By Ray Birch
JACKSON, Mich.—Women drive most household financial decisions, according to American 1 CU, which is why it spends $28,000 each year on its Women’s Expo, a community event that has grown larger each of the last 15 years.
Attendance at the event topped 3,500 this year, the CU said. Then Expo features 170 booths run by vendors that address women’s interests. American 1 credits the show for being one of the big reasons it has steadily grown assets and members over the years—including growing members by 3% in 2016.
Marketing Director Marla Sanford said the credit union not only is able to measure the success of the event by the annual attendance and the fun women have at the Expo, surveys show that women value the event and look forward to it every year.
“I think what really showed us the impact the Expo has had in the community over the years is when we failed this year to send out our event postcards on time,” explained Sanford.
Members Asking For Event
The event took place in March, and American 1 each year sends reminder postcards to previous attendees letting them know the show will be in two weeks.
“But this year we had a bit of a problem and did not send the postcards out two weeks before the Expo,” said Sanford. “What was amazing to us, we were glad to see, is that those who attend the Expo really look forward to it, even more than maybe we thought. We were getting calls from a lot of members asking us where their postcards were. That told us a lot. Women just love this event and tell us they mark it on their calendars well in advance so they don’t have any conflicts.”
Sanford said that dollar for dollar the money American 1 spends on the Expo makes it the best community reinvestment program it runs all year.
“It’s a great way to spend our money not only to support women but to have an impact in the community,” said Sanford. “We are seen here as the financial institution who is the most involved in the community, and the Expo is a big reason why.”
Sanford said that even with the event growing in size each year that it never feels like too much for the credit union to undertake. She said that each booth at the show must be related to a women’s issue or offer something of interest to women—such as jewelry, fashion, cosmetics or information on women’s health.
Vendors must also offer some form of interaction, whether that be a giveaway, a drawing or a small service.
“For example, a local massage therapist gave away short five-minute massages, and restaurants bring samples of their food,” explained Sanford.
Many of the vendors have small giveaway items that Sanford said attendees love to fill their tote bags with. The credit union has a booth at the front of the Expo, held at the local Parkside middle school, and hands out free tote bags with the CU’s logo on it.
“We also talk about our products and services at our booth, and we have our logo on all event signage,” said Sanford. “You feel our brand throughout the event.”
American 1 also runs advertising in advance of the Expo, using TV, radio, print, billboard and posters in all of its 13 offices. It also parks a mobile ATM outside the Expo doors that has the CU’s name well displayed.
“Women like having the ATM there to pull out extra money—and so do the vendors, who sell more products because of it,” Sanford said.
15 Years
Sanford said that American 1 decided to hold the Expo 15 years ago when its CEO wanted to find a new way to serve the community.
“He was looking for something that had not been done yet,” said Sanford. “He noticed a void of events aimed at women, which is our target audience, and wanted to find a way to do something special for them and at the same time experience the credit union’s brand.”
Sanford said it took about five years for momentum to build for the Expo.
“If a credit union is thinking about doing something like this I recommend they do at least two things: Start planning well in advance, at least a year before the first event. And do a lot of research into what vendor resources you will need and if something like this is being done locally. You want to do this event if this type of service is missing in your community—you don’t want to in any way duplicate anything else that is already going on, that will hurt your impact.”