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Informal research conducted by The Financial Brand indicates a significant increase in the utilization of video sharing tools such as YouTube by credit unions.
Search results for “credit union” on YouTube went up 47% over a 3-month period:
- October 2007: 524
- January 2008: 772
Google Video results for “credit union” increased 41%:
- October 2007: 755
- January 2008: 1,069
Googling the term “credit union” while limiting the search to only www.youtube.com yielded 44% more results.
- October 2007: 1,330
- January 2008: 1,920
Credit unions are using sites like YouTube for a range of purposes. Most, like Service Credit Union, are uploading their TV commercials such as this one.
But some are using it for other purposes, such as UK Credit Union who made a one-and-a-half minute video depicting light-hearted office humor.
Charlotte Metro Credit Union created a 5-minute video retracing all the work that went into their production of their TV spot featuring NBA star Muggsy Bogues.
Ad agencies are uploading commercials they produce for credit unions (with or without the express permission of their clients), such as this one from production company Kaye Lites for Service Credit Union.
There are also online videos from outfits like CUNA, whose “Little Guy” video for small business loans has been viewed almost 7,000 times.
As credit unions get bigger, more and more of them have the resources and need to pursue bigtime ad strategies like TV campaigns, some of which find their way on to video sharing sites like YouTube. The occassional credit union is even producing web-only videos.
Bottom Line: The trend speaks for itself. The irony is that credit unions’ capacity for mass media TV campaigns increases while traditional TV gives up more and more turf to the Internet.