Remember the new world of financial opportunity that opened the day you turned 18? You could apply for a credit card. You could be approved for tens (or hundreds) of thousands of dollars in student loans. You could rent your own apartment.

And since you took a personal finance course in high school, you knew how to budget for it all, right?

Oh, wait.

It turns out only 25 states — exactly half — require high school students to complete at least one semester of personal finance. And the consequences bear that out.

What’s more, the grades given by The Nation’s Report Card which rates each state’s financial literacy requirements, contain some surprising results.

And what the average American doesn’t know costs them around $1,500 per year due to poor budgeting, overspending and interest payments.

What’s more? That lack of knowledge extends to the differences between credit unions and banks.

40%

of non-members don’t think they can join a credit union

60%

of Americans think credit unions don’t offer mortgages

71%

of non-member Millennials are not familiar with credit unions

Source: KASASA®

There is a silver lining in this, though: The right kind of marketing can attract new customers (and their deposits).

But what kind of messaging should you use? First, we need to understand what people — especially Millennials and younger — want from their financial institutions. And then we need to identify which media to use.

Let’s dig into that.

Younger People Want Anytime Access

“Bankers’ hours” might be a good thing for people who actually work at a bank (or credit union). But for the customers who want to visit a branch in-person? Not so much.

To attract new depositors, this perceived lack of convenience — and locations — presents a major concern that needs to be addressed.

In short, accessibility is paramount.

Reasons Why People Don’t Join a Credit Union

55%

believe credit unions don’t offer online banking

– Affinity FCU/Harris Poll

33%

say there aren’t enough branch locations

-Michigan Credit Union League

38%

say branch locations are inconvenient

-Michigan Credit Union League

Odds are, you offer online banking so customers can deposit checks electronically, set up bill pay, transfer money and even apply for a loan.

That may be obvious to you — but it isn’t to non-members. Positioning your company as digital and accessible will go a long way in attracting youngers customers.

Source: Sogolytics

Younger Bankers Value… Their Values

How you spend or invest your money reflects your values to a certain extent. Most of us don’t think of that with each and every purchase — our minds simply lack the bandwidth.

But every can of soup we buy, every individual stock we invest in implies we support the company that makes the products we use. And let’s be honest: Wall Street and mega banks haven’t exactly done much to endear themselves to the average American over the past couple of decades.

That has led many to migrate to financial institutions whose values align with those of common people — especially Millennials and younger.

46%

of Millennials say community involvement is an essential characteristic of the “perfect” financial institution

-Independent Community Bankers Association

73%

of Millennials prefer to do business with companies that align with their values

-Bankrate

75%

of Millennials make financial decisions based on their personal values

-Bankrate

This means, all things being equal, would-be depositors are more likely to do business with a financial institution that tries to make life better for all.

And since credit unions are equal — if not better — in terms of fiscal service (e.g. online banking, checking and savings, etc.), leaning into community service messaging might make a difference.

Younger Depositors Value Advice

Remember how woefully inadequate our country is when it comes to financial literacy?

That affects lives in tangible ways, most obviously in the form of many not knowing how to manage their finances (at best). And mismanaging their money (at worst).

It’s no wonder, then, that younger depositors not only need advice —they want it.

Among Depositors 18-24:

58%

want their financial institution to recommend beneficial products or services

-Bankjoy

67%

want their institution to provide tools that help create and monitor a budget

-Bankjoy

Odds are, your website, app and employees can provide, at the very least, basic financial recommendations and guidance. Promoting this service, free of charge, shifts perceptions of your branch just being a place to store money to a resource that helps members be wiser with their money.

So, Where Do Millennials and Younger Turn for Financial Advice?

According to a recent Bankrate survey, resources range from in-person to print.

But maybe this shouldn’t come as a surprise, given how trusting (or not) different generations are of news sources.

In search engine optimization, algorithms contain hundreds of ranking factors. One of those is an abbreviation: YMYL (Your Money, Your Life). In short, sites with high levels of authority and expertise are given preference for searches pertaining to life-altering content. In this case: Your Wealth and Your Health. Actually, that sounds better than Your Money, Your Life.

Anyway, you wouldn’t ask a stranger on the street for advice on treating a rash on your arm, would you? But you would be more likely take the advice of someone your trust, like a friend or family member.

Or a content creator or forum that you’ve established a trusted connection with.

Key Takeaways

Life rarely happens in a vacuum. Targeting one audience one way produces desired ripple effects when messaging a different audience through a different medium.

For example, creating a campaign targeting Gen Xers through their preferred media that explains the “traditional” services a credit union provides could result in new customers. And those returns are potentially exponential, given that Millennials and younger ask their families for financial advice — including which financial institution to use.

Likewise, centering messaging on podcasts and social media around digital convenience, the ability to open an account online, using a non-profit financial institution, “belonging to” or “being a member” to elicit a certain exclusivity, could also help credit unions differentiate themselves in a positive light.

The Ideal Media Mix

Attracting Millennials — the largest demographic — and younger should be a priority for any financial institution. But ignoring older generations could prove costly.

Creating a media strategy, with appropriate messaging per audience, is an investment worth the effort.

Reach out and let’s discuss how Stealth Creative’s media buyers and strategists build brighter financial futures — for your credit union and your members.

Marketing to a new audience is like trying to find that special someone. Or, if you’ve already forged a lasting bond with a partner, marketing can be like maintaining that relationship.

Think about it.

If you’re venturing into a new location where no one knows you exist, you need to pull out all the stops (or at least more of them) if you want to make an impression. And if you’ve been in the same area for a while, you still need to put in the work if you want to keep the spark alive.

In short, you need to create — or change — your media strategy based on your market’s maturity.

So, what should your media strategy look like? Let’s find out.

Broadcasting a Grand Gesture (New Market)

The old saying “There are plenty of fish in the sea.” means you have options. Well, the same goes for your prospects. Odds are there are at least dozens of other companies who do what you do — or something similar.

In turn, you need to stand out by letting prospects know you exist in a memorable way.

So, if you’re trying to make a name for yourself in a newer market, that means high-reach media like TV or radio should be at the top of your list. Think dedicating a song on the radio, only in this case the song is a commercial made with your prospect in mind.

Casting your message where tons of prospects are likely to hear or see it ups your odds of getting multiple bites. And using newer advanced targeting features ensures you can be more precise with where you cast your net.

TV reaches 90% of US households weekly
Radio reaches 92% of US households weekly

-Source: Statista

Stay Top of Mind with Digital Marketing (Established Market)

If your market is mature (in the sense you’ve been there awhile), you still need to remind prospects and existing clients alike that you’re around. Admittedly, this is a delicate dance. You want to be known and remembered — but for the right reasons.

66% say annoying or intrusive ad experiences reduce their trust in the brand advertising
71% agree that annoying or intrusive ad experiences make them less likely to purchase from that brand in future.

-Source: MediaCat

The important thing is to be included in your customers’ consideration set for new or upgraded services they want. And since you’ve established your market presence, meaning you’re more familiar with its personalities and needs, you can achieve this without being overbearing.

This can include:

Paid Search
Display
Retargeting
Paid Social

Brands in the initial consideration set can be up to 3X more likely to be purchased than brands that aren’t in it.

-Source: McKinsey

Keep the Spark Alive with Out of Home (New Markets)

Early in your relationship, you might be more daring and adventurous. Riding in a hot air balloon? Sure, why not? The most expensive wine on the menu? Two bottles, please.

These high-impact experiences show the lengths you’re willing to go to win someone’s affection.

From an advertising perspective in new markets, that might mean surprising clients when and where they least expect it, like at a gas station. Or devoting a can’t-miss billboard they’ll drive by on their way to work. Or sponsoring their favorite sports team.

Out Of Home Advertising generates the highest percentage of brand recall

-Solomon Partners

Send Them Mail (Established Markets)

A key to any successful relationship is reminding your partner (or client) that you care. Yes, even if it’s obvious that you do. And yes, even if you’ve been together for decades.

In these circumstances, sending a personalized gift or note in the mail just might do the trick.

And in marketing, that can include hand-written direct mail with a special offer just for them.

Handwritten direct mail has a response rate more than 2X greater than traditional mail.

-Handwrytten

Tell Them a Story In Print or On Your Website (New Markets)

Think back to your first few dates with someone. They hardly know anything about you, like your favorite color or lucky number — let alone your deepest beliefs and biggest life goals. You spend hours and hours talking about yourself while listening in kind.

If you’re the new business on the block, you don’t have the benefit of brevity working in your favor. You need to provide a lot of details, including:

What you offer
Why you’re better
What you stand for
Company achievements or awards
Promises, guarantees, reassurances

Print marketing has a 70-80% higher recall rate than digital advertising.

-Gitnux

In short, you need to educate. You need to build trust. But that requires time and space.

In this case, print — whether in the local paper, direct mail or area publications — or infinite-scroll websites makes a world of sense.

Gentle Retargeting Reminders (Established Markets)

Let’s say you and your flame of many years have a date planned months from now. Sure, you could just each enter the time and place in your separate calendars.

That’s not very romantic, though, is it?

Sending them a text with a restaurant’s menu or a recent setlist of the band you’re going to see during the months or weeks leading up to the big day builds the excitement. It reminds you both of what you’ll experience.

Retargeting serves the same purpose in established markets. It keeps the conversation going. It reminds your audience that you’re there. And, since they visited your site, you know the interest is mutual.

For example, if you’re in the financial space and want to re-engage with clients, consider retargeting them in other apps.

In-app retargeting can boost conversion rates by 38%.

-Criteo

Go Over The Top (New Markets)

Pretend you plan an extravagant day on the town for your new special someone: A picnic at their favorite park and appetizers at their favorite restaurant, followed by a pint at their favorite ice cream shop (or bar).

You’re going to their favorite locations.

Geotargeting achieves the same level of meaningfulness. And when you personalize your message at the right space at the right time, the sparks can really fly.

This can include serving a mobile ad that displays a special deal when your prospect is near one of your competitors. Or, showing an Over The Top (OTT) commercial speaking with “new customer only” messaging.

80% of Millennials and younger prefer advertisements that are customized to their individual interests and location.

-MarketSplash

Different Needs for Different Stages

We’re not dating coaches or relationship gurus. We’re just (really good) media strategists and buyers.

Every relationship, romantic and business, is different. But every relationship is the same in that effective communication helps unlock happiness. In marketing, the format, frequency and intent of your communication changes based not only on your goals, but your market maturity.

While a healthy mix of all media — digital, broadcast, social, print — is recommended regardless of your brand’s recall or geographic relevance, your recommended strategy depends on many factors, from target age to overall budget.

So, what would your ideal media strategy look like? Slide into our DMs or give us a call if you’re old fashioned.

And let’s see if we’re a good match.

Right now, your business is waging a multi-front battle: Against your competitors. Against your marketing budget. And most importantly, for a share of your target market’s mind.

Odds are you don’t have an infinite war chest to draw from, which means — just like in any battle — you need to strategize how you allocate resources. Fortunately, the right media buying strategy can maximize your budget by building brand awareness through a multi-dimensional approach.

As discussed in our previous blog, some media are better suited for certain things. But no matter which medium you use, you’ll get an added boost of branding as a result.

Let’s explain why.

The Difference Between Brand Recognition and Brand Awareness

Before we dive into the facts and figures, let’s define two terms that are sometimes used interchangeably — but shouldn’t be: Brand recognition and brand awareness.

Brand recognition is when a prospect knows your company on a surface level. Items in brand recognition include those shallow, surface-level identifiers of your company:

Name
Industry
Logo
Jingle

If you could identify golden arches and “I’m lovin’ it” as McDonald’s, but (for some reason) thought they were in the car detailing business, you’d be lacking brand awareness.

Brand awareness means you have a deeper level of familiarity that might border on loyalty. If you are brand aware, you are more likely to buy from that company. Making prospects brand aware requires playing the long game.

But — and this is important — no matter what, media buying will help with both.

Paid Search Media Buying + Your Brand

Let’s pretend you work in a saturated market with hundreds — if not thousands — of competitors.

We feel your pain.

Building brand equity could seem a Herculean task.

But what if your brand could be associated with the first listing for any search engine query?

What if the first thing that pops up when someone wants an answer to a question, a general want or a specific need was your company?

It can happen with paid search… if you’re willing to spend the money. And generally speaking, paid search can be worth every penny.

These are almost supernatural statistics. Your brand can be associated with literally anything you want it to be, which makes this one of the most effective and instantaneous ways to increase your brand recognition, awareness and yes — even sales.

Social Media

Everybody (well, just about everybody) has at least one social media account. Here in America:

52% use social media to discover new brands and products⁴
78% use social media to learn about new brands⁵
7 is the average number of social media accounts per person⁶
2 hours per day is the average time spent on social media⁷

So, depending on your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), budget (social media is generally very cost effective) and target demographics (some apps skew towards younger users), paid social media might be the logical place to start. Just be sure to put your efforts into a platform that aligns seamlessly with your audience. And if you really want to know how to engage with your followers, consider using streams on Hootsuite. Do that and you’ll understand how your followers perceive your company, which will allow you to fine-tune your content strategy and messaging.

Radio

Get ready to have your mind blown. Out of all media, one reigns supreme in weekly frequency among practically all age ranges. It’s not social media. And it’s not TV either. Radio — yes, AM/FM radio — takes the prize. Here are some other head-turning stats showing how radio media buying helps brand awareness:

Perhaps the most interesting thing is that, even in today’s non-stop-content-streaming environment, terrestrial radio blows the doors off ad-supported Spotify and Pandora! Just look at the findings of this “share of ear” report.

However, we would be remiss to completely ignore streaming radio, where you can target with almost surgical-like precision. This is especially important if your audience is niche or you want to target a very specific geography.

In short: if you want a cost-effective method of building brand awareness, radio probably deserves consideration.

TV

Nobody can deny TV’s immense branding appeal. Where else can you reach millions of people simultaneously?

At the same time, the overall cost of delivering a broadcast spot is often an obstacle; the message, while reaching countless eyeballs, only appeals to a portion — but that’s changing in an important way thanks to the explosion of addressable TV.

This new technology delivers in ways beyond zoned cable and OTT by giving brands the ability to target not just neighborhoods, but specific households based on select geography, demographics and behaviors.

It’s amazingly exact targeting, amplified because just about anything with a screen can show a commercial nowadays.

There are also other benefits of traditional TV media buying for branding awareness:

Here’s one more important note: TV doesn’t just mean commercials. TV also means branded content within a news program. For example, severe weather break-ins sponsored by a roofing company. And given that the average viewer spends three hours per day glued to their TV, opportunity abounds to build your brand.

Print

So far, we’ve been focusing primarily on interacting with screens.

But we can’t forget about interacting with good ol’ fashioned print, because this medium still packs a branding punch.

For example, did you know that 82% of consumers trust print ads the most when making a purchase decision?

It makes sense. You are consciously deciding which publication to buy and hold instead of being presented a piece of content.

But there are also other numbers that show print media buying enhances brand awareness.

But that’s not all.

Print ads can appear anywhere in a publication: The cover, the centerfold (not that kind) and wraps.

Out Of Home (OOH)

Does it ever seem like you can’t escape brand messaging, even when you’re running errands?

You’ll probably see it on:

Billboards
Transit stations
Public transportation
Gas station pumps

Businesses advertise on these examples — and many, many more —because OOH is proven to increase brand awareness.

And the potential impact is even greater for retailers.

68% of adults notice OOH ads on their way to shopping in-person at a store
68% of adults notice OOH ads very close to or right outside a store
75% of adults notice OOH ads inside a store
OOH ads have a moderate or significant impact on 42% of in-person purchase decisions

So, while other mediums might have a little more cache, a well-placed and eye-catching outdoor advertisement has the potential to pay off in a big way.

Ready to Win Your Branding Battle?

Hopefully you now have an idea of how media buying can bolster your brand’s awareness, no matter the medium.

But since the options are seemingly endless and your budget… probably isn’t… you should explore a customized strategy.

Stealth Creative’s media department can help you create one. Drop us a line and we’ll get to boosting your brand’s revenue (and awareness).

Brian Reinhardt

Brian Reinhardt is a Senior Copywriter at Stealth Creative whose first unpublished story was penned at the age of eight. Yes, it involved hoverboards, lasers and robots. His days are filled with researching, content creation and SEO strategy. His nights are spent with family, reading and managing too many fantasy sports teams. Nine is his favorite number.

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