoothly.”
A small staff is conducive to team development. “Whenever possible, hire from within," she says. “We found one team member by offering an ‘in-house’ internship—an employee from the call center was interested and started working with us three days a week. It allowed us to test the position, review tasks performed, and prove the organizational benefit of expanding the marketing team.”
Execution is the Priority
Jim Pond, partner in James & Matthew, a digital advertising agency specializing in CUs and based in Boston, has worked amidst a range of marketing team hierarchies and believes there is no “right” structure for successful execution. “Having a group of open-minded individuals that parallels the marketing world and functions as an ad agency is most efficient,” he says.
Preferably, a CU should have a high-level marketing strategist driving the plan as well as a generalist who can execute. As a CU grows, it can add specialists for such functions as PR and sales. The entire team, both internal and external, should understand the analytics as well as the demands and needs of the audience.
“There has to be a strategic vision,” stresses Pond. “The strategist must be able to translate the financial goals of the organization into appropriate marketing actions while the generalist implements them.”
Keeping up with ever-changing technology is also important. “The exceptional marketing team has to learn and absorb exponentially curved technologies, and be skilled in a variety of mediums, including design, social spaces and platforms, and have the ability to use copy and design in every medium,” says Pond.
“Finally, everyone on the team must realize how the analytics impact decisions,” Pond adds. Business intelligence is vital; without it, a CU can’t invest now or into the future.
“What it boils down to is understanding where you’re good and exploiting that fact, and vice versa,” concludes Matt Maguy, another James & Matthew partner. “And don’t be afraid to step outside the box when forming your team. How your team interacts with one another is more important than ‘who’ is on the team. Great ideas can come from anyone, anywhere. The key is creating an environment where collaboration and creativity are allowed to happen, and then executing.”
Stephanie Schwenn Sebring established and managed the marketing departments for three CUs and served in mentorship roles before launching her business. As owner of Fab Prose & Professional Writing, she assists CUs, industry suppliers, and any company wanting great content and a clear brand voice. Follow her on Twitter @fabprose.
