Oct. 22, 2012 – Two online articles published Oct. 18 that cite NAFCU data on Bank Transfer Day’s lasting impact on credit union membership are the latest examples of NAFCU’s success in promoting credit unions and the association in the national news media.
Both articles (one on MyBankTracker.com and another on Housing Wire) are the result of a nationally distributed NAFCU press release touting findings from the October edition of NAFCU’s Economic and CU Monitor. The findings show that 56 percent of survey respondents have seen better-than-expected membership growth over the past year, with half of them attributing the growth to Bank Transfer Day.
The MyBankTracker.com article, “Bank Transfer Day Lingers as Anniversary Approaches,” cites the data and concludes, “While we earlier reported that Bank Transfer Day may have been somewhat overhyped, this shows that the effects are more far-reaching.”
The Housing Wire article, “Credit union membership grows from Bank Transfer Day,” not only cites the same data but quotes NAFCU President and CEO Fred Becker. The Monitor findings, Becker says, show “that consumers who gravitated to Main Street credit unions stayed because they found true value through unparalleled service, lower fees and competitive rates."
The articles are just two of several recent placements in the national news media that have drawn on NAFCU’s public relations efforts. On Oct. 12, Becker contributed a blog post on The Huffington Post touting the advantages of credit unions. A five-minute segment on CBS This Morning on Oct. 8 also noted the many benefits of credit union membership, drawing on key points from a NAFCU press release. The same press release also led to an Oct. 5 article in the digital publication The Street, which contrasts the benefits credit unions offer with banks.
Both the CBS and The Street coverage highlighted CULookup.com, NAFCU’s credit union locator site. In the day following the CBS report, visitor traffic for the site jumped 1,077 percent compared to the daily average for the year.