SPIRE: With You At Every Turn

Summary

SPIRE is a credit union based in St. Paul, Minnesota. When we first started working with them, they were planning to expand their services into the western suburbs of in the Twin Cities.

They also wanted to promote deeper use of their product line; they were concerned that people did not understand all that a Credit Union offers.

At the time, their campaign used two elements to connect with Minnesotans. First, they positioned themselves as “Driven by Midwestern Values.” Second, each ad included a testimonial. They were presented with their CEO, Dan Stoltz, discussing what they had done with one of their members.

Our strategy would expand on their efforts, featuring an animated Dan Stoltz educating Minnesotans about what SPIRE can do for them. Metrics showed it to be successful: 92% of Star Tribune readers liked the initial ad.

Winner of “Category’s Best” award at 2019 Credit Union National Association’s Diamond Awards.

Objective

• Increase consumer banking with Spire

• Extend the brand promise “Driven By Midwestern Values” to a broader audience

• Increase awareness of the services that credit unions provide 

Strategy

• Run a content marketing campaign that introduces SPIRE credit union

• Relate SPIRE’s services to important life events 

• Feature SPIRE’s CEO helping everyday Minnesotans

Tactics

• Campaign began with print and digital

• Expanded to include video (television, OTT), outdoor, and indoor advertising

Results:

• 92% of readers said that they liked the ad

• 90% of readers said that the ad offered new information about SPIRE

• 92% of readers said that the ad was easy to understand

• 93% of readers said they felt more positive about SPIRE after reading the ad

• 40,000 readers said that they would consider doing business with SPIRE (after the initial ad)