C1 Bank is offering a free Mercedes-Benz to customers depositing $1 million into a unique five year CD the bank is promoting. Qualifying customers will receive their brand new Mercedes-Benz as pre-paid interest.

Customers can choose from the SLK350 Roadster (shown above), E350 Sedan, ML350 SUV and E350 Convertible. Each model has a base sticker price around $55,000.

The unique CD offers a 1.20% APY, yielding pre-calculated interest that would amount to a $61,294 advance payment. C1 Bank is only allowing the prepaid interest to be used towards a purchase of a new Mercedes with an MSRP of $59,585. They are throwing in all the taxes and license fees (worth nearly $5K), and knocking $3K off the package, so it basically works out.

The Fine Print:

• Offer valid through July 31, 2012.
• Only applicable for new funds.
• Consumer deposits only.
• Florida residents only.
• Offer is limited to two Mercedes vehicles per household.
• In the event of early withdrawal, C1 Bank will deduct $61,294.04 and a $3,000 penalty from the $1 million principal.

It’s a pretty deft deal, all the way around. The dealer can move expensive cars with wholesale volume, so they can afford to give the bank discounts. Because of the dealer discount, the bank can afford to offer customers an effective APY greater than what they normally could (perhaps the difference between 0.75% and 1.20%). Right now, C1 has nearly everyone beat by at least 0.15% APY on a 5-year CD. And the CD customer benefits by receiving all their higher interest rate paid up front — a free car — instead of having to earn it slowly over time.

Key Questions: Why does C1 Bank want deposits? What will they do if they get 20 takers… and $20 million in deposits? Are they investing in T-bills? Do they need money to lend?

It’s a radical concept; probably not the first in the financial industry, but it turns the CD value proposition on its head. It’s like loaning someone $1 million dollars, except instead of the guy paying you back with interest five years from now, he’s giving you his brand new Benz up front today. It raises interesting questions about the time-value of money, interest rates vs. inflation rates, and the depreciating value of physical assets such as cars.

Of the CD promotion, C1 Bank CEO Trevor Burgess says it is “thrilling to change the game with the instant gratification.”

He sure hit a nerve there. That’s what makes this CD product so revolutionary: the concept of instant gratification. No one likes waiting for their money to accrue interest. It’s boring and “responsible,” so no one likes doing it.

The instant gratification CD is a good idea for financial marketers to tuck away. Save it for when your bank or credit union needs deposits, because that day will come again (as unlikely as that may seem sitting here in 2012). This could be a particularly deadly approach to take with the next generation of CD investors — Gen-Y, also known as Gen Now.

Just remember: The pricing on this kind of CD doesn’t wash out if you offer people prepaid interest in the form of cash. It only works out when you are able to offer a commodity or service you obtain at a wholesale discount. To make the offer as appealing as possible, using highly desirable items (e.g., luxury goods and destinations) is a smart strategy. Entice consumers with something they desperately crave and would value/covet, but would not usually buy for themselves.

The Icing on the Cake

What makes C1′s Mercedes giveaway extra savvy is that is was timed to perfectly coincide with a name change. They previously bore the rather bland and undifferentiated “Community Bank” as their moniker, switching to the much more unique alphanumeric C1 effective May 1, 2012.

While news outlets would barely give notice to a bank changing names (it happens all the time, right?), the media will descend on a story about a free Mercedes with mad furor. The bank could have pumped out one press release after another… one customer letter after another… and still they wouldn’t have yielded a fraction of the communications value that their cleverly crafted CD promo will yield.

It’s brilliant. In fact, any bank or credit union that needs to draw attention to itself should consider using a similar promotional gimmick. Many announcements from financial institutions can be excruciatingly dull, but you can really spice up a PR story with a giveaway (preferably tied to a product promotion) dangling some blingy pizzazz.

As part of the new direction for the brand, C1 will be using the slogan “Customers 1st. Community 1st.” The tagline pays homage to the bank’s old “Community” name and focus, while also providing context for the “C” and “1″ in the new name. It’s another smooth move on the bank’s part — honoring the old while explaining the new — but it begs a question: Where do shareholders fit in? Aren’t they also 1st? (Maybe C1 is privately held, so it doesn’t matter?)

C1 Bank is a local, independent bank serving 18 locations in Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee, Charlotte and Pasco counties in Florida.

Earlier this year, the bank announced net income of $1.0 million in the first quarter of 2012, its eighth consecutive quarterly profit.   Deposits grew organically by $94 million in the quarter from $558 million at year-end 2011 to $652 million at March 30, 2012.

This article © 2012 by The Financial Brand and may not be reproduced.

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Find out how lawyers, lobbyists and the Iowa state legislature became embroiled in a saga involving accusations of coercion, fraud and vote tampering.

Wait, Credit Unions Can’t Buy Banks… Can They?

Before 2003, no credit union in the United States had ever bought a bank. But the University of Iowa Community Credit Union (UICCU) was hoping to be the first when it announced plans to buy Hawkeye State Bank on January 23 of that year.

UICCU, a $300 million institution at the time, had recently entered the commercial lending market, and it saw its acquisition of Hawkeye State Bank as an excellent way to expand the effort. Jeff Disterhoft, President and CEO of UICCU, told The Credit Union Journal that he was attracted to the bank specifically because of its commercial services.

Disterhoft planned to merge all of Hawkeye State Bank into UICCU’s operations, including $97 million in deposits. That would have required converting all of the bank’s customers into new members of the credit union. And most importantly, the acquisition would have nearly doubled the credit union’s business loan portfolio — $12.7 million in commercial loans from Hawkeye on top of the $13.6 million in business loans at the credit union.

UICCU had initiated discussions with Hawkeye after the bank’s board fired its CEO, Ray Glass, in late 2002 for embezzling millions of dollars from the $162 million institution. The troubled Hawkeye State Bank had been approached by a number of suitor banks, but the credit union apparently offered the best deal.

The deal was far from straightforward though. In fact, it was highly controversial and needed approval from multiple governmental agencies to go through. You see, UICCU’s acquisition of Hawkeye would have automatically converted a tax-paying bank into an untaxed credit union. Also as a result of the acquisition, the bank would no longer need to pay Iowa’s franchise tax on banks. Bankers felt this was a gross injustice.

Bankers Go Berserk

UICCU’s plans to acquire a bank angered the Iowa Bankers Association something fierce. The IBA, which represents over 95% of Iowa’s 400 banks, has long complained about the unequal tax treatment of banks and credit unions. For nearly two decades, the IBA has fought viciously to have credit unions taxed just like banks because (they claim) credit unions nowadays are effectively the same as banks.

In 2002, the year prior to UICCU’s attempted takeover of Hawkeye, banks paid the state of Iowa over $29 million in taxes. Credit unions, on the other hand, paid basically nothing.

The tax dispute between banks and credit unions in the U.S. is nothing new, nor unique to Iowa. The battle has become so nasty over the years that it’s turned into the financial industry’s equivalent of sectarian violence.

But the UICCU/Hawkeye deal had finally pushed the IBA over the edge. In their view, UICCU was trying turn a member of their own tax-paying flock into an untaxed credit union.

Bankers Say, “There Oughta Be a Law!”

The first thing the IBA tried to do was get Iowa lawmakers to tax UICCU’s purchase of Hawkeye. John Sorensen, president of the Iowa Bankers Association, said that if a credit union can afford to buy a bank, it should pay taxes the same way banks do.

Then the IBA upped the stakes. At its annual management conference, the IBA announced it was initiating a major offensive against the tax-free status of the state’s six or seven biggest credit unions, one of which included UICCU. Soon thereafter, the IBA convinced Iowa’s Republican lawmakers to sponsor a bill.

Sharon Presnall, IBA’s senior vice president for government relations, described the bill as “very narrow,” affecting “only the very largest credit unions.” She also noted that the issue appeared to be “gaining traction” because of UICCU’s planned bank purchase.

“It’s the dumbest political thing I’ve ever seen for a credit union to buy a bank while the legislature is in session.”
– Chuck Gipp (R)

Roth & Company, a certified public accounting firm in Iowa, agreed. In one of the firm’s client bulletins, it noted that Iowa banks’ push for a tax on credit unions “got nowhere until the University of Iowa Community Credit Union attempted to buy Hawkeye State Bank.“

Iowa House Majority Leader Chuck Gipp (R) dialed the language up a notch, characterizing the credit union’s attempt to buy a bank as just about the dumbest thing he’d ever seen.

Indeed, the very idea that credit unions could accumulate enough tax-free capital to buy a bank gave the IBA’s tax proposal the momentum it needed to advance out of committee in both houses of Iowa’s state legislature in February 2003.

Full Court Press

The bill advocated an equal 5% tax on those credit unions with assets exceeding $150 million, fewer than ten of the state’s 189 credit unions at the time. In total, the bill would have cost Iowa’s top six credit unions about $1.4 million in new taxes every year. The spirit of the bill was essentially to level the playing field by taxing credit union earnings so they couldn’t, among other things, “buy banks.”

UICCU could never have foreseen how hard the IBA was going to fight its planned bank acquisition. But the IBA leaped into battle with one of its most aggressive media campaigns ever. To support the bill, the IBA began airing one-minute commercials on 24 different radio stations, and sent 10,000 letters to Iowa legislators. The IBA also produced three successive postcards for its members who were asked to sign and forward them to their elected officials. The head of the IBA’s anti-credit union task force even held a rally for the cause at the state capitol where 400 bankers turned out.

Meanwhile, James Forney, superintendent of credit unions for Iowa’s Department of Commerce, was evaluating UICCU’s bid for Hawkeye State Bank. At first, he acknowledged that the deal was indeed possible, saying “there is a provision in Iowa law that allows credit unions to make an investment in banks.” But he surprised everyone by rejecting the deal even before the credit union ever submitted a formal application.

Forney’s main obstacle was the effect the acquisition would have on UICCU’s capital. Forney said UICCU proposed acquiring the bank in such a way that would have not permitted them to add the bank’s capital to their own, thus diluting the credit union’s capital to unacceptably risky levels.

Forney denied there was any political pressure to kill the UICCU/Hawkeye deal that had fueled the dispute. In any event, UICCU’s bid for the struggling bank was dead.

Credit Union Tax Bill Buried After UICCU’s Hawkeye Deal Killed

Forney’s decision was welcome relief for Iowa’s legislature, who weren’t keen to take on the issue of credit union taxation. Politicians have always been reluctant to tax credit unions because of their popularity with voters, and in the end, Iowa’s lawmakers proved to be no different.

By April 2003, the bill was dead, despite all the pressure from Iowa’s powerful banking lobby. The Republican-controlled Senate needed damage control. Backpedalling, they said they voluntarily abandoned the Republican-sponsored bill to tax credit unions because they were adverse to introducing any new taxes at that time.

Ultimately, the IBA admitted legislative support for its proposed bill waned after UICCU’s plans to buy Hawkeye State Bank fell through. Once the deal was off the table, so was the bill.

Nevertheless, the bill was a huge scare for Iowa’s credit unions, who were one vote away from being taxed. They had mounted a strong defense, bombarding legislators with 11,000 letters, 5,000 emails and a petition with 7,000 signatures in support of their cause. They held their own pro-credit union rally at the state’s capitol where more than 1,000 people attended.

It was an issue of such importance to credit unions that some observers speculated whether operatives from CU industry groups had applied pressure to either Iowa’s credit union division or UICCU to get the Hawkeye deal killed. Credit unions were facing intense legislative heat — fueled entirely by the UICCU/Hawkeye fire — and perhaps the other big credit unions targeted in the Iowa bill didn’t think they should have to pay for UICCU’s decision. Everyone was pointing fingers.

Regardless of how the politics played out, credit unions in Iowa no longer faced the threat of taxation, and could once again breathe easy.

Iowa Bankers Stew

UICCU never disclosed how much was offered for Hawkeye, even after the bank sold to West Bank in Des Moines for an estimated $35 million. Tom Bengston, a reporter with the Northwestern Financial Review, noted that the credit union must have had a lot of money lying around if it had millions and millions to buy a bank with.

“Regarding business lending by large credit unions, let me put this in perspective: We have to stop them now.”
– Jeff Plagge,
Iowa Bankers Assoc.

Stung but undaunted, the IBA wasn’t about to give up. In 2004, about a year after the UICCU/Hawkeye debacle, Jeff Plagge, IBA chairman said, “Regarding business lending by large credit unions, let me put this in perspective: We have to stop them now, or we will look back in a few years and wonder where all our commercial and business loans went.”

The IBA’s vice president of communications, Ben Hildebrandt echoed that sentiment. “We’ve been fighting for 10 years and we’ll be back.”

“It’s not over till it’s over,” John Sorenson, the IBA’s president, added ominously.

Bankers’ New Name for Revenge

Bankers remained bitter about their defeat. Commenting on the Iowa’s financial climate in the months following the credit union’s unsuccessful bank buyout, Tom Bengston observed that “the mistrust between the bankers and the credit union industry in Iowa was palpable.”

Ever persistent, bankers were determined to make UICCU pay for its shot at Hawkeye, and for encroaching on its historical turf — commercial lending. But how could they strike back? Perhaps there was some way they could exploit the millions of dollars they donated to the university? Besides, what did UICCU do for the school but provide financial services to staff, students and alumni? Many observers have speculated that it was this imbalance of leverage that enabled bankers to dragoon the university into taking some sort of action.

“Leadership at the university made it clear that they would feel more comfortable if the credit union and the university had their own separate brands and identities.”
– UICCU, 2006
in the Daily Iowan

The framework for the new battle plan was in place. Bankers could argue that it wasn’t fair competing for commercial loans with a credit union that brandished the University of Iowa’s good name. After all, wasn’t the state showing favoritism to an untaxed credit union by lending the University of Iowa brand as a defacto endorsement? What local businesses wouldn’t prefer to secure their banking relationships and commercial loans with a financial institution bearing their alma mater’s name?

The squeeze play must have paid off, because at some point between late 2004 and early 2005, conversations between the university and UICCU about a name change began.

Initially, there was some confusion about who initiated the dialogue. At first, the school said it was the credit union’s idea. UICCU confirmed that version of the story… for awhile. A few short months later, the credit union would be singing an entirely different tune.

Members Approve New ‘Optiva’ Name

In mid 2006, when UICCU first publicly announced a decision to change names had been reached, the official explanation raised more questions than it answered. In the Daily Iowan, UICCU said it “had dialogue with several individuals” from within the University of Iowa, and “leadership at the University made it clear that they would feel more comfortable if the credit union and the University had their own separate brands and identities.”

Wait… Did the university ask for a name change? Is that what UICCU was ever-so-gingerly implying? No one seemed to notice, or care.

On October 4, 2006, UICCU’s membership — unaware of any political pressure or backroom dealings — narrowly approved changing the credit union’s name to Optiva by a margin of 198-192.

The next day, the credit union dutifully began preparations for the transition to Optiva. They started ordering new signs, brochures, posters, staff apparel and other items to the tune of over $100,000.

In the middle of all this, the credit union’s contract with the university had come up for renewal. Fears over what might happen to the credit union’s on-campus branches and ATMs if the name change failed had undoubtedly compounded pressure on UICCU leaders to keep the university happy.

But the name change to Optiva had been successful — at least for the time being — and University of Iowa officials must have felt satisfied the conflict between bankers and the credit union had finally been put to rest. The university inked a fresh five-year contract with the credit union, along with a two-year option on top of that, and both parties were content to move on.

Unfortunately, it was too soon for celebrations.

Angry Dissenters Protest ‘Optiva’

In the fall of 2006, a handful of members unhappy with the new Optiva name started tossing about accusations of vote rigging and fraud, suggesting UICCU’s management had stuffed the ballots in favor of the name change. Their grievances eventually wove their way to James Forney, Iowa’s Superintendent of Credit Unions who just three years prior had quashed UICCU’s bid to buy a bank. This time, Forney was on the credit union’s side. He shot protestors down, certifying the vote and ruling that the credit union could carry out its plans to become “Optiva Credit Union.”

Optiva’s opponents, furious over Forney’s decision, circulated a petition to force a revote. According to the credit union’s bylaws, a petition would need signatures from 2% of the membership — or about about 900 of the credit union’s 45,000 members — to be successful. Optiva’s opponents wound up only mustering 157.

Despite being 743 signatures shy of the requirement, the petitioners submitted their request to UICCU on February 8, 2007. Everyone headed back to Forney’s office for another ruling. The credit union thought its case was a slam dunk, but the Superintendent of Credit Unions saw it differently. For some unknown reason, Forney ruled the petition was valid and compelled the credit union to revisit the issue.

Rather than challenge Forney’s decision in court, UICCU’s Board of Directors agreed to hold a second vote on the Optiva name.

Duck and Cover

Smelling the magnitude of controversy starting to brew, the University of Iowa distanced itself as far as it could from the credit union’s name change. In the Daily Iowan, Marcus Mills, the university’s General Counsel, said the university “in no way forced the name change.” Steve Parrott, the Director of Relations for the University of Iowa, said it was credit union officials who came to them about the name change, to which the University responded, “That’s fine. That’s your decision to make, not ours.”

When pressed on the issue, UICCU officials admitted the University of Iowa had expressed its preference that “the two organizations had separate identities.”

“The university is still interested in having us change our name. Someday, we’ll have to fry this fish.”
– UICCU, 2007

But the credit union’s hands were tied. It was a Catch 22. They couldn’t — or wouldn’t — publicly point fingers back at the university. So when members asked why a name change was necessary, all UICCU could talk about were the “opportunities for growth” made possible by eliminating “the confusion that only University of Iowa employees could join the credit union.”

On February 26, 2007, two days before second vote on the new name, the university sent a letter to UICCU telling the credit union that the university would likely insist the credit union drop “University of Iowa” from its name sometime in the near future if members rejected the Optiva name. The letter went on to say the university would have to take control of UICCU’s marketing and business banking services if members elected to retain “University of Iowa” in the name. The letter was signed by Marcus Mills, the University of Iowa’s General Counsel, who just days earlier denied the school had forced UICCU to change names.

Two days later, when the credit union held its second member vote on February 28, UICCU’s leadership read the university’s letter aloud to everyone who attended. But it was too little, too late. Members were not persuaded, and this time they voted the name down, 806-631.

Regarding the university’s letter, the credit union would later say it was “not a demand, but you will have to draw your own conclusions.”

Fallout and Aftermath

Hundreds of thousands of dollars down the toilet. Accusations made and reputations drug through the mud in the local press. Bankers surely rejoiced at their handiwork. Indeed, they probably had no idea that the plans they first hatched back in 2003 would lead to such a painful embarrassment for their victim. “Operation Optiva,” as you could call it, had exceeded bankers’ wildest expectations.

Within a month after rejecting Optiva in the second vote, an embittered faction of members took their frustrations out on UICCU’s board. Thinking that the credit union’s board must have lost its mind to approve a name change, the group moved to oust three directors specifically over the Optiva scandal. However, the attempt failed.

In the days and weeks that followed, stories began to trickle out linking the University of Iowa to the name change. At one point, the university insisted there were no future plans to force UICCU to come up with yet another name. But in an apparent contradiction, the university has also admitted it “may want to revisit” the issue of UICCU’s name, particularly in light of its market expansion into commercial services. University officials have remained cagey about the school’s role, but they swear any theories about coercion from alumni bankers are little more than “rumors.”

“If we go down this road again, we’ll take a different approach and make sure that all parties are on board with the initiative.”
— UICCU, 2007

So after being forced to blow a whopping $435,000 on its first attempted name change back in 2006, will UICCU be asked to repeat the process again?

“The university is still interested in having us change our name,” the credit union said back in 2007. “Someday, we’ll have to fry this fish.”

The credit union acknowledged the subject of rebranding was brought up by university officials again a couple of years ago but was not advanced.

“We find ourselves in some regards caught in the middle,” the credit union said, “between what may be the preferences of the university and what may be the preferences of the membership.”

“But if we go down this road again,” said a spokesperson with UICCU, “We’ll take a different approach and make sure that all parties are on board with the initiative.”

The five-year contract between UICCU and the university for on-campus banking services expired nearly five years to the day after members had first approved the name change to Optiva. But no sooner than the contract ran out, UICCU was booted off the University of Iowa campus — forget about that two-year option. And then who took UICCU’s place? Who will now provide banking services, branches and ATMs on the University of Iowa campus? Yep, you guessed it: a bank. They got a sweetheart deal worth about half the rent and royalties that UICCU gave the university.

As for the on-campus branches and ATMs UICCU lost to one of its competitors, the credit union said the new bank can have them. They weren’t really profitable anyway.

For all its trials and tribulations, the credit union may be getting the last laugh. In 2003, UICCU had $300 million in assets. At the time of the Optiva name change kerfuffle in late 2006 and 2007, the credit union had swelled to $575 million in assets. Five years later, they had grown to exceed $1.4 billion. And throughout all this, the credit union has consistently ranked among the highest in the industry for return-to-members. In the end, UICCU may have lost a battle (or two), but based on their performance, it sure seems like they’re winning the war.

[Editor's Note: This article is an opinion piece based on the observations of these events as they were conveyed in news articles and public records. Over 100 different sources were used, and a list with many of those references can be found here.]

This article © 2012 by The Financial Brand and may not be reproduced.

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Old Name: Postal Federal Community Credit Union
New Name: BluCurrent Credit Union

Founded in 1929 by postal workers, the credit union said it wanted to eliminate confusion about who could open an account with a more inclusive name that breaks down consumers’ perceived barriers to becoming a member. They also said they wanted a name that better reflected the credit union’s field of membership, which expanded in 1994 to encompass not just federal/postal employees but anyone who lives or works in a 10-county area. The credit union has obtained federal trademark protection, and will be using “Building Better Lives Together” as its slogan. For the development of the new name, the credit union worked with Weber Marketing Group.

No explanation was offered for the logo, which includes a series of four orange and four green panes receding in perspective back to an invisible horizon.

Analysis: Through the color blue, the new name makes an ever-so-subtle allusion to the credit union’s past serving exclusively postal employees. Its coined construction — intentionally misspelling “Blu” and capitalizing the “c” in “Current” — gives the name a progressive feeling, and makes it very easy to secure federal trademark protection.

Whenever you incorporate a color into a bank or credit union name, there will always be someone who questions your choice of hue. Pick red and someone will tell you its associated with financial losses. Even the seemingly safe blue can draw ridicule. “BluCurrent? Why not green?” wondered one member critical of his credit union’s new name. “At least the color green has some connotation with money.”

How Many ‘First National’ Banks Are Enough?

Old Name: First National Bank of Berryville
New Name: First National Bank of North Arkansas

Bank President Bill Hudspeth said that changing the name to include the north Arkansas region more properly depicts the financial institution’s emphasis. “For some time, we have served many communities other than Berryville,” he said.

Analysis: If the bank serves more than Berryville… but less than Arkansas, why do they overreach with such a grandiose name like “First National.” Even if they are the first national bank based in north Arkansas (unlikely), what’s going to happen the next time the bank expands its geographic reach? Are they going to be the First National Bank of Arkansas, South Missouri and Eastern Tennessee?

No one knows for sure how many “First National” banks there are in the world. (The Financial Brand has previously bemoaned the ubiquity of this name in the banking industry.) But one thing is for certain: there are wayyyy too many.

For all the emotional energy, internal time and capital required to complete a name change, making a rhetorical switch with a slight variation of “First National” hardly seems worth the bother.

Catalyst For Change

Old Name: Unicom Credit Union
New Name: Catalyst Mutual

Tess Shaw, Strategy Director at Principals, the agency behind the name change, said, “Audiences don’t really understand credit unions and mutual banking as a category. And the previous name and identity made it appear more like a local telecommunications provider.”

Analysis: Even in Australia, consumers struggle to understand what credit unions are, especially when these financial cooperatives have strange names tied so closely to specific employer groups. Credit unions around the world have wrestled with naming for at least the last two decades, with particular sensitivity to their surnames — should they still call themselves “credit unions,” or something else, like a “mutual” or “cooperative bank?”

Neither First Nor Second to Become ‘1st Advantage’

Old Name: First Federal Savings Bank
New Name: First Advantage Bank

The bank’s decision to change names coincides with a conversion from a federal- to state charter. Few other details are offered in the explanation, although they did say the name change is a reflection of their intention to be “the most innovative and progressive institution” in their area.

Analysis: While “First Advantage” may sound safe, it isn’t. The problem with this name is that there are already two other banks using it, one in Minnesota and another in Missouri. There is significant risk whenever you choose a name identical to any other financial institution already operating in the same country — not city or county, but country. This exposes the organization to legal challenges and weakens the brand from the get-go. Besides, the whole point of branding is differentiation.

Further complicating the problem are a couple of other firms that hold federal trademarks for the “First Advantage” specifically in the financial industry.

Bank Sues Credit Union Over Similar Name

Plaintiff: Intrust Bank
Defendant: Entrust Federal Credit Union

Intrust Bank with 45 branches in Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas, filed a trademark infringement suit against a small Richmond, Virginia credit union that serves mainly local churches and Christian-based groups.

In the suit, Intrust Bank claims that Entrust Financial Credit Union ($67 million in assets) markets itself as a nationwide financial institution, therefore it competes with Intrust.

The credit union was granted a federal trademark for the name “Entrust” in early 2011. Intrust wants the court to revoke Entrust’s USPTO trademark and block the credit union from using Entrust. They insist that any advertising and marketing materials be handed over for destruction.

Analysis: The credit union is probably going to lose. Trying to argue that you are way smaller than the plaintiff doesn’t matter in trademark suits. A small credit union with a website can be viewed by the courts as a national — even worldwide — competitor in the financial industry. Their rule of thumb is, “Would a reasonable consumer be confused?” Someone may try to Google “Intrust” (the bank) only to spell it wrong and end up with “Entrust” (the credit union). It is confusing, and it arguably isn’t fair. The courts have consistently protected the rights of trademark holders when there is an obvious case of phonetic confusion, which this clearly is. Intrust Bank has held a USPTO trademark on its name since at least 1993, which doesn’t bode well for the defendant.

Compounding problems for the credit union, there is another USPTO trademark for the term “Entrust Financial” by a Pennsylvania investment firm, granted in 2002. If they catch wind of this lawsuit, things could really messy for everyone.

From Hyde Park to Blue Hills

Old Name: Hyde Park Savings Bank
New Name: Blue Hills Bank

The bank says the switch is part of a series of steps the bank is making to transform itself from a sleepy 140-year-old institution with six branches to a growing bank with a broader line of offerings. The bank will be using the new slogan “Let’s Get Rolling” as part of its rebranding.

In addition to the name change, the bank revamped its management team, retooled its residential mortgage lending program, and expanded into commercial banking.

Analysis: The new name “Blue Hills” references a popular outdoor recreation area outside of Boston, near where the bank is based. It makes a nice geographical connection for existing customers, helping them continue viewing the bank as “theirs.” But the name isn’t geographically limiting. If the bank wanted to serve a wider area, beyond Boston or even Massachusetts, the Blue Hills name won’t be a problem.

Solid, Like a Rock

Old Name: Armour Kankakee Credit Union
New Name: Fieldstone Credit Union

In September 2011, this Illinois credit union officially changed its name to Fieldstone. The name is intended to reflect the 175 acres of stony farmland fields where Armour Laboratory built a facility. That lab — built on fields of stone — became the credit union’s sole sponsor and primary source of new members until 2004 when they obtained a community charter. This is the fourth name change for the credit union in its 58-year history. The new name and brand were developed by Weber Marketing Group. Fieldstone will be using the new slogan, “May paths. One destination.” The credit union has obtained federal trademark protection.

Analysis: Fieldstones are (duh) literally stones found in fields. They were commonly used as building materials by American settlers across New England and the Midwest to create fences, hearths and even complete homes. That helps the credit union’s Fieldstone name connote both strength, stability and sense of conservative traditionalism. This can be used to give the brand a feeling of durability and dependability.

The Theory of Evolution

Old Name: El Paso Employees Federal Credit Union
New Name: Evolve Federal Credit Union

The credit union said a name change was needed because the previous moniker created confusion as to who could join. They felt the old name restricted the credit union to just employees of El Paso city, when in actuality they serve everyone across the entire county.

Analysis: The new name implies the organization will constantly be evolving, growing and changing for the better, which could be a tough brand promise for this $300 million credit union to live up to.

There is also a potential trademark issue surrounding the Evolve name. There is a banking and investment firm in Tennessee with a federal trademark for “Evolve” and “Evolve Financial Group.”

What Was Wrong With Just Plain ‘Nevada?’

Old Name: Nevada Federal Credit Union
New Name: One Nevada Credit Union

Nevada FCU switched from a federal- to state charter, which required them to drop “Federal” from their name. The credit union must have reasoned that if they were going to the expense and hassle of changing signage, they may as well look at all the naming options. So the credit union’s leadership team spent several months working with Weber Marketing Group conducting member and non-member research, holding naming workshops and branding sessions.

Analysis: Why wasn’t “Nevada Credit Union” selected? Did it present a trademark risk? Unlikely, considering the credit union had operated with an almost identical name for decades. So does adding the word “One” to the name — a common and familiar financial naming term — contribute enough meaning and context to make the change worthwhile?

Talk to Nurse Carey at CarePoint

Old Name: Tenet FCU
New Name: CarePoint Federal Credit Union

The $44 million credit union elected to rebrand to reflect a more diverse field of membership and be viewed as more inclusive.

In addition to a new name and logo, the website has also been completely redesigned. The new website features “Nurse Carey,” a virtual spokesperson who serves as a guide, shares the benefits of credit union membership and answers members’ questions. On every page, Nurse Carey either offers helpful tips or educates visitors on CarePoint offerings.

Why Bother?

Old Name: Cape Cod Cooperative Bank
New Name: The Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod

The bank’s board of trustees started thinking about a name change a few years ago, so they undertook market research including customer interviews. They concede the new name represents only the slightest change, but they honestly believe the strategic significance is huge. “We are going to use the word cooperative to reconfirm how we do business,” said John Fulone, the bank’s CMO.

Analysis: If it’s going to cost a ton of money to affect a name change, then why bother with little more than a reshuffling of the old name? Is it really worth it? It’s possible that there was enthusiasm among some members of the bank’s board to change names, but others were opposed (or scared). To appease both camps — those in favor of a name change and those against — the new moniker feels like a weak compromise. A name change represents an opportunity to completely reinvent your brand. In this case, the bank did not embrace that opportunity. Instead, they made their name longer by adding two words (“the” and “of”) — opposite the strategy that most financial institutions adopt when renaming.

This article © 2012 by The Financial Brand and may not be reproduced.

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Back in August, Yakima Valley Credit Union and Catholic Credit Union got the green light on their merger. Now the two Washington-based credit unions  have agreed to jointly abandon their existing names in favor of a completely new brand: Solarity Credit Union.

“Solarity is a name that represents energy; the liveliness of our people and the vigor that we put into the communities that we serve,” says Mina Worthington, President/CEO of merged credit union.

According to a statement released by Solarity’s two parents, the name’s inspiration derives from “the energy of our people, the abundance of our land, and the opportunities that are all around us.”

“The name reflects our commitment to engage, enlighten and empower,” they continue to explain. “Three words that radiate through all that we do — and all that we are.”

The new catchphrase for the brand — “Engage. Enlighten. Empower.” — uses a common convention among sloganeers known as “the three-word tagline,” with a little alliteration thrown in for good measure. About the new tagline, Solarity says “we are committed to nurturing people’s dreams and engaging them in achieving their financial aspirations, enlightening them to limitless possibilities, and empowering them to reach life’s most important goals.”

A spokesperson with Yakima Valley Credit Union said that they have only heard from a handful of members concerned about the name change. According to the spokesperson, the overwhelming reaction among members has been neutral- to positive so far.

Both credit unions had limiting names prior to the merger. Solarity is open to residents across the state of Washington. Generally speaking, credit unions don’t like to hamper a broad community charter with a name that only speaks to Catholics and/or the residents of Yakima Valley. There’s no reason to retain such demographically and geographically restrictive names when you can serve a population of 6.6 million people. A name change was likely in store for either credit union (or both) even if their merger didn’t go through.

The decision to go with a new name is smart for these two credit unions. If they retained the name from one credit unions, members from the other would feel like they were taken over, resulting in some ill will against the brand right out of the gate. It’s better to start fresh, which is what Yakima Valley + Catholic chose to do. There’s no baggage. It’s a clean slate.

SOLARITY CREDIT UNION – BRAND VIDEO
A two-minute video used to explain the new name and brand to members.

(Script) Each new day, it’s an opportunity… to tap new energy …to grow …to expand our horizons and to reach our full potential. Today, we’re doing just that. Building on a long history of collaboration and partnership and teamwork, Yakima Valley Credit Union and Catholic Credit Union are joining forces to create an even stronger institution. Recognizing that we’re better together. We’re creating a single organization that will have the ability to empower an even greater community of members to realize what’s possible. To celebrate, we’ve created a new identity and a new name… one that is inspired by the best of both credit unions, positioning us for the future …a name that reflects our mission to enrich the lives of the people in the communities we serve. Yakima Valley Credit Union and Catholic Credit Union are becoming Solarity Credit Union. Solarity is a name that reflects our commitment to engage, enlighten and empower — three words that radiate through all that we do and all that we are. It’s about our ability to nurture people’s dreams and our desire to engage them in sharing their financial aspirations… enlighten them to limitless possibilities …and empower them to reach life’s most important goals. Together, we shine brighter, and illuminate a path for our members to thrive. We are Solarity Credit Union.

The new Solarity name isn’t a real word (it’s coined), although others have been using it. Presently there are over 400,000 search results for “solarity,” with top results including a popular band in the UK and a consulting company based in Kentucky.

Solarity Credit Union filed for a federal trademark with the USPTO on June 6, 2011. There are already two existing registered trademarks for “Solarity,” one owned by SPX a manufacturer of car diagnostic equipment, and another owned by a company making medical document solutions. There is a pending applications for Solarity photovoltaic cells. On the surface, it would appear that none of these companies will present any problems for the credit union in its pursuit of federal trademark protection.

The two credit unions introduced their new name to members in a letter sent September 9. The Solarity name and logo will be officially launched on October 1, when a new website and signage will be rolled out. More materials bearing the new brand will be introduced in the months that follow.

Yakima Valley Credit Union has more than $287 million in assets, five branches and 30,380 members. Catholic Credit Union has over $185 million in assets, three branches and 18,000 members. Together, they will have a total of $472 million in assets, eight branches and nearly 50,000 members.

Prior to the merger, Catholic ranked 885th out of 7,443 credit unions according to asset size, while Yakima Valley was 646th. The combined entity climbs to #400 on the list, and is in the top 5% when ranked by size of membership.

The two credit unions partnered with the financial branding and naming experts at Weber Marketing Group for the development of the new Solarity name. Weber Marketing has worked on over 40 credit union name changes, developing many of the industry’s more interesting — and controversial — choices, including Red Canoe, Copperfin, Optiva and Veristate.

This article © 2012 by The Financial Brand and may not be reproduced.

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Why change names?
In September 2008, at our annual Strategic Planning Day with our board of directors, one of the key items listed as a weakness in our SWOT analysis was “name confusion.” There are over 352 businesses in Burbank that have “Burbank” as the first word in their name, just like we did. 352! And, one of those businesses is another credit union, located just down the street from us. Being one of 352 businesses in our market with a name that starts with Burbank, left us with no real name distinction. In fact, it created a significant amount of confusion, some of which has had a negative impact on our business. In one instance, it was detrimental to our safety. We called 911 for an employee who needed immediate medical attention, and the Emergency Response Team went to the other Burbank credit union instead of coming here.

OLD NAME & LOGO

Not only that, we have always been a one-branch credit union. Yet for years, people have been telling us that they bank at “our other branch” (the other Burbank credit union’s branch). Potential employees have gone to “our other branch” for job interviews. And our vendors have reported to “our other branch” for meetings we’ve scheduled. For years, we have received paperwork from the Department of Motor Vehicles for loans to members we don’t have. For years, we have gotten mail addressed to department heads who have never been employed here.

Our old name, Burbank Community Federal Credit Union was a mouthful at 13 syllables. It worked well for us for a long time, and although it was long, it was functional. But, we wanted our name to be more than functional. We wanted it to better communicate who we really are, and most importantly, what we’re all about.

When did the credit union first started talking about a name change?
The idea of changing our name has been explored many times. In 2004, when the credit union changed its charter to become a community credit union, Interbrand was brought in to do the rebranding work. At that time, they strongly recommended a bold name change — taking “Burbank” out of the name. However, most of the management team and the board of directors were not comfortable doing so.

In the last four years, during strategic planning sessions, the name confusion issue has been brought up time and time again. Then, two years ago, the management team and Board made a decision to actually explore our options and added it to the Business Plan. Even at that time, not everyone was convinced that we needed to change our name. So, we proceeded with the idea that we would engage in the name change process, but, decide whether we officially change our name after the work was done.

Debate and uncertainty existed within our management team about a name change, but, one thing remained certain: without a name change, we would continue to struggle to communicate to our market and existing members. So, as
part of our 2009 Business Plan, one of our core items was to begin exploring a name change. The process would include research, name development and exploration, logo integration, impact assessment, and implementation.

How would you describe the process?
The process was very thorough and methodical. We wanted as much real information as we could get. Phase 1 began by getting an accurate and authentic sense of the credit union — who we think we are, how we are perceived, what we do well, where we can improve, and everything in between. This included confidential and in-depth interviews with employees across all departments, the entire leadership team, a group of board members, and a random selection of members, including a member who left the credit union. We also conducted a competitive review to find out what we are up against.

Phase 2 was all about using the information gathered in Phase 1 to actually create our brand. This included a Brand Workshop, where we determined our Brand Attributes (we came up with four of them, but they are confidential) and our Brand Positioning Statement.

Phase 3 took us into multiple rounds of names. We went through hundreds of names on multiple occasions, evaluating them against our Brand Attributes. We narrowed down our favorites each time, carrying them over to our next meeting, finally getting down to three. A look-and-feel was developed for each finalist. As we saw the names come alive, they took on a whole new meaning for us.

UMe, the little underdog name, cut through the clutter. It measured up to all four of our Brand Attributes, and won the entire team over unanimously.

What was the most difficult part?
In my opinion, the process was intense. It was an exercise in patience for me. Spending time “sitting with things” was a necessary part of this process, and one that I’m not accustomed to doing. I like to move on things, get things done with a sense of urgency. With naming, I learned that things need to soak in, be reflected upon, digested. It was through the “sitting with things” part that I truly fell in love with UMe. When I first saw it and heard it, I actually hated it. It sounded silly to me. In fact, I remember saying, out loud, something like: “If we go with that name, I am going to feel stupid marketing it. I won’t be able to work with that name.” At the end of the process, I was UMe’s biggest fan!

What’s the rationale behind the new UMe name?
UMe is pronounced: You-Me. The emphasis is on “you” because “you” (the member) are what matters to us most. You + Me = UMe.

UMe represents the relationship that makes our credit union special: the connection between “our members” and “us.” the connection between “you” and “me.” Sure, it’s an atypical word, but we’re an atypical financial institution, and that’s something we’re really proud of!

Were there any other names considered? Was there a second choice?
Nickel was actually the front-runner for most of this process. Many of us, including our CEO, felt like it was a solid choice, as the noun nickel is coin/money, which is the base element of our business. Furthermore, it’s the most solid, sturdy of the coins, which could be tied to the safety/security of our institution. And, the icing on the cake was that it’s look and feel is in line with the silver metal throughout our newly renovated building, making it seem like the building was designed with the Nickel name in mind.

The only negative connotation that arose was the “cheap” factor — that it’s “only a nickel/just five cents.” Although a simple rebuttal to that point was a relatively easy one: “every nickel counts.”

Our CEO was having lunch one day, near the end of this process, when he had an “ah-ha” moment. Yes, he realized, explaining Nickel could definitely be done; there’s the money correlation, the solidity of the coin that could symbolize the security of our institution, the visual ties to the elements used in our building… But it’s an explanation that takes work to explain. However, with UMe, it’s a simple explanation: it’s about us and our members. It doesn’t get easier than that.” So, when we really looked at who we are as a credit union, UMe took the lead.

Yes, money is the base element of our business, but it’s not the most important thing to us. It’s the relationship we have with our members that is at the core of who we are. It’s that same spirit that credit unions were founded upon: people, like you and me, coming together and pooling their money to provide loans to those in need. It made more sense to go with a name that embodied that spirit, that truly communicated who we are. And when people ask what the name means and how to say it will give us a platform for talking about who we are and what matters to us most. It was win/win all the way around. And, the best part of it all is that our name truly is authentic. It’s a great feeling to have a name that really reflects who we are. There’s no fluff, no bull. It’s just right. (Nerd alert!)

I went into this process loving Nickel — it was my baby, something that I loved the sound of and the visuals that could be created with it. I thought there was no way we would come up with anything better than that for our credit union. And yet in the end, I completely changed my mind. That was the biggest surprise of all.

Who was part of the name change process? How big was the team?

The naming team included:

• Anita McLendon / VP of Marketing
• Brian Hendricks / VP of Strategy
• Michelle French / Marketing Manager
• Robert Einstein / CEO & President
• Judy Sherman / VP of Sales and Service
• Two members of our board of directors

At certain points throughout the naming process, the naming team engaged the entire board for feedback, and then ultimately presented its recommendation to the entire Board for their final approval. The name change process really brought our team together, and we all came out of this process feeling like our team was
stronger than ever before.

What is the underlying strategy behind the brand?
Our brand strategy is to provide our members with an all-around WOW! banking experience. We define “WOW!” as the moment when you experience something unexpected. Whether it’s, “WOW! This is a beautiful building,” or “WOW! I can’t believe they’d do that for me.” Often, the biggest WOW!s come from the smallest
gestures – when someone remembers our name, when they go out of their way to help, when they see us as a person, not a number. WOW! is our opportunity to surprise and delight. It’s a way to have fun in our work, to challenge ourselves to think creatively. It doesn’t have to escalate to have impact. It’s as simple as anticipating a need: two minutes spent playing with a child so her mom can bank in peace, a caramel apple during the holidays. WOW! is our chance to think about what would make our member smile, to stand out from the crowd, to do something special.

How were staff involved with the name change?
We interviewed many of our employees, across all of our departments, along with board members and a random selection of 20 credit union members. Valuable feedback was provided and was used to develop our new brand.

We had a very slow and deliberate internal roll out, which allowed our employees time to become comfortable with the new name and brand, and to make them feel and be part of the process. We had several employee meetings where we discussed brand attributes, future marketing, overall credit union goals and strategies. These meetings helped all of us to get on the same page — united us as a team.

What’s the response been to the name? How have staff and members reacted?
After the slow roll out to our employees, we announced the upcoming change to our members — over a month before the public announcement — complete with an in depth FAQ, so they would not have any misconceptions about the change. We wanted to give our members time to absorb the upcoming change, time to adjust to the new name.

We communicated the change through a member letter, followed by a series of member notifications in our lobby, online, in our statements, etc. As we went live to our members, we were nervous. Even though we believed we had created the perfect name and brand for the credit union, we could not predict how people would respond. Luckily, the majority of our members responded with support. Many of them loved the new change. Our staff received accolades about the name and the look and feel of the brand. One member emailed the following: “Just wanted to tell you the website is gorgeous. That logo is delicious!”

While the overwhelming majority of our members supported the change, there were some who did not. We received negative feedback from a handful of members, and our management team was diligent about contacting each member who complained — personally — in order to address their concerns. We wanted to do everything we could to ensure that anyone who was displeased with the name change understood the reasoning behind it. In the end, the members who did not support the change, felt better about it after speaking with our management team. And, to date, all those who complained are still active members. One member did close his business account, however, his personal and joint accounts remain open and active.

Overall, we have been very excited and pleased with the response from our employees, members, and the community. We have a great staff, and we are grateful to them for their support, motivation and energy. Our employees truly embraced the new name. If any of them were apprehensive about the change, they never showed it.

What kind of support did you receive from your agency partners?
We felt that we were too close to the project and not clearly objective. So, we made the decision to interview branding agencies to help us. We felt that we needed an organization that had branding experience and who could provide us with professional direction. We interviewed a variety of agencies, within and outside the credit union industry, and eventually signed a contract with Murnane Communications in March 2010.

Murnane Communications worked with us to create our new brand, so we wanted them to help us launch it, to help us accurately communicate it to our membership and the community. So, in addition to developing the UMe
name, brand attributes and positioning statement, the Murnane team created the UMe support materials — business cards, letterhead, envelopes, etc, as well as our new brochure kit, and some initial launch advertising materials.

Subcat Marketing developed our new website and landing pages, which was an absolute overhaul. Not only were visual changes made, but the text/content was modified to reflect our new UMe voice. The Subcat team will continue our website work and maintenance/updates – and is, also, handling all of our other digital marketing efforts, including an ongoing email marketing campaign that we’re about to launch, online advertising, etc.

We will continue working with both teams throughout 2011.

This article © 2012 by The Financial Brand and may not be reproduced.

Old Name: Australia Central Credit Union + Savings & Loan Credit Union
New Name: People’s Choice Credit Union

Rationale: Two Australian credit unions merged back in 2009 to create a goliath, the country’s second largest CU with 350,000 members and $7.4 billion in assets. They said that a new entity deserved a new name. They also told members that a name change was necessary in order to appeal to a younger audience and attract the next generation of members.

Analysis: When two organizations of similar size merge, they will frequently agree to pick a new name. This way, constituencies at both organizations — management, employees and customers — don’t feel like one isn’t taking over the other.

As part of the name change process, the credit union conducted market research to test three names: Everyone’s Credit Union, All People’s Credit Union and People’s Choice Credit Union. Not much range in those options. (Note: There are a few People’s Choice credit unions in the US.) Early in the process, the credit union invited members to submit their name suggestions. They received over 1,000 names.

The credit union needed member approval to change names. 63% voted in favor of People’s Choice, 20% voted against.

The new identity wrapping the People’s Choice brand is fresh, contemporary and approachable. Very nice work.

Spanish out, English in to attract non-Hispanics

Old Name: Banco Popular
New Name: Popular Community Bank

Rationale: The Puerto Rican banking giant found that when they tried to break in to US markets, it discovered that consumers struggled with the Spanish name. The feedback they got was, “I think you are going after the Hispanic market, and I’m not Hispanic so this bank isn’t for me.”

Analysis: The transition from “Banco Popular” to “Popular Community Bank” is one that is linguistically, visually and strategically logical. You’ve got to wonder why they didn’t do this years ago, perhaps back in the 60s or 70s when the bank opened its first US location. Now let’s see when they’ll do something about that ridiculous logo.

The bank says they didn’t lose any Hispanic customers through the name change. They also say that accounts opened by new Hispanic customers have been, on average, 10% larger than with the old name. Balances jumped 25% for non-Hispanic new customers.

French for ‘money,’ Latin for ‘silver’

Old Name: DuPont Fibers FCU
New Name: Argent Credit Union

Rationale: The credit union says a name change was necessary to “better reflect our overall membership which has evolved over many years.”

“A name maintaining affinity to DuPont was desired,” the credit union explained. “Since the DuPont name is French, ‘argent’ — a French word that means ‘money’ — was a natural connection.”

“Also, in Latin, ‘argent’ means ‘silver’ or ‘coins,’” they added.

Analysis: The credit union has a community charter for the Greater Richmond, Virginia area, so it makes sense to dump “Dupont Fibers” if they want to attract a broader audience. The old name was too restrictive.

The Argent name is a sound choice for a financial institution. It’s short and conveys strength, making this credit union of only 21,000 members and $200 million in assets sound bigger than it is.

And while the word “argent” may have a financial connotation in French, it doesn’t really make a connection back to DuPont.

DUPONT FIBERS FCU – ARGENT NAME CHANGE VIDEO
After taking a four-minute tour of the credit union’s history,
the video announces the new name at the very end.

The Maine issue is purely semantics

Old Name: Savings Bank of Maine
New Name: The Bank of Maine

Rationale: CEO and Chairman John Everets told the Bangor Daily News the name change will better emphasize the bank’s local roots as compared to large national banks.

Analysis: Huh? How does swapping the word “The” in for “Savings” emphasize this bank’s “local roots?”

Talmage + Merzon = Talmer

Old Name: First Michigan Bank
New Name: Talmer Bank & Trust

Rationale: As the bank expanded into other states (such as nearby Wisconsin), they felt the Michigan name wouldn’t be well received.

The new Talmer moniker is a coined derivation of the names of the grandfathers of the bank’s founders: Mr. Talmage and Mr. Merzon.

Analysis: The story behind the name is strange. We’re not talking about the founder’s last names. We’re talking about their grandfathers. And apparently the founders’ grandfathers never met — one was a missionary in Asia, the other a prominent lawyer for the underprivileged — and had nothing to do with the bank’s history. As obscure and random as the explanation may be, at least it does give the bank a story behind the name it can tell. It’s fuel for a conservative, legacy-based brand image, but is it too “old” and stodgy?

FIRST MICHIGAN BANK – WHAT’S IN A NAME
A four-minute video explaining the new name and reasons behind the change.

Credit union, knight thyself

Old Name: Superior Iron Range FCU
New Name: SIR Federal Credit Union

Rationale: The credit union said it wanted to simplify and shorten their name to “make it easier for members and vendors.” They said most people already abbreviate the name anyway.

Analysis: Is this a name change? Not really. Switching your name to its acronym is so easy, it’s almost a cop-out. The acronym is pronounced “sir,” making it something they could have a lot of fun with in their marketing. Good thing it isn’t pronounced “S-I-R” (ess eye are), then it would be just another jumble of meaningless initials.

‘Orion’ shines at teachers credit union

Old Name: Memphis Area Teachers’ Credit Union
New Name: Orion Federal Credit Union

Rationale: The credit union dropped “teachers” from the new name because even though educators make up a large part of its membership, many Memphis residents meet the eligibility requirements to join.

The credit union said the Orion name was selected to serve as “a metaphor for an entity comprised of many individual parts combining into a more exciting whole.”

Analysis: Surprisingly there isn’t another “Orion” bank out there already. It seems that a name like this would have been taken, but apparently not.

Mustering the mettle to pick Alloya

Old Name: Members United Corporate FCU
New Name: Alloya Corporate FCU

Rationale: The old corporate colossus failed, and from its ashes a new brand was born.

Analysis: When an organization implodes, it’s usually a smart idea to change names and start anew, as in this case. According to the credit union, the Alloya name was coined from words like “alloy,” “all,” “ally” and “loyal.” The root word “alloy,” which is typically defined as a blend of two metals, touches on themes of cooperation, strength, unity and togetherness. The credit union said it wanted a name that would be distinctive, memorable, timeless, have energy, look good and sound good. That’s a pretty long list of criteria, but the new name arguably accomplishes all of them to some degree. However, the decision to go with Alloya probably didn’t sit too well with the folks over at Alloy FCU.

 

This article © 2012 by The Financial Brand and may not be reproduced.

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Old Name: London Civic Employees’ Credit Union
New Name: Boomerang Credit Union

Reason: Charter expansion

The credit union’s field of membership isn’t limited only to London’s civic employees, so they put a new name up for a member vote.

The credit union pushed a “yes” vote aggressively, with a microsite, newsletter items and Facebook updates.

Members liked what they heard in the credit union rationale for the new name — that “your money comes back to you” — the change was approved.

“The progressive style and color gives us an updated image and makes a bold statement to our competition and our prospective members,” the credit union said of its new Boomerang identity.

We already got one

Current Name: Home Federal Bank
New Name: Infinia Bank

Reason: Trademark conflict

When Home Federal Bank wanted to put a branch in the Twin Cities, they had to invent a new subsidiary, Infinia Bank because there is another financial institution with the same name already in that market. Now the bank has to maintain two separate brands, and explain to existing customers that nothing else is changing.

This is what happens when a financial institution picks a generic, me-too name. When they grow beyond their original footprint — where they assumed their name would be safe — they run smack into trademark issues.

Forging a new ‘Icon’

Old Name: Idahy Credit Union
New Name: Icon Credit Union

Reason: “Idahy” was weird

The credit union’s board wanted a name that was more easily recognized, pronounced, and spelled than “Idahy.” Most folks would probably would have pronounced the old name EYE-da-hee, but it was really pronounced EYE-da-HIGH.

The credit union’s criteria for its new name included: strength, respect, stability, security, trust, progressive and modern.

Weber Marketing Group developed the new name and brand.

De novo bank forced to abbreviate

Old Name: Independent Bank of Austin Now
New Name: I Bank Texas

Reason: Trademark conflict

The young de novo state savings bank shed its “Independent Bank” name to avoid confusion with another financial institution sharing the same moniker in its Central Texas marketplace. Had they done their due diligence, they could have easily avoided this expensive blunder. The bank downplayed the situation in a statement, explaining that “customers have long called us ‘I Bank.’” (Note: The new “I Bank” name is indeed written with a capital “I” and not the more trendy “i,” as in “iBank.”) Now we’ll have to see which iBank prevails: this one, this one or this one.

Common name creates conflict

Old Name: First National Bank
New Name: Points West Community Bank

Reason: Trademark conflict

Two banks based in Nebraska shared the same “First National” name. One has around $31 million in assets, the other has $13 billion. Guess who prevailed? Now, what will the Omaha banking giant do about the other eight “First National” banks in Nebraska?

The reason remains a mystery

Old Name: The Private Bank of the Peninsula
New Name: Avidbank

Reason: ** NA **

A reporter started asking questions back in February when news of the name change leaked. Why is the bank changing names? Are there plans to expand beyond the Peninsula? What other changes are in store? There are still no answers. Not in a letter to shareholders nor press release.

The bank says its new Avidbank brand “accurately reflects the bank’s core philosophy and vision.” There’s no mention on the company’s website as to what that philosophy and vision might be, we just know they are “avid” (“passionate”) about it.

“We believe that our new name clearly represents who we are and where we are headed.”

The bank begins operating as Avidbank on April 1, 2011.

Merger creates Catalyst

Old Name: Georgia Corporate + Southwest Bridge
New Name: Catalyst Corporate Federal Credit Union

Reason: Merger of equals, checkered past

When two organizations of equal size merge, they often agree to pick a new name so that it doesn’t seem like one is taking over the other. A new name is also a wise decision for financial institutions with troubled histories — as many corporate credit unions do — to start anew with a fresh identity. It’s a little like declaring brand bankruptcy.

“Choosing a name that represents the forging of a new corporate entity is an important step forward,” said Greg Moore, CEO of Georgia Corporate.

Both existing names — Georgia Corporate and Southwest Bridge Corporate –will be abandoned. The new name was developed by a committee representing both corporate credit unions.

“Catalyst is a mission-driven word that implies ‘building,’ ‘creating’ and ‘moving forward,’” said Dianne Addington, CEO of Southwest Bridge Corporate.

“It strongly suggests the new entity is the result of credit unions coming together to create a new cooperative corporate solution,” the credit union said. “In this regard, our members will be the catalyst for the corporate’s successful future.”

Gone: ‘Postal’

Old Name: Postal Federal Community Credit Union
New Name: TBD Summer 2011

Reason: Limiting name anchored to past

The credit union announced plans to change names by summer 2011 in a press release, something you don’t see very often. Typically, financial institutions try to bottle any potential outrage by saving any name change announcements until the last minute. They also have a short member Q&A (PDF) addressing some basic concerns.

PFCCU was started in 1929 by Springfield postal workers, and then later expanded membership to include federal employees. In 1994 they were granted the ability to serve a much larger group, including everyone who lives or works in a 10-county area in Southwest Missouri. The old name no longer fits.

The credit union has hired Weber Marketing Group, a nationally recognized naming firm, to assist in the development of a new name. The team at Weber also has another four credit union naming project underway at this time.

‘Encompass’ more than ‘DuPont Employees’

Old Name: Niagara DuPont Employees Credit Union
New Name: Encompass Niagara Credit Union

Reason: Community charter

The credit union received the go-ahead to convert from a multi-employer common bond to a community charter serving Niagara County. Its membership is now open to people who live, work, volunteer, go to school or worship within county boundaries. So they dropped “DuPont” and “Employees” to show that they now “Encompass” everyone. The credit union has three employees, 973 members and $10.8 million in assets.

Credit union CEO and blogger Chuck Bruen noticed that there is a national insurance company headquarter in Chicago with the name Encompass Insurance.

‘Star’ becomes Luminus

Old Name: Starnews Credit Union
New Name: Luminus Financial Services & Credit Union

Reason: Mergers

“With other credit unions joining us, it was time to give a new identity to Starnews,” said George De La Rosa, CEO.

Starnews Credit Union was formed in 1951 by a group of employees from the Toronto Star.

The new coined name was selected after months of brand discovery and development, which included meetings with board members and staff beginning in the fall of 2010.

According to the rationale presented to the members, Luminus Financial refers to “being illuminated” and to “seeing Starnews in a new light.” The credit union explains that a “luminary” is a wise or inspiring person who provides good advice. The “us” in the name refers to all of us, and our commitment to always put members first.”

De La Rosa said they decided to incorporate “Financial” in their name because they wanted to reinforce the fact that the credit union provides a full range of banking services to everyone, and this may not be obvious to people who don’t understand credit unions.

The change was approved at the credit union’s annual general meeting on March 24. The launch of Luminus Financial and its new brand is slated for June 1, 2011, rolling out their new identity starting with a website and signage.

De La Rosa is keen to point out that they see the name change as more than just cosmetics. “We intend on expanding our brand, and to delivering fully on our brand promise of ‘Clearly Better Banking,’” he said.

Auto Body Credit Union gets rebuilt

Old Name: Auto Body Credit Union
New Name: Astera Credit Union

Reason: Limiting name

The credit union, based in economically-battered Michigan, is hoping this name change will help it grow beyond its current size ($150 million in assets). They served UAW 602 exclusively 60 years ago, but today serve 150 different employers in the mid-Michigan area.

“This name represents our commitment to being the brighter solution in all of our members’ financial decisions,” said Jeff Croff, VP/Marketing.

On its homepage, the credit union has invited any members who have questions to email Mr. Croff.

This article © 2012 by The Financial Brand and may not be reproduced.

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Old Name: Florida Telco Credit Union
New Name: 1-2-1 Financial Credit Union

Reason: The credit union says a name change was needed to “align us more with our broad and diverse community-based membership.” (Translation: they want to serve more than just the telco workers their old name limited them to.)

Analysis: The credit union talks vaguely about how the name “honors and reflects our commitment to members and our core values and mission.” They could do a better job explaining the meaning and significance of “121” by talking about building personal relationships.

Reactions to the name are mixed.

“I’m assuming that the name is a shortcut for ‘one-to-one,’ implying a close relationship with the member,” wrote credit union blogger Chuck Bruen. “I think the problem with the name is that it isn’t quickly obvious what the name means. My first reaction was to ponder the numbers until I said it out load and then got it.”

“I like it. It’s catchy, clever, and different,” said Lori Philo-Cook, a credit union branding and PR consultant. “It may be confusing on signage though.”

“It’s better than ‘Telco,’” Philo-Cook added.

LM Roberts doesn’t like it at all: “I think the name is stupid.”

“Younger clients who are into web speak (e.g., “B2B”) may be attracted to it,” wrote Joette Storm on LinkedIn. “Others may need a translation. If they live up to the meaning, the word will get around.”

“It may be a challenging name to live up to,” said Bruce Clapp, President/Owner at MarketMatch. “It must be built on tailored service and personal connections.”

Argonne + Prairie Trail = Abri

Old Name: Argonne Credit Union and Prairie Trail Credit Union
New Name: Abri Credit Union

Reason: Argonne had been planning a name change since 2009. When the merger went through, the two credit unions adopted the new name.

The name “Abri” (pronounced “ah BREE”) is a French word for “a protective shelter or safe place.” The credit union says it chose the word to reflect the two merged organizations’ “deep commitment to providing members with a sense of stability for their financial affairs.”

Swapping “Community” for “Middle America”

Old Name: Olin Community Credit Union
New Name: 1st MidAmerica Credit Union

Reason: Despite adding the word “Community” to its name a few years ago, the credit union found that people were still confused and thought you had to be an employee of the Olin Corporation in order to join.

Analysis: Tacking the word “Community” on to your name never works. People don’t equate the word “Community” with “open to the public.”

What does the “1st” in the new credit union’s new name signify when there’s already a Mid American Credit Union, MidWest America Federal Credit Union, MidAmerican Bank and not one but two “MidAmerica” banks. MidAmerica National Bank is the one with the USPTO registered trademark. In a bizarre coincidence, the MidAmerica Credit Union Association just decided to dump its name in favor of something more geographically specific: Credit Union Association of the Dakotas.

Swapping “First” for “USA”

Old Name: MidFirst Credit Union
New Name: MidUSA Credit Union

Reason: The credit union says it changed names “to MidUSA so that we could continue to reflect the proud history and tradition of serving our membership for over 76 years as well as acknowledge our expanding membership base.”

Analysis: In 1994, the name changed from Armco Employees Credit Union to MidFirst Credit Union “to better represent the diversity in the membership.” So what was wrong with MidFirst? How does MidUSA better reflect the credit union’s history or acknowledge an expanding membership? In all likelihood, MidFirst Bank, who holds a registered USPTO trademark for “MidFirst” in the financial industry, sent the credit union a cease-and-desist order.

Geographically limiting name floats Downriver

Old Name: Trenton Federal Credit Union
New Name: Shore to Shore Community Federal Credit Union

Reason: People were confused by the geographically-specific name and thought the credit union only served the residents of Trenton, Michigan.

Analysis: Both the strategy and the new name make sense. The credit union wants to serve 15 different communities in the Downriver area of Michigan. Downriver Credit Union was already taken.

Sailing from a troubled past

Old Name: Domestic Bank
New Name: Admirals Bank

Reason: The bank ran into trouble with federal regulators over a now-defunct mortgage subsidiary. It is trying to distance its brand from its past.

Analysis: The new name is a bit nautical, but it might fly in Rhode Island, where the state’s largest credit union is named Navigant. The bank has applied for a federally registered trademark on the “Admirals” name with the USPTO.

Members shoot down “Peoples”

Current Name: Australian Central Credit Union
Proposed Name: Peoples Credit Union

Reason: Two credit unions merged. One was called “Australian Central” and the other “Savings & Loans.” They wanted to unify under one new brand name.

Analysis: The credit union needed to get 75% of voting members to approve the change to Peoples. Nothing sucks worse than having to ask the general public to bless a name change, and getting 75% of people to agree on anything is a herculean task. The credit union came close though, getting 70% to vote in favor: 15,000 votes for, 6,000 against. Chair of the credit union Bill Cossey said, “It is not surprising that members didn’t universally accept a change to the new legal name. We understood that achieving a 75% ‘yes’ vote was going to be a challenge.” Ooof, that’s an understatement.

Yet another steps “Forward”

Old Name: Marshfield Savings Bank
New Name: Forward Financial Bank

Reason: “Forward” is less geographically restrictive than “Marshfield.”

Analysis: The bank started its name change back in 2007, when it built four new locations in towns outside of Marshfield’s core trade area under the “Forward Financial” moniker. Even though there is no current USPTO trademark registered for “Forward Financial,” there is a Forward Financial Credit Union that could assert trademark litigation. The Wisconsin credit union is a mere 150 miles away and switched to Forward Financial in 2005, long before the Michigan bank.

ACNB becomes a redundant acronym

Old Name: Adams County National Bank
New Name: ACNB Bank

Reason: The bank converted from a national charter to a state charter, and had to remove the word “National” from its name.

“Frankly, we’ve been thinking of changing our name for some time,” said Thomas Ritter, President & CEO/ACNB. “We now serve customers in four counties and the name ‘Adams County National Bank’ no longer served us well as we continue to expand.”

“ACNB is what our customers have been calling us for years,” Ritter said. “It simply makes sense to rename ourselves as ACNB Bank.”

Analysis: “ACNB Bank” would technically translate to “Adams County National Bank Bank.” The Financial Brand has written previously about this phenomenon, known as the redundant acronym.

Does adding “Financial” add up?

Old Name: First South Credit Union
New Name: First South Financial Credit Union

Reason: CEO Craig Esrael said the new name is a reminder that the credit union is a “full service provider of financial products and services.”

Analysis: Considering the sizable expense involved with changing names, there doesn’t seem to be a sound strategic reason to slip the word “Financial” First South Credit Union.

This article © 2012 by The Financial Brand and may not be reproduced.

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Only a few months ago, Customers 1st was known as New Century Bank. Discussions about changing the New Century name first arose when ABC News incorrectly used the Philadelphia bank’s logo in a report on the failure of New Century Mortgage in California. Ooops…

In January 2010, someone at New Century Bank proposed the name Customers 1st, so another executive did a search on Google and GoDaddy where he found customersfirstbank.com and customers1stbank.com both available.

After not one but two failures of banks bearing the New Century moniker, CEO Jay Sidhu had enough. Almost immediately following the second “New Century” seizure, he demanded the switch to Customers 1st be implemented with haste.

“Alliance should not be punished for New Century’s precipitous behavior.”
— Preliminary injunction
against New Century

The problem was, however, that Alliance Bank held a registered trademark for Customer First, the name of its flagship checking product, since 2007.

New Century also tried securing its own registered trademark for Customers 1st, but the USPTO refused separate applications for five variants of the Customers 1st name, citing likely confusion with Alliance’s branded product.

Reality Check: The name of any financial institutions’ products can indeed prevent you from picking a similar moniker for your bank or credit union, especially if someone is claiming a trademark on it. And they don’t even have to be direct competitor. They could be on the opposite side of the country.

On July 27, 2010, the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania granted Alliance Bank’s request for a preliminary injunction. Judge Slomsky, in his 60-page judgment, called New Century’s move to Customers 1st “impulsive,” and shot down every argument they offered in their defense.

Adding another layer to the story are two other banks who have also used the exact same name — Customer First — for their checking products. Indeed the very first Google search result for “Customer First Checking” points to First National Bank in Omaha. They have four different Customer First checking accounts in total. There was also Bay Bank in Washington with a Customer First Checking account, but they were shut down by the FDIC in late July, 2010. Has Alliance Bank pursued these trademark infringers with the same zeal as it did with New Century/Customers 1st? Or are they guilty of selective enforcement?

There’s another bank in Texas about to launch with Customer First as their name. They’ve already got a website up at customerfirstbank.com. Hopefully they won’t pull the trigger and move forward with the name. They are playing with trademark fire.

CUSTOMER FIRST IN TEXAS
This bank is at least the second ‘Customer First’ in the financial industry, maybe the third?

Ironically, in the midst of all these trademark issues, Alliance Bank thought it would be a good idea to trademark its own name, so it filed Alliance for USPTO registration in July, 2010 while its case against New Century wove through the courts. But… a bank in California has held a registered trademark for Alliance Bank since 1998. However, the California Alliance just got bought up by California Bank & Trust earlier this year (yes, California Bank & Trust’s name has been registered with the USPTO since 2005). There’s no word yet as to whether they intend to retire the Alliance Bank brand and trademark.

Bottom Line: New Century Bank estimates it has already invested $500,000 into the change to Customers 1st, plus it expects to blow another $500,000 on whatever name it picks next. Tragically, they ignored advice from a trademark lawyer, believing instead that Alliance wouldn’t sue. Had they bothered to read the attorney’s recommendation (which they didn’t), they would have almost surely saved the bank a half million. (New Century should be grateful the judge didn’t order them to buy negative search keywords, as another judge did in a suit over the Orion Bank name.)

Key Takeaways: This situation illustrates the importance of picking a unique name for your bank or credit union. The whole point of branding is differentiation. If your name looks like- or sounds like something other financial institutions are using, the rest of your brand will have to work that much harder to distinguish itself.

If you’re ever in a name change situation, don’t ever pick a new name that “sounds financial” or feels familiar. If a name looks, feels and/or sounds “financial,” it’s almost surely used by some financial institution somewhere. You could very well end up losing a lawsuit and having to start over from scratch.

Further Reading: A 60-page PDF of the ruling is available by clicking here. It’s a fascinating case study in financial naming and trademarks, outlining a number of legal issues. Read through it and you’ll probably learn something new about trademark law.

This article © 2012 by The Financial Brand and may not be reproduced.

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It’s a shrubbery

Old Name: Group Health Credit Union
New Name: Salal Credit Union

Reason: The credit union got a statewide charter in 2003, but found that marketing itself to people who didn’t work for Group Health Cooperative was tough. As is the case with most single-SEG credit unions making the transition to a community charter, they quickly realize the old name doesn’t work.

Analysis: So what the heck is Salal? It’s proper name is gaultheria shallon, an all-weather, shade-tolerant shrubbery (you can see pictures here).

On the credit union’s blog, it says, “We chose the name Salal, a beautiful, indigenous Northwest plant, to signify growth and our Northwest roots—and, since the plant has medicinal qualities, it supports our focus on serving the healthcare market. We feel the name Salal (rhymes with pal) is an accurate reflection of our membership as it is today, as well as our plans for future growth.”

This is likely to be one of the most controversial name changes in the credit union industry, right up there with names like “Red Canoe,” “Optiva” and “Wildfire.” Surely, Salal is a very unique name and will be a cinch to trademark, but it can also be criticized for making no connection back to the credit union’s history serving medical employees. The word itself — “salal” — is so obscure, so unfamiliar and so phonetically mushy that it evokes almost nothing. It doesn’t even resemble something from the English language (or American colloquial speech). It looks like something Greek or Yiddish.

Two credit unions pick the same name at the same time

Old Name #1: Hardin Community Federal Credit Union
New Name: Quest Federal Credit Union

Reason: The credit union expanded from Hardin County by merging with another in nearby Logan County. Members wanted the credit union to maintain the two separate brands, one in each county. But, as the credit union’s CEO said, “This is cumbersome, not cost effective and will only grow worse with future expansion.”

Old Name #2: Credit Union 1, Credit Unions United
New Name: Quest Credit Union

Reason: This was essentially a merger of two equally-sized credit unions in the Topeka, Kansas area. In mergers of equals, it’s quite common for both organizations to agree that a new brand name is the way to go so that neither looks like it’s taking over the other. It’s a smart strategy.

Analysis: This sucks, and it’s no one’s fault. The credit unions in Kansas and Ohio both looked around and saw no other retail financial institution was using “Quest” so they both thought it was a safe choice. They each thought they were picking a relatively conservative-yet-fresh name — and a common word at that — and now the two will probably have to share the name. Bummer. (There’s also a tiny credit union names Questa in New Mexico.) The two credit unions even have similar slogans: “Exploring the possibilities” and “Discover the possibilities.”

In January 2010, the Ohio Quest registered its URL (questfcu.com), followed by the Kansas Quest 22 days later (quest-cu.org). In March 2010, the $70 million Quest in Ohio applied for trademark protection with the USPTO, again edging out its $225 million Kansas peer who has yet to file.

This isn’t the first time this has happened. In 2003, Southern New England FCU in Connecticut chose Connex at the same time Wausau Insurance Employees Credit Union was choosing Connexus.

From generic…to plain

Old Name: First Business Bank
New Name: Bank of Southern California

Reason: The name change resolves trademark issues with a bank in the Midwest that also carries the name First Business Bank name.

Analysis: “The process of selecting a new name has given us an opportunity to revisit our vision to be the best business bank in Southern California and to refine our branding and positioning for further growth,” said Nathan Rogge, president and CEO.” Talk about a blown opportunity…yawn. And if you have to change names over a trademark dispute, why on earth would you pick a name that about 100 other banks could sue you over?

New name for New Century

Old Name: New Century Bank
New Name: Customers 1st Bank

Reason: The Phoenixville News (that’s in Pennsylvania, not Arizona) reports that “the bank’s new trade name will more accurately reflect its mission, which is to provide attractive rates and an entirely new level of highly personalized service and convenience, something it believes is superior to that of any other bank in its region.”

Analysis: Do you buy the bank’s explanation? What’s really going on? There was another bank named New Century in Illinois. Did that have something to do with it? They held the official USPTO trademark for “New Century” in the banking category, but they were seized by the feds in April 2010. In March 2010, the bank applied for a federal trademark on “Customers 1st.” While it appears that there aren’t any direct conflicts in the USPTO database, one has to wonder why the bank would forego the relatively distinct and fresh-sounding “New Century” for the much more ordinary “Customers 1st.” How many Customer First banks do you think there are?

Replacing a town with a county

Old Name: Sykesville Federal Savings Association
New Name: Carroll Community Bank

Reason: The Baltimore Business Journal says the name change is part of the 140-year-old bank’s conversion from a federally chartered savings bank to a state-chartered bank regulated by Maryland’s Commissioner of Financial Regulation. “Our state charter will allow us to offer a greater diversity of products, and to increase our commercial lending to more local small businesses,” the bank said in press release. (Translation: “The bank expanded its geographic reach beyond the limitations of its name.”)

Analysis: Today Carroll Community Bank has two branches in Maryland and a shade under $100 million in assets. But what happens when/if the bank grows beyond Carroll County? Another name change? Indeed the bank has already announced plans to expand its business into nearby Howard County.

The new Carroll Community applied for a federally registered trademark in June 2010. There’s a Carroll County State Bank in Iowa, but they probably won’t present a big trademark hurdle. The Iowa bank will, however, give the new Carroll search engine problems.

Geographic Word Jumbles

Old Name: Ypsilanti Area Federal Credit Union
New Name: Washtenaw Federal Credit Union

Reason: The credit union expanded its charter, so it changed names, or, in the credit union’s own words, “The Board of Directors voted at the April 2010 meeting to update the credit union name to better fit the field of membership as designated in our charter. The new name is more representative and inclusive of the current field of membership.”

“We thought that we should be more inclusive of the name to cover that field of membership,” CEO Gregory Gurka told AnnArbor.com. “It should cover the actual field of membership, not just one small portion of it.”

Analysis: It makes logical sense to switch from the city of Ypsilanti to the county of Washtenaw because it describes the $30 million credit union’s field of membership. But geographic names always present some degree of challenge. They are usually hard to trademark because there’s always a mess of other organizations using their names to lay claim to the same area (e.g., Washtenaw Community College, Washtenaw Coin Laundry, Washtenaw Cycle & Fitness and the 200 or so other real “Washtenaw-something-or-other” businesses in the Ypsilanti area).

Direct must be better than Plus

Old Name: RaboPlus
New Name: RaboDirect

Reason: The general manager for Rabo said the name change “supports our stance as a direct, straight-talking online bank.” That may be true, but that doesn’t adequately explain why the bank needed to go through all the hassle and expense of a name change.

Analysis: Who knows what the real strategy is here. The online banking arm of Rabobank is only a couple years old, so it’s a little surprising to see a name change come so quickly. Did they feel that “Plus” was a mistake when most online banking operations are using “Direct” as their category clarifier? Admittedly, the new name makes it much more clear that the outfit is a online bank. But was that the reason behind the change?

This article © 2012 by The Financial Brand and may not be reproduced.

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Earlier this year, Michigan First Credit Union slapped a lawsuit on First Michigan Bank for trademark infringement. (If you’re tempted to dismiss this article as having little relevance to you, at least skip ahead and make sure you read the conclusions.)

According to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court, the bank’s use of the “First Michigan” name is “in conscious disregard of Michigan First’s trademark rights, and creates a likelihood of public confusion in which consumers seeking Michigan First’s services will be diverted to the bank, and/or will erroneously believe that the services offered by the bank are offered, sponsored, or endorsed by Michigan First, when in fact they are not.”

Michigan First Credit Union has over 80,000 members and $550 million in assets. First Michigan Bank was founded in 2009 and, until recently, had only one branch and around $100 million in assets. But in April 2010, it somehow scraped together enough cash to acquire Citizens First Bank after Citizen First’s $1.1 billion in assets were seized.

The credit union’s Poulos told Crain’s Detroit Business that he’d didn’t even know about First Michigan Bank until reading about the bank’s acquisition in one of the publication’s articles. “They were such low profile, we weren’t even aware of them,” Poulos said. “Then they came out with a major marketing campaign on radio and TV.”

Bank fights back, says suit is ‘absolutely baseless’

First Michigan Bank vows to fight the lawsuit. David Provost, president and CEO of the bank, said the complaint is “absolutely baseless” and that his bank “intends to defend this suit vigorously.”

“Our use of the First Michigan Bancorp name does not create any likelihood of confusion, particularly given the differences in the marks, the weakness and lack of distinctiveness of Michigan First Credit Union’s claimed marks, and the large number of financial institutions that use the terms ‘First’ and ‘Michigan’ in their names in varying ways,” Prevost said in a statement.

Reality Checks:

• What most people (including the CEOs of billion-dollar banks) don’t know about trademark law is a lot. Myths and inaccurate assumptions can lead otherwise smart business people to make some serious — and costly — errors in judgment.
• “First Michigan” and “Michigan First” are very confusing. The guideline is simple: How likely is it that the typical consumer would be confused?
• The “differences in the marks” are rhetorical. You can’t circumvent trademark law just by shuffling a few words around. Would “Kreme Krispy” be okay? How about “Crispy Cream?” The USPTO factors things like phonetics and visual construction when evaluating the degree of potential confusion. It doesn’t matter how different the logos are if the name(s) are too similar and/or confusing.
• Terms like “First” and “Michigan” may be ubiquitously used by other organizations, but this trademark suit deals exclusively with the specific combination of both “First” and “Michigan.” It’s illogical to isolate one term and say, “See, look! Lots of businesses in Michigan use the word ‘Michigan,’ so the name isn’t unique.” That’s similar to saying you can’t trademark “Starbucks” because other companies use “Star” and “Bucks” in their names. There could be a “Michigan First Bakery,” “Michigan First Magazine” and “Michigan First Day Care,” but what really matters is (1) Who offers retail financial services; (2) Who came first; (3) Who holds a registered trademark; and (4) How confusing the two names are.

Michigan First (the credit union) says it has “obtained and consistently used several registered service marks since changing its name from Detroit Teachers Credit Union to Michigan First Credit Union in April 2001.” These service marks include the credit union’s name, as well as a variety of products and services including its Michigan First MoneyWorks Banking Centers (ATMs) and Michigan First Wealth Management Group.

Indeed, Michigan First holds a total of five registered trademarks for “Michigan First” with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. The credit union first filed for trademark protection in 2001, and received registered status in 2003.

EXHIBIT A
Michigan First Credit Union’s registered trademark
under the USPTO’s International Class 36.

“These registered service marks are used extensively in our member communication and promotions, creating strong recognition with both our members and the public,” said Michael Poulos, President and CEO of Michigan First. “We have taken all the necessary actions to protect these assets, which are consistently used for all of our banking and other financial services, and we will continue to take all necessary actions to protect them.”

Bottom Line: First Michigan Bank will likely lose, but not without burning a mountain of time, cash, energy and vital resources on an uphill fight. Ultimately, if the bank isn’t forced to change names — at additional significant cost — it would be a miracle. If First Michigan Bank had invested around $1,000 or so on trademark due diligence back when they chose their name in 2009, they would have almost certainly sidestepped this nightmare. Hopefully the bank will wait to change the name on the signs of the 22 Citizens First branches it just acquired until after this lawsuit is resolved, otherwise First Michigan Bank could be doubling-down on its losses.

Michigan First Credit Union, on the other hand, has played everything by the book. They secured their trademarks early, and are defending them with zeal and vigor.

Key Takeaways:

Be careful with new names and name changes, even for things like products and services. Make sure they aren’t already being used by someone else. That means checking the white pages, the internet and the USPTO database. The Financial Brand has written over and over and over and over about the pitfalls of naming trademarks. If you haven’t yet taken the message to heart, here is one more reminder: Register your financial institution’s trademarks now. Today. And always hire a lawyer who specializes in trademark law. Dire consequences await those who choose to go it alone.

Pop Quiz: First Michigan, Michigan First…which one is the credit union and which one is the bank?

This article © 2012 by The Financial Brand and may not be reproduced.

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#1 Lost focus
Credit unions with closed charters concentrate on the unique needs of a very specific and narrowly-defined audience. They know exactly who they serve and why they exist. Tragically, many community chartered credit unions let their concept of “audience segmentation” erode into a singular demographic: “all people ages 18-55.” (Translation: “everyone with money and a pulse.”) The bigger your target audience gets, the harder it becomes to find a unique value proposition. The lowest common denominator is rates, price and fees.

#2 Massive marketing muscle
Maximizing community charters requires a whole new level of marketing — billboards, radio, TV, online ads — plus a much larger budget that can be quite a shock for those who aren’t prepared. Closed-charter credit unions are accustomed to a very limited range of marketing tactics. They aren’t familiar with what it takes to generate name awareness and build a mass-market brand. They have little- or no experience with CPM, SEO, click-through rates and paid search.

#3 Estrange your sponsor
To your original sponsor, a community charter can look like a deliberate attempt at distancing yourself from their organization. As you change names and start marketing to the general public, the feeling that your credit union was once an exclusive, club-like employee benefit disappears right along with the special access your credit union once enjoyed. No more welcome packets at new employee orientations. No more kiosks in the employee cafeteria. They may even kick you out of their facilities altogether.

#4 The old name won’t work
If you have a word like “Employees,” “Teachers” or some other equally-limiting term in your name, you will never convince the community that “everyone can join.” Many credit unions think adding the word “Community” in their names connotes an open charter, but that never works as hoped. You can try switching to an acronym — AECU, BECU, CECU, DECU, EECU, etc. — but these stiff and corporate combinations of letters are already ubiquitously used by other credit unions. Even if you can find a suitable web address, people will still get confused when searching for you on the internet. In all likelihood, a community charter will require a name change.

#5 Cooperation becomes competition
Credit unions are comfortable competing with banks, but they aren’t used to competing with other credit unions. Don’t be surprised when your once-friendly pals at the credit union down the street give you the cold shoulder. Once you have a community charter, you are trying to steal their members.

#6 Bankers hate community charters
Every time credit unions expand, the ABA becomes more agitated. Each new community charter fuels the ABA’s fight for credit union taxation. If every credit union in the U.S. had a community charter, then what argument would there be against taxation?

—————————————————
This article originally appeared on Callahan & Associate’s website, CreditUnions.com, and is republished here with permission.

This article © 2012 by The Financial Brand and may not be reproduced.

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Code 1, all units please respond

Old Name: Kansas City Police Credit Union
New Name: Code 1 Credit Union

Reason: The credit union wants to serve more than just police officers, so it concocted a subsidiary with a new name. The credit union will use the new division as a marketing arm to reach firefighters and others involved in public safety throughout Missouri and in three Kansas counties.

Analysis: Code 1 is a police and fire code that basically means “answer this call.” It’s a unique and distinctively relevant name that should be a breeze to trademark in the financial industry, something the credit union has wisely chosen to pursue. While new division does not really constitute a name change, but don’t be shocked when the credit union slowly eliminates its original “Kansas City Police” moniker over the next five years. It’s expensive to sustain two separate brands. In the meantime, Code 1 has its own standalone website, but all members will see both names on their statements.

Reverence for faith reflected in Everence name

Old Name: Mennonite Financial Federal Credit Union
New Name: Everence Credit Union

Reason: Mennonite Financial FCU and Mennonite Mutual Aid, an insurance and investments firm, didn’t merge, but they both agreed to develop a new name they could share.

Analysis: The credit union says the new name evokes ideas of reverence, everlasting, forever, and permanence, symbolizing the organization’s ties to the Mennonite faith. The logo represents a vine with a cross in the center. The credit union hired FutureBrand to assist. The entire rebranding effort was strategic and thoughtfully executed. It shows you how much easier it is to come up with a relevant name when you have a clear focus and serve a targeted audience segment.

CUMCO sounded innocent at the time

Old Name: CUMCO Federal Credit Union
New Name: Members 1st of New Jersey

Reason: The old name stood for “Cumberland County.” A merger expanded the credit union’s reach into another county.

Analysis: You can be forgiven if you were thinking the old name is disgusting. It is…by today’s standards. Back in 1938 when the credit union was founded, it probably sounded pretty neato. If the credit union was honest, they’d probably tell you they were itching to find an excuse to dump the old name. Too bad there are already 15 other “Member 1st” credit unions in the U.S. It’s going to make searching for the credit union on Google a nightmare.

Members vote down change to Grand Crossing

Old Name: HealthCare Plus Federal Credit Union
New Name: HealthCare Plus Federal Credit Union

Reason: In a vote, members voted against the board’s request to change the credit union’s name to “Grand Crossing.” The credit union said in its newsletter, “Changing our name to Grand Crossing Federal Credit Union was defeated. Many members felt this wasn’t the name they wanted their credit union to carry into the future, and we should leave the name the same. The board of directors will be discussing future options, but will put this issue aside for now.”

Analysis: It’s no fun asking members to approve a name change. Fear that things “will change” (somehow) drive most members’ decisions. Many members will also hate a lot of the names credit unions ask them to approve, but it’s hard to see what’s wrong with “Grand Crossing.” HealthCare Plus tried to pick a safe-sounding, relatively conservative name but members didn’t go for it. Whenever you need to get member approval for a name change, it’s a good idea to link the new name to the original charter and existing membership somehow.

What does “Encentus” have to do with doctors?

Old Name: St. John Tulsa Federal Credit Union
New Name: Encentus Credit Union

Reason: The credit union obtained an expanded charter a few years ago and decided its old name was too limiting, saying “people would think they couldn’t join unless they were employees of St. John.”

Analysis: The credit union says it want to continue serving only those in the medical profession, yet the new name evokes absolutely nothing medical at all. Encentus says its new name is made up from two other words, “incentive” and “us.” First, “incentive” refers to the incentives to join a credit union. It also refers to the credit union’s “incentive” to serve members. The word “us” refers to how people came together to form the credit union. Whatever the name means and wherever it came from, it should be a breeze to trademark.

NuUnion gone after union between two credit unions

Old Names: Detroit Edison and NuUnion Credit Unions
New Name: Laketrust Credit Union

Reason: The two credit unions merged a while ago. To make it clear to their members that the merger was indeed a “merger of equals” and that one wasn’t taking over the other, the two credit unions agreed to find a new name.

Analysis: There’s nothing wrong with the new name, although it seems expensive and unnecessary for both credit unions to have to change. Certainly Detroit Edison wouldn’t have worked, but why not NuUnion? Sure, it’s a little weird — NuUnion Credit Union – with the letter U repeat twice in a row and the repetition of “union,” but that’s what makes the name distinctive. In all likelihood, either the folks at Detroit Edison weren’t comfortable with the NuUnion name, and/or there were people inside NuUnion who were ready to ditch a name they felt was awkward. Interestingly, the two credit unions are adopting NuUnion’s look-and-feel.

An unusual SEG swap

Old Name: Multi Media FCU
New Name: Darden Employees FCU

Reason: This $11 million credit union started life serving employees of the Orlando Sentinel. The newspaper business (as we all know) is going down the toilet, so the credit union had to find a new source of life. Enter Darden Restaurants. Darden is one of the world’s biggest restaurant companies. It owns the Olive Garden, Capital Grille, Longhorn Steakhouse and Red Lobster chains, among others.

Analysis: A credit union switching one huge employer for another in their name is something you almost never see. It’s had to have happened sometime before, but not in recent memory.

Sun sets on Mesa name

Old Name: Mesa Bank
New Name: Sunrise Bank

Reason: The bank wanted to merge six affiliates under one name.

Analysis: It’s a nice name…nice enough that at least another dozen banks are using it in states across the country.

Another bank drawn to the North Star name

Old Name: Fremont First National Bank
New Name: NorthStar Bank

Reason: No details are available regarding this Seattle-based bank’s decision to make the switch.

Analysis: Whenever you have a name like NorthStar that sounds good, there’s going to be a better-than-fair chance that other financial institutions are already using it. There are already “North Star” banks in Texas, Iowa, Michigan, Florida, Minnesota and who knows how many others. Any one of these could bring a trademark infringement suit, whether they have a mark on file with the USPTO or not, and regardless of how far away they may be from the Seattle “NorthStar.”

It’s not just a sea cow, it’s a county

Old Name: Tropicana Federal Credit Union
New Name: Manatee Community Federal Credit Union

Reason: The credit union says the change was made to better reflect its membership and services.

Analysis: What a strange explanation. How did the old name not reflect the credit union’s services? And how does is the new name any better? The new name is a reference to Manatee County in Florida where the credit union is based. The credit union hadn’t been playing up its relationship with Tropicana (the orange juice people) for a while, so this is probably just the next step for this community chartered credit union. The credit union says it remains dedicated to its original sponsor, but how do you think this makes the folks at Tropicana feel?

Time to retire Super Chief

Old Name: Kansas Super Chief Credit Union
New Name: Envista Credit Union

Reason: The credit union said the change was made to “help to create a brand that is less confusing to customers.” They also hope it will “better reflect the vision and optimism of the people who bank with us and our dedication to helping each of you make the most of every dollar.”

Analysis: It’s hard to imagine that the credit union has been entirely forthright about its motivations for the name change. In all likelihood, the credit union needed to detach itself from the decaying railway business that once supported it. You also have to wonder if the name “Super Chief” had derogatory connotations for Native Americans.

Moving to Mainstreet

Old Name: Credit Union of Johnson County
New Name: Mainstreet Credit Union

Reason: The credit union says it grew beyond its original geographic region and served two other counties besides Johnson.

Analysis: People are still pissed at Wall Street, so the new name speaks to people’s outrage as much as the desire to bank locally. Overall, this is a sound name change.

This article © 2012 by The Financial Brand and may not be reproduced.

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The answer is yes. It’s an increasingly common trend as more and more credit unions realize that most Americans don’t know what “credit unions” are, and struggle to decipher the term. “Is it something to do with money and organized labor?”

This is something Sarah Snell Cooke, Editor of the Credit Union Times, noted in an editorial she wrote about the challenges the “credit union” surname presents. “What does ‘credit union’ mean?” she asks. “Other than those in the industry, polls have shown time and again, very few have any clue. Yet, the basic idea of a bank is understood by anyone over the age of six.”

“Drop the ‘credit union’ from your marketing,” she implores. She goes further and recommends dumping terms like “members” and “join” too. It’s surprisingly frank talk coming from someone as influential as Snell Cooke. Twenty years ago, such talk would be heresy and she could have even lost her job over the uproar.

It’s quite common in Canada for credit unions to drop “credit union” from their names. Two of the country’s largest (both located in Vancouver, B.C.) have done it. Vancity Credit Union is just simply “Vancity,” and Coast Capital goes by “Coast Capital Savings.”

CANADIANS COMMONLY DROP “CREDIT UNION”

Tim McAlpine, President of Currency Marketing, a credit union branding firm, says the move away from “credit union” has worked in British Columbia, Canada, arguably the most successful and competitive credit union market in the world. “The three largest credit unions in B.C. — Vancity with $14B, Coast Capital Savings with $13B and Envision Financial with $6B — plus a half-dozen others don’t use the term ‘credit union’ in any of their signage, advertising, marketing, websites, etc. Nothing other than fine print on documents,” McAlpine observes.

“Half of all residents call a credit union their primary financial institution,” McAlpine says. “Ironically, it is commonplace to not include credit union in the financial institution’s brand name.”

In the U.S., more and more credit unions are replacing “Credit Union” with “Financial” (or at least drastically downplaying “credit union” in their logos):

Federally chartered credit unions have a few more options (something The Financial Brand wrote about earlier). Here’s some of the ways in which they are dropping “Credit Union” from their names:

FEDERAL CREDIT UNIONS DROPPING “CREDIT UNION”

“Federal Credit Union” is a mouthful, yet another reason FCUs might think about dumping the phrase. Some ditch the entire thing, while others shorten down to just “Federal” or “Fed.” Interestingly, Bethpage uses a .org web address (www.bethpage.org) that redirects to a .coop site (www.bethpage.coop). USA Fed uses a .org address. Whether or not these credit unions feel some attachment to their roots, it might raise questions for some consumers: “What’s up with the .coop thing?”

There is at least one credit union marketing itself simply as “Citadel,” using the tagline, “Banking with one focus. You.” However, they have “fcu” in their web address, and also use a .org domain. It seems odd that they would take such great pains to distance themselves from their “credit union” status only to use a URL — www.citadelfcu.org — that feels markedly “credit union.”

Credit union names have been evolving over the last few years, although feelings about them haven’t softened as much as one might expect. There are plenty of credit union insiders who feel strongly that it’s a big mistake to create any distance with “the movement.” The editorial in the Credit Union Times sparked a fiery debate, with both sides hotly contested:

• “If no one understands the meaning of the terms, why be insistent in their continued use?”
• “The credit union name is confusing, but it is what it is and we should be proud of it and wave the flag high.”
• “Credit unions have to face the reality: no one knows what a credit union is. If the term is meaningless to those you’re advertising to, and you tell them you have to join us first, you’re already behind.”
• “I agree with banishing the term “join a credit union”-it is misleading to the public.”
• “If you’re spending a lot of effort trying to explain a credit union you’ve reduced the resources you can focus upon enhancing member relationships or attracting new members.”
• “It’s all about separating the credit unions from the bank. The general public really sees no difference between the two and both banks and credit unions get lumped in together.”
• “Not using the term “credit union” doesn’t mean you aren’t one.”
• “The more credit unions do to compete with banks by trying to look like, sound like and operate like banks the more they become like banks.”

Bottom Line: Most of America (1) doesn’t know what credit unions are, (2) doesn’t know they can “join” a credit union, and/or (3) doesn’t regard credit unions as a serious alternative for financial services. One research study after another has proven this time and time again. Until the credit union movement comes to terms with reality and accepts the situation, nothing will change and this debate will rage on.

The choice is simple, either the industry can (1) make people aware of “credit unions” and what the term means, (2) find another term to replace “credit union” (like “Financial Co-op” or “Cooperative Bank”), or (3) keep moaning about how sad it is that know one knows about “credit unions.”

As Trey Reeme, , said back in 2008, “If after 100 years people still don’t know what “credit union” means, it’s probably time to change it.”

Make that 102 years now.

This article © 2012 by The Financial Brand and may not be reproduced.

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The old name ‘just didn’t suit us anymore’

South Interlake Credit Union’s growth strategy hinged on building branches throughout the Manitoba province where it was based. At the time of the name change, half of the credit union’s branches were already located outside the South Interlake area. The credit union said past member research and feedback from staff verified their conclusion: the South Interlake name no longer represented who the organization was.

This wasn’t the first time the credit union changed names. It started as The Stonewall Credit Union Society in 1955, then became South Interlake in 1968 following a merger with Teulon Credit Union.

The Sunova name was created from the words “sun” and “nova,” reflecting how the credit union sees itself today: a vibrant, innovative and friendly financial institution.

“We feel the name change really represents who we are,” Sunova marketing manager Vanessa Foster said in an interview in the Lac du Bonnet Leader. “‘Sun’ identifies the warmth of friendly staff while ‘Nova’ represents the company’s rebirth.”

“We wanted it to be short and sweet but we also felt the name should mean more than a combination of letters,” Foster explained.

“The circular symbol in our logo reflects a number of different interpretations of our name — sun, constant movement and star,” Foster said. “Feelings of warmth, friendliness, innovation and endless opportunities all come to mind.”

“Sun” and “nova” — words evoking beaches and warm weather — may seem like a strange choice for a credit union in Canada, but Sunova wanted a name that captured its brand personality and not its geography. Chevy’s Nova is notoriously celebrated as a major renaming faux pas after rumors spread that “nova” meant “no go” in Spanish. This modern myth has survived through the years, even though it isn’t true.

Takoda, the D.O.G.

Meet Takoda. She’s Sunova’s official “Director of Greetings” (D.O.G). The Saint Bernard, has held the extremely unique position as four-legged greeter since 2006. She is a fulltime “employee” at one of the credit union’s branches, with responsibilities that include greeting members, sleeping, playing with kids, sleeping and occasionally providing some moments of comic relief.

“We have to admit, she does spend a fair bit of time sleeping on the job!” the credit union says.

Takoda, which means “friend for all” in Sioux, joined the team as part of a marketing effort to draw attention to the credit union. “We’re always looking for ways to be different here,” Foster told the Credit Union Journal in an interview. “We thought that having a dog in here would be unique.”

“We didn’t want a dog that you typically see on the street,” Foster said. “We wanted a larger dog that’s friendly, outgoing and good with strangers and children.”

“We have many people who come in regularly just to see the dog,” Sunova CEO Edward Bergen told the Winnipeg Free Press.

Bergen said the credit union is considering adding greeter dogs at future branch locations.

Bright ideas, vibrant future

Sunova currently has 23,000 members, 10 branches and upwards of $600 million in assets. But the credit union has big plans, starting with an expansion strategy that involves doubling the credit union’s branch network by 2020.

“We plan to build one branch every year in Winnipeg for the next 10 years,” Bergen said.

The credit union just announced it’s building its first branch in Winnipeg, with another nine more on the way.

Sunova has recently started deploying “pod” style banking, where people are greeted by an associate when they walk through the door, then taken to a teller pod to conduct transactions.

Extreme Makeover: Banking Edition

Sunova says it developed its “unique, new brand identity to better reflect who we are and what we’re all about.”

“It is simply an approach to make our organization a little brighter with a different name and fresh new look,” the credit union said.

SUNOVA SHOP
The credit union partnered with Clear eTail to create an online e-Store. The shop is exclusively for members, so only they know what schwag, garb and other goodies lurk within.

You can download a PDF of this name change brochure for Sunova.

This article © 2012 by The Financial Brand and may not be reproduced.

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