5 Tips For Your Credit Union's Storyful Moment

You're Convinced. And you're ready to create your credit union's storyful moment and start making videos!

Now What?


5 TIPS FOR YOUR STORYFUL MOMENT 

If the secret to a good video is finding a storyful moment, then how the heck do you find that moment? Here are some tips to make that process a little easier.

TARGET AN AUDIENCE 

A video doesn’t have to go viral to be successful. Appeal to your audience specifically. If there is spillover appeal to the general public, that’s great, but it’s not a primary goal. Always ask yourself, “What would my audience find most interesting?”

CUT TO THE CHASE 

“For sale: Baby shoes. Never worn.” That’s a six-word short story by Ernest Hemingway and proof that you don’t need to pontificate to tell a big story. Keep your video focused on one moment in a larger story. Provide just enough context for it to make sense. Struggling with debt? Planning a wedding? Find that trigger and craft a moment out of it.

"REAL" IS RELATIVE

Don’t sit around with a camera waiting for a candid moment to happen. It’s less important to be literally accurate than to tell a story that your audience can recognize as a part of their own life, too. That’s the difference between “realism” and “authenticity."

THE RIGHT KIND OF RANDOM 

If you’re seeking laughs, you might be caught up in the recent “random” humor trend. It’s a sea captain nonchalantly fighting a giant octopus. A guy with a living beard interviewing for a job. Non sequitors still need to be relevant to your brand and story. The “man your man could smell like” appealed because he represented the brand’s masculinity, not just because the tickets are now diamonds.

THINK BEYOND TV 

When you produce a video, you can chop it up into 30 second segments for TV ads. You can keep longer versions for your website, use still images for print campaigns and in-branch collateral, and use audio for radio ads and on-hold messages. With text, visuals, and audio all working together, you get three times the branding assets for your marketing budget. Regardless of the format, make sure your storyful moment stays intact.

Did You See That Video?

DID YOU SEE THAT VIDEO? 


...with the kid after visiting the dentist…


...where the soldier comes home to his dog…


...where the deaf girl hears for the first time…


YOU GOTTA SEE IT!


We’ve all had that experience, where we want to share what we just saw with our friends. What spurs that urge? It’s a touch of reality. A dash of authenticity. The storyful moment captured.

WATCHING ON THE CLOCK 

65% of online video views were streamed between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, making this video primetime due to the faster Internet connections available at work, reported Nielsen Online. If this is your audience, make sure your video is safe-for-work. (You don’t want to get your viewer in trouble with the boss.) Also keep your video very short so your viewer gets the gist quickly.

PLAINLY PASSIONATE

According to crowd-funding website Kickstarter, projects with video pitches are 90% more successful than those without. The reason? “Audiences respond to passion, sincerity, and an ability to execute. They want to see that in your video.” Whether it’s pitching a project or delivering a promise for your brand, audiences know when you’re true to yourself. You don’t need a high-gloss production if the storyful moment feels authentic and real. In fact, many big-budget campaigns try to look a little more plain, just to feel more homemade.

Northwest Georgia: Ringing in the New Year with Results!

With around $55 million in assets and two branch locations, Northwest Georgia Credit Union proves that savvy marketing and results-driven campaigns don’t just belong to the big boys.  In early 2010, Third Degree teamed up with the credit union to work on its brand position. (Check out VP, Creative Director Tara Street’s blog post showing the creative elements.

Northwest Georgia engaged Third Degree to put together an “un-banking” brand story to separate the organization from local banking competitors in Rome, GA. The campaign began running in April with three main goals:

1. Reduce membership attrition;
2. Increase annual loan volume by 10%, and;
3. Increase the amount of member services utilized per household.

RESULTS WITH MEANING
The results? In 2010, Northwest Georgia saw a 1.6% increase in membership, a 56% increase in annual loan volume, and 1.6% increase in member services utilized by household. Mission(s) accomplished!
With the new brand up and running, Northwest Georgia and Third Degree then collaborated on a mid-year auto loan campaign. After great success with high-yield checking in recent years, the credit union needed to increase its lending (like many credit unions around the country).

MORE BANG FOR YOUR BUCK
Starting the third week in July and ending in November, this program saw some big results. Northwest Georgia exceeded its loan goal by a whopping 82%. Plus, the auto loan campaign had a residual effect of drawing attention to the credit union’s overall lending product portfolio which led to a 25% increase.
So, this small credit union is proving that, “If you can’t run with the big (err, I mean small) dogs you better stay on the porch!”