Featured Campaign: Northwest Georgia Credit Union

Branding "U-Turn"

Bringing Northwest Georgia Credit Union's plucky and bright brand story to life, meant tapping into their charming combination of organizational personality, which is a little down-home and a little bit bold.

Un-banking. Unbelievable.

After conducting a Third Degree discovery workshop, we knew our biggest charge would be to have Northwest's "outsides" match their "insides." Not a bad charge at all, considering they already had some spirited ideas of the own, like the themeline: Un-banking. Unbelievable. However, their branches and front-line staff revealed a softer, warmer, more cozy feel (flowers, wooden framed artwork, family feel) than their new corporate-style logo and brassy tagline might lead you to expect.

Our creative solution was to mesh these two aspects together and, less like a u-turn, more a bit of crafty mixology, bring their brand together.

Tactics included interior branch signage among other collaterals, plus a web site update. While advertising efforts included outdoor, radio and television.

Not only does the new brand set the stage for using all sorts of "u" words, but we also created a visual platform based on whimsical, everyday red objects they could build upon themselves in the future. Basically, giving them some building blocks to create everything from touchy-feely branding to zing-packed promotions.

An example of using these building blocks Third Degree established, and adapting with their own team, would be the web site updates Northwest executed to ensure the brand they were putting out there, matched the experience visitors would experience online.

Brand Launch Television

However one of the cornerstones of the brand launch, that Third Degree did produce for Northwest was an awareness television spot. The puppet-show-inspired animated approach is un-corporate, unstuffy, and a little bit unexpected.

Summer Auto Loan Television

Not long on the heels of the brand launch, Third Degree created a complimentary television spot to promote summer auto loans.

After a two-month run, Northwest saw it's biggest loan month in August in the past ten years. The marketing team felt their loan growth was a result of a combination of factors: the vehicle loan offer, the advertising and some recent sales training with their front-line staff to help boost their confidence in having "the loan conversation." Their marketing team's efforts are a great example of launching a promotion internally with employees before taking it to the streets.