JAYRAY a communications consultancy

What's the Difference

JayRay understands the credit union system and the international operating principles that guide the movement. We help credit unions best serve their members by reaching the goals set by their boards of directors. To experience a fresh perspective and tips on living the "credit union difference," check out our blog.

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Everything CU
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Financial Brand
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The Credit Union Warrior
The CU Skeptic

				Kurt
				Kacie
				JayRay
				JayRay

Dec. 14, 2009 at 10:11am

What will people find when they search for you on Google maps?

Five reasons to update your Google Local Business listing

Posted by Kacie McKinney in Strategic Communications
Comments (1)

You have probably already seen your listing on Google Maps (the listing that pops up when you type your CU’s name or address into Google Maps).

But did you know that Google lets businesses update the listing? (It’s free! And only took me about 20 minutes.)

Oct. 22, 2009 at 12:44pm

Think before you bash

Posted by Kacie McKinney in Strategic Communications
No comments

Bank-bashing ads. Smart move?

Psychologist Maya Bourdeau’s How We Influence Series brings an interesting perspective. (If you’re in the Seattle area, King County Chapter of Credit Unions is hosting a webinar Oct. 27).

Sep. 23, 2009 at 3:38pm

National CU brand? Good luck!: Individual CUs must brand themselves differently–from banks and each other

Part 3

Posted by Kurt Jacobson in Strategic Communications
No comments

In two recent posts I said a national credit union branding campaign would probably not work, and that national promotions might.

Aug. 24, 2009 at 11:38am

National CU brand? Good luck!: If not a national CU brand, how about national promotions?

Part 2

Posted by Kurt Jacobson in Strategic Communications
Comments (2)

I recently said that a national CU branding campaign probably won’t work. See last post here. Those who left comments made some great points.

If a national branding campaign won’t work because a powerful differentiator will be hard to find, maybe an ongoing series of national promotional campaigns will work.

Aug. 17, 2009 at 12:18pm

National CU brand? Good luck!

Part 1

Posted by Kurt Jacobson in Strategic Communications
Comments (6)

“No Money, No Campaign-ey” is how Credit Union Journal Publisher Frank Diekmann expressed why CUNA CEO Dan Mica believes there will be no national credit union branding campaign.

Aug. 10, 2009 at 11:00am

Invest in your brand: It's now or never

Posted by Kurt Jacobson in Strategic Communications
Comments (1)

Did you participate in the Q1 2009 Financial Services Survey webinar sponsored by Interbrand and Thomson Reuters? It should give credit unions the steel spines they need to invest in their brands: it’s now or never. Credit unions need to take advantage of the fact that confidence in financial institutions is declining and make an impression about the credit union difference.

Jun. 29, 2009 at 9:52am

What does chronic mean?

Posted by Kurt Jacobson in Strategic Communications, Talking to Members
No comments

What does “chronic” mean? Or “20 percent chance of rain?”

It turns out that a large percentage of us—20 or 30 percent—don't understand what a 20 percent chance of rain means in a weather report. My point: Lots of people don’t understand much of what is being said to them.

Jun. 4, 2009 at 10:21am

Steal this campaign and create talk

Posted by Kurt Jacobson in Integrated Marketing, Strategic Communications, The Power of Creativity
No comments

Here is a campaign we created for an insurance company that you can steal and use anywhere except Washington state. Read more

May. 19, 2009 at 3:40pm

Spring into Wesabe

Posted by Kacie McKinney in Differentiation is Key, New Members, Strategic Communications
No comments

When I first found Wesabe, I was blown away. I had been using an Excel sheet to track my finances (okay, well I started to for about a month and then realized I was never going to take the time to actually update it). And then realized what a great tool Wesabe is—and how much I actually use it.

That’s why I was so excited to see the recent news about its partnership with Delta Community Credit Union. Wesabe has been around since 2006, but recently launched Wesabe Springboard, a tool that allows credit unions to integrate Wesabe’s management tools directly into their Web sites. And it has the potential to grab those web-savvy generations.

May. 13, 2009 at 9:15am

Lesson from the USS Nimitz: Trust your communication advisor

Posted by Kurt Jacobson in Strategic Communications, What We're Up To
No comments

Thanks to Frank Diekmann and the Credit Union Journal’s Grow Show for opening my eyes to what the private sector and credit unions can learn from the Navy.

Apr. 29, 2009 at 4:27pm

Banking on Facebook

Posted by Guest Blogger in Differentiation is Key, Strategic Communications
Comments (1)

I remember when Facebook first came out. Back when things were simple. Only college students had access to the site and member profiles consisted of a person’s name, contact information and a simple photo. Now not only is anyone eligible to create their own account, but users can access the site for a variety of tasks ranging from selling their pet goldfish to accessing their checking and savings accounts.

Apr. 24, 2009 at 10:45am

Mommy, tell me a story about finance

Posted by Kurt Jacobson in Strategic Communications
No comments

“What I love about finance—and what I love about accounting even, which is kind of embarrassing to admit is it’s another form of storytelling.” -Jacqueline Novogratz, in The McKinsey Quarterly.

Apr. 15, 2009 at 1:52pm

Bringing the message home from school

Posted by Kurt Jacobson in Choose the Right Target Audience, Strategic Communications
Comments (1)

There’s a school for credit unions that want to reach young women, encourage financial literacy and reach the next great members. It’s your neighborhood school.

Ah, but don’t people hate the idea of commercialism in schools?

Mar. 11, 2009 at 3:58pm

Observing the truth

Posted by Kurt Jacobson in Strategic Communications
Comments (3)

In your survey I may tell you that I am highly likely to stick with my trusty printed monthly statement — and then a month later I may offer no resistance to switch my statements to electronic. I truly embrace my opinions and behavior, even when they conflict.

Feb. 17, 2009 at 10:16am

A lesson from stained glass and crosses

Posted by Kacie McKinney in New Members, Strategic Communications, The Power of Creativity
No comments

Martin Lindstrom wrote a great article in December’s Advertising Age “How Apple, Others Have Cultivated Religious Followings.”

Jan. 29, 2009 at 12:20pm

What’s killing newspapers is killing your newsletter

Posted by Kurt Jacobson in Strategic Communications, Talking to Members
Comments (1)

Advertising Age’s Simon Dumenco equates reading a newspaper to drinking a 64-ounce Big Gulp when what we really want is “the informational equivalent of a shot of espresso.” Read more

Jan. 8, 2009 at 10:38am

Why spend so much effort researching members when we should be researching prospects?

Posted by Kurt Jacobson in Choose the Right Target Audience, New Members, Strategic Communications
No comments

I was reading Filene’s excellent new report, “The Credit Union Brand: What is it Good for?” It got to me wonder why we spend so much time and money researching what customers/members do and think when we should be spending time finding out what our best prospects do and think. Read more

Dec. 31, 2008 at 11:57am

Does social media have you overwhelmed?

Posted by Kacie McKinney in Choose the Right Target Audience, Strategic Communications, Talking to Members
Comments (2)

Don’t worry, you aren’t the only one left wondering whether your next move is to Tweet, Digg, StumbleUpon or comment.

Maybe you don’t even know what I’m talking about…but your peers are here to help.

Dec. 24, 2008 at 1:59pm

A little ambiance

Posted by Guest Blogger in New Members, Strategic Communications, Talking to Members
No comments

How do you get people to come into your branch when they can easily do their banking online?

Dec. 17, 2008 at 1:30pm

Hitting a topical mark

Posted by Guest Blogger in Differentiation is Key, Strategic Communications, What We're Up To
No comments

What does a jewelry store ad have to do with credit unions? Read on and I'll explain.

Sep. 23, 2008 at 4:50pm

Shame on you

Posted by Melina Young in Strategic Communications, Talking to Members
No comments

YES CU Blog’s newest post has a link to a survey conducted by Coinstar (and posted on CUNA’s Web site) on what consumers want from their financial institution.

The survey shows people would like their financial institution’s branches to look like today’s coffee shops and retail stores, and most are happier standing in line at their financial institution than they are waiting at the post office. (Agreed. Watching the dust gather while facing the line in snail mail land is definitely one of the last places I want to be).

Sep. 9, 2008 at 5:13pm

Banking with Google

Posted by Jamie Chase in Choose the Right Target Audience, Strategic Communications, Talking to Members
Comments (1)

Sensational theory alert: A single press release acts like an advertisement in the phone book in the age of Google. Why? Consumers aren’t using the Yellow Pages like they used to. They are Google-ing.

Consumers use Google to find:

Aug. 14, 2008 at 10:42am

Brand strength can make a difference

Posted by Guest Blogger in Differentiation is Key, Strategic Communications
No comments

What’s in a brand? Sometimes consumers immediately think of a company’s logo as being the brand. While the logo is certainly a big part of it, a brand consists of so much more. Read more

Jun. 3, 2008 at 1:23pm

Don't get whipped by narrow focus

Posted by Melina Young in Strategic Communications, Talking to Members
Comments (12)

A few days ago, while eating Chinese takeout at Jamie’s house and speaking philosophically about credit unions, I remembered one of the most profound concepts I have ever heard. It came from Dr. Neill, one of my professors at the University of Washington Tacoma. I’ll never forget the point he made when we were discussing the importance of effective mission statements.

Dr. Neill asked us to think about a company in the early 1900s that sold buggy whips. If this company’s leaders could glimpse into the future, they would see the dwindling need for buggy whips and they’d potentially change their products.

May. 29, 2008 at 1:26pm

Value of a blog

Posted by Kurt Jacobson in Integrated Marketing, Strategic Communications
No comments

In the National Association of Federal Credit Union’s “TFCU Online” article author Kate Arcieri talks in great detail about credit union blogging best practices.

As a communications consultant and one of the people posting to The Credit Union Difference blog, I have been trying to estimate the value of a blog visitor and a blog commenter.

Mar. 28, 2008 at 1:44pm

Why the CU Skeptic is right

Posted by Jamie Chase in Banks Are Not Hated, Social Responsibility, Strategic Communications
Comments (4)

Last week the CU Skeptic’s blog post was smart. It was poignant and a reminder that innovation and serving consumers should be far more important to credit unions than fighting banker attacks. Thank you, Skeptic for encouraging credit unions to look to their mission for operations and marketing guidance.

A step beyond that, I encourage the CU Skeptic to hold off on revealing his identity.

Feb. 28, 2008 at 1:47pm

There's a difference?

Posted by Melina Young in Strategic Communications, Talking to Members
Comments (8)

While doing some research last week I started thinking about the credit union difference and the Generation Y audience that credit unions are striving to convert to member-owners. I am a member of this tech-savvy generation – I’m 22 – and I can honestly say that before I started working with JayRay I was pretty fuzzy on the difference between credit unions and banks.

Keep in mind that I am a member of two different credit unions and also have some accounts with a bank that, as Mike pointed out in his recent post, my parents started for me when I was about 12.

There are two possibilities here:

Dec. 31, 2007 at 1:54pm

What is PR and why does it matter to credit unions?

Posted by Jamie Chase in Choose the Right Target Audience, Elections, Strategic Communications, Talking to Members
No comments

Confusion about public relations is universal. It’s not just spinning a story, getting ink or creating hype - that theory is pretty far removed from credit union ideals and the mission of the movement.

PRSA has a lengthy definition of public relations. The basic point is that PR helps facilitate a rewarding relationship between an organization and its audience.