Content area
Full text
YUBA CITY, Calif. - Sierra Central Credit Union's marketing department has mastered the art of do-it-yourself.
It's not that the $193 million assets, 60,000-member co-op serves a rural area so far removed from civilization that advertising resources are scarce. Yuba City is only a few miles from Sacramento.
Instead, the two-person marketing department can do more, while still sustaining a quality product, according to Senior Vice President Marketing Roy Worley.
Sierra Central radio advertising last month won first place, second place and an award of merit in its asset category at the Credit Union Executives Society strategic marketing conference. It also won recognition for its brochures and a Visa promotion.
Between CUES and the CUNA Marketing Council contests, Sierra Central took home 14 awards, Worley said. All of them were done in-house.
"By doing the stuff in-house, we can save a lot of money," he said. "Saving money frees up money to do other things."
Worley said that while a few projects are outsourced, the extra dollars saved from in-house production have been put to good use.
MERGERS OFFER OPPORTUNITY
Sierra Central has a community charter for the northern California cities it serves. In the past two years, bank mergers have left people angry and frustrated, and the door open for the credit union, Worley said.
"We have the opportunity to be a player in the financial community," Worley said. "In a rural area, you don't have high-income members. They are very cost-conscious. We positioned ourselves as the price leader.
"In an urban environment, the credit union would not be as much of a player. Here, there's more market for us. We're just as big as everybody else."
BAAAD BANKS
Worley said the twin...