Do We Need a Rebrand?

Consumer research on brand recognition

Opportunity

With a solid consumer base in south east Houston, a regional and corporate associated $2bn Credit Union found itself with stagnant growth in account openings and its loan portfolio in its stronghold market with almost zero growth beyond the south east Houston region.

Hypothesis

A name which highly represented the corporate association of the Credit Union, as well as the phrase ‘Credit Union’ was a barrier to entry in new and unexplored Houston Markets.

Solution

Run a detailed brand awareness study across Houston to understand the brand strength and position of the credit union, in order to validate whether a rebrand was required or not.

Wins

  • Gained board level buy in with research led approach

  • Conducted a six figure rebrand for the Credit Union

  • Instilled data driven marketing research function

Role

Chief Brand & Innovation Officer, JSC Federal Credit Union


Approach

Launch a Houston wide brand study with both quant and qual research. Leveraging the Qualtrics Experience Platform I worked to design a survey which would address both aided and unaided awareness of the credit union. In addition, I designed lines of questioning which would also gauge the reaction and affinity of the Houston market to joining a Credit Union.

As a part of the survey design, I wanted to make sure that we received a full ethnographic representative picture of the Houston market, including accurate response representation socio-economically and demographically within each Houston Zip Code.


Outcomes

Hypothesis Proved:

Through the research, we found that less than 1% of the Houston market, unaided, were aware of the credit union and less than 5% of the market would select the credit union as a top choice when aided.

Budget Approved:

Presenting the research at board level, I was able to secure 7 figure funding to work with some of the best advertising minds to rebrand the credit union for a broader market appeal.

Rebrand Complete, Growth Achieved:

Following the rebrand, the credit union has increased asset size by 33.5% and active accounts by 26%.