How A Prizefighting Pig Drove More Member Meetings for Yolo Federal
By Jillian Wood - May 24, 2022
Yolo Federal proves you don’t need a big budget or an external agency to produce a memorable, effective meeting booking campaign.
Humanity will receive 95 billion email messages from businesses this year. (😱)
So, how can you make sure your credit union’s messages don’t get overlooked in a sea of offers?
Good member marketing is all about building relationships, showing how you help, and —occasionally—a good pun or two. That’s why Yolo Federal Credit Union’s Beat Your Rate campaign (which features a prizefighting pig) feels so delightfully clear and enticing.
They didn’t have a gigantic budget or external agency. Just a genuine competitive insight, a creative idea, and a great member experience to drive more meeting bookings for new loans.
We chatted with Kelley Jacobsen, VP of Marketing and Operations, and Megan Wessling, Marketing Manager, to ask how the campaign came together. Their answer is a three-point masterclass in effective, helpful marketing.
Good Marketing Starts With a Genuine Member Insight
The insight behind Yolo Federal campaign was this: Their loan rates are better than other institutions in the area. The more people get loans through Yolo Federal, the more money they save their community.
“The Beat Your Rate campaign asks new and existing members to refinance loans with us so we can save them money because our rates are better than anyone else in our market,” says Kelley. “That knowledge helps us feel confident we can help most people in our community.”
Having a clear value proposition (backed by data) that ties their products to a consumer desire to save money was a helpful starting point for the campaign.
The campaign prompts members to connect with Yolo Federal to compare loan rates so conversations begin on a productive note. “To kick off those conversations, we’re using a meeting booking tool to allow members to tell us what they want to achieve and how we can help,” says Kelley.
Which brings us to point number two …
Good Marketing is Built Around a Great Member Experience
The Yolo Federal team activates the campaign by reaching out with an educational message via email, social media, and in-branch conversations, offering to beat their current loan rate. Then, audiences are directed to book a meeting on a Member Relationship Specialist’s calendar at a time that works for them (powered by Coconut Software).
The landing page then asks whether they want to talk about a vehicle loan, a real estate loan, or something else. This guides visitors to the right individual on the right team within Yolo Federal—without asking them to wait on hold or be transferred.
Depending on who they are, they will see calendar options specific to them, whether they’re a new member, an existing member, or a segment of interest—like healthcare and first responders. (Yolo Federal sends each group a unique link.)
According to the Yolo Federal team, this scheduling process saves time and helps increase conversions.
“We arrived at using Coconut Software by asking ‘How could our experience be better?’” says Kelley. “As a member, if I were visiting a branch, I wouldn’t want to wait in line. I’d want to book time and have a specific appointment.”
Good Marketing Requires Fun
And finally, there’s the creative aspect of this campaign that makes it stand out.
It’s all built around a catchy pun with fun imagery: “Beat your rate to knock out your debt.”
Penny the Pig doesn’t pull punches.
When asked how they came up with the concept, Kelley says it came from gathering the team to joke around together. The marketing team meets for in-person brainstorming sessions where there are no bad ideas and everyone tries to “Yes, and” each other.
“Sometimes, we come up with the wildest ideas. Picture a whiteboard with a spider web of ideas,” says Kelley. “We don’t always know how things will work, but then the team brings it to life. And it’ll look more amazing than I ever thought possible.”
That’s the method that led them to the campaign message and putting their mascot, Penny the Pig, in boxing gloves. (Move over, Peppa!)
“I think my favorite part of what we do is actually seeing the creativity of my team,” says Megan. “They’re super talented. I’m so impressed with what they’re able to achieve.”
And when the team finds an idea delightful, members tend to as well.
Why the Beat Your Rate Campaign is a Knockout
Here’s why Yolo Federal’s Beat Your Rate campaign works:
- It started with a genuine member insight.
- It’s built around a great experience (it’s breathtakingly short!).
- You can tell that everyone involved had fun doing it.
As a result, Yolo Federal saw a 12% increase in auto loan appointments and a 120% increase in refinancing appointments in the first month of launching the campaign.
Follow Yolo FCU on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn for more inspiration.
Add appointment scheduling to your next campaign. Talk to a Coconut expert today.
