The credit union set its logo ablaze at a special event for members and staff where the name was unveiled. (Photo credit: Rick Cruz/Pacific Daily News).

Like many credit unions that expand with a community charter, Government of Guam Employees Federal Credit Union found that its original name no longer represented the organization’s field of membership, which includes anyone who lives on the island. At 43 letters and 15 syllables, it was a real mouthful. After changing names to GGEFCU, the credit union realized that the acronym strategy didn’t work any better for them than the dozens of others who try it every year.

The credit union wanted something new, something fresh and different, so it partnered with the financial naming experts at Weber Marketing Group to develop a name that was “more inclusive and welcoming.”

“After reviewing over 70 possibilities, GGEFCU chose the name Coast360,” the agency said. “Coast360 reflects the island they serve and the inclusiveness they espouse. Coast360 is about unity and working together to help people thrive.”

“This is not an easy thing to do. It’s hard to change a name that you’ve been calling yourself for the past 45 years,” credit union president John Arroyo told Guam’s KUAM. “This credit union has embarked on a new journey. We’ve been reborn. We’ve come full circle.”

Joseph Aguon, one of the credit union’s founding members, said it doesn’t matter to him what the name is “It is the people behind it,” he told the Pacific Daily News.

“Now, we don’t allow just a few people, but the whole island. That’s why we changed it to Coast 360, so that we can accept all the people of Guam,” Aguon said. “I am very happy that I can witness the growth of the institution.”

This is the first name change The Financial Brand has seen in years where there is almost no complaints or outrage over the new moniker to be found anywhere online. None of the news stories about the name change contain the vitriolic comments frequently seen whenever credit unions change names.

30-SECOND TV SPOT

NEW WEBSITE DESIGN

MARKETING COLLATERAL

Many credit unions refer to themselves internally in acronym form. Using acronyms is common industry shorthand. Everyone does in our industry, right?

And when credit unions first start looking at a name change, one option is always first to make it on the table: Simply switch to an acronym. Easy.

Take a name with six words and a mountain of syllables – Something Employees Community Federal Credit Union – and turn it into an acronym, like SECFCU.

That’s sort of what Deere Harvester Credit Union did when they became ‘DHCU Community Credit Union’ (‘DHCUCCU’) after giving ‘DFCU Financial‘ a whirl.

But what do all these acronyms look like from the consumer’s perspective.

They look a lot alike.

And they look cold and corporate.

Common ancestry, common surname
Credit unions all share a common last name – the last two names, actually: “credit” and “union.” When you turn your name into an acronym, you only leave yourself a couple of letters to differentiate your credit union from all the other CUs and FCUs out there – not to mention the vast sea of other 3-5 letter acronyms ending in “CU” (or even just “U”).

In Washington State, there’s credit unions whose official names are BECU, HPECU, PUDCU and SECU-FCU. There’s universities with acronyms like EWU and CWU. There’s even a CWU-FCU.

It’s dizzying. What the heck are are those letters supposed to mean?

Reality Check: Acronyms made out of credit union names are visually stiff and phonetically awkward. A combination like “PUDCU” sounds weird when read aloud as “pud kyoo” or “pud coo.” And you can’t enunciate SECU-FCU, which looks like a word jumble. “Seck-you fick-you?”

Acronyms lead to problems with domain names too. These four credit unions all use the ‘PECU’ acronym. But none of them own the über-desireable “www.pecu.com” URL, which actually belongs to the Professional Education Corporation University (aka “PECU“).

• PECU (Postal Employees Credit Union)
  www.pecu.org
• PECU (Postal Employees Credit Union)
  www.pecu24.org
• PECU (Public Employees Credit Union)
  www.pecutx.org
• PECU (Public Employees Credit Union)
  www.publicemployeescu.com

There’s also the PECU known as Patriot Equity Credit Union. As well as PEFCU (Purdue Employees Credit Union), PEFCU (Panhandle Educators Federal Credit Union), and PEFCU (Publix Employees Federal Credit Union) with its wholly owned insurance subsidiary, PECU.

It’s not that these credit unions need to change names. Not at all. But if you’re using an acronym and you don’t have to, you might want to reconsider your policy.

Also, if your credit union changes names, avoid acronyms. The acronym you want is already taken by someone, somewhere, if not lots of folks everywhere. Pick a new name and use it with pride.

Bottom Line: The whole point of branding is to differentiate – in every way possible. That means your name – even your URL – should be as different from others as possible, especially your peers and competitors.

Exception: It’s okay to simplify “Federal Credit Union” down to “FCU” in certain applications. This reduction is not a strategic decision. It’s a practical one. You can turn seven syllables into three, and you’re often cutting the visual length of the name in half. It makes a name easier to say, easier to see, easier to write.

If you do use ‘FCU,’ you should still spell the whole name out in your logo and in signage. The fact that you’re a credit union is, in itself, a competitive difference worth spelling out.

Further Reading: Credit union acronyms really annoy Morriss Partee at EverythingCU.com too. Here he gives two big thumbs down for the strategy:

• Credit Union acronyms totally harsh my mellow
• Don’t change your name to an acronym

In this press release, Personal Care America FCU announces three new savings products.

G.R.A.D. - “Getting Ready for A Degree”
A savings account that is available to members wishing to save money for future education. It can be used personally for the individual or for any family member including children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. The money collected in this account can be used for, but is not limited to, educational expenses such as tuition, books, and registration fees at both primary and secondary institutions.

H.O.M.E. - “Home Ownership Made Easier”
An account designed to help buyers save money that can be applied towards the purchase of their first home. The home must be purchased in the name of the account holder. Acceptable costs that are covered by the account include down payments, inspections, mortgage fees, and closing costs.

P.A.C.E. - “Planning Ahead for a Cash Emergency”
Provides a way for members to save money for unexpected cash emergencies that might otherwise deplete traditional savings accounts or be paid with credit cards. Events such as job loss, auto or home repair, and family illness are just a few that qualify for this savings plan.

Windsor Family Credit Union will be paying $1.62 million over 10 years to name a new arena in its hometown as ‘WFCU Centre.’ (The good news: That’s only $1.45 million or so in U.S. dollars.)

It’s unclear if the deal will be evenly divided into 10 annual payments of $162,000, or if there were any additional promotional opportunities afforded to the credit union in exchange for its sponsorship.

The credit union has over $570 million in assets, making it one of the top 30 biggest credit unions in Canada.