With the Republican Presidential Primaries in full swing, it brings to mind a recent social media campaign from a credit union in New York. The credit union in question is Summit Federal Credit Union in Rochester, N.Y., which produced a video entitled "Sh!t Banks Say". you can view it below.
If this were the primaries, the banks would be Mitt Romney, representing the institutions who are gouging consumers with fees and are more interested in profits than service. Credit Unions, on the other hand, would be Rick Santorum, emphasizing the "moral bankruptcy" of these institutions and his efforts on behalf of the working people. All communicated through a series of negative ad campaigns from both sides.
As noted in numerous publications and blogs (including Bank Technology News and Snarketing 2.0 , a blog from Ron Shevlin ), this is an ongoing trend for credit unions; to bash the banks. However, as also noted in these articles, these negative efforts do very little to emphasize the benefits of a credit union. Much like our current crop of Republican candidates, it's more the danger of electing the other than providing a clear, positive differentiation of their candidacy.
Whether this will work in the political realm is to be determined in the months ahead. So the question is; Are these effective tactics for credit unions? What do you think?
