Ahead of their time: ‘Redbrand Credit Union’
In 1889, Peter Sommer invented a machine that wove steel wire fence to replace traditional wooden timber fences, making life easier for millions of American farmers. His invention spawned a midwestern steel giant, Keystone Steel & Wire Company.
Around 1925, Keystone introduced its first “Red Brand” fence. In a display of modern marketing savvy, a Keystone employee dipped the tops of Keystone wire and fence posts in red paint, making the new Red Brand products instantly recognizable on farms all over America. Today, Keystone still tops off these products with a coat of red paint – even the barbs on coils of barbed-wire.
In the fall of 1951, two Keystone employees learned about a credit union for Corn Products in Pekin. They concluded that having a credit union for Keystone employees would be a great idea. Dan Sommer, then president of Keystone, the credit union’s original sponsor, agreed. Sommer suggested the name of Redbrand, after Keystone’s fence, but spelled it as one word instead of two.
Bottom Line: This credit union will never need to change names. Over 50 years ago, it picked a progressive name (even by today’s standards) that makes an engaging connection to the credit union’s history and heritage.
Had the credit union gone with the obvious, ‘Keystone Credit Union,’ their name would have looked like a lot of other financial institutions – including Keystone Credit Union, Keystone Federal Credit Union, Central Keystone Federal Credit Union, Keystone United Methodist FCU, Keystone Community Bank, First Keystone Bank, Bank of Keystone, Keystone National Bank & Trust, and Keystone Savings Bank. And don’t forget megabank Key Bank.
Tip of the hat to you Mr. Sommer, for your creativity and courage.
This article © 2012 by The Financial Brand and may not be reproduced.
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How have I missed out on this blog until now? These are the kinds of topics and discussions I love to have.
I also applaud Mr. Sommer for his selection of a unique name, but I’m surprised they’ve never had trouble with the name, since it is a brand under Keystone Steel & Wire Company. Is it because it’s not presented in the exact same manner (Redbrand instead of Red Brand)?
Keep up the good work over here.
Hi Mike. Thanks for the comment.
Don’t worry. The blog only launched publicly last week. All the articles posted prior to that (over 100 of them) won’t have comments because no one’s read them yet.
Not every company is uptight about its credit union sharing one of its registered trademarks. In this situation, I suppose it’s because the brand name is for a product vs. a company name.
I don’t have any evidence of this, but my suspicion is that publicly traded companies got legal advice that it was risky business having another entity — one they can’t control — with the same brand name. “What if the credit union _________ ? It could affect the share price.”
There isn’t that same degree of risk to the brand when the name shared is one of the sponsor’s products.
Glad you like the site. Shoot me an email if you ever have something on your mind you’d like me to cover.
Thinking about it… as a marketer, the name makes me want to be a member.
For those who understand the history it has that warm and fuzzy feeling. For the average joe, the name sounds strong and aggressive but stable and permanent.
And most importantly, it is no ambiguous. It’s not fluffy and anonymous. It means something for those on the inside and on the outside. I dont know if I care for the star though, but thats just me. But that just means that they can change the logo (to get rid of the star) and keep the name. Thats how you know it is a strong brand.
Another nice catch.
Thanks Tony. I agree that the logo could offer a little more. But there’s enough rich subject matter to work with that when the times comes for a redesign, I expect they’ll end up with a real strong winner.