Crazy Credit Union Idea That Would Never Work: BC Credit Union’s Should Buy The Canucks

No. Wait. Just hear me out.

Let’s say, for the sake of discussion, that BC credit unions wanted some sort of value-added incentive to encourage people to become members. Some sort of loyalty program, say, so that we could say to the general public “Hey! General Public! Not only do we provide really good financial products and services but also, if you join, you’ll get a free set of steak knives every year!” (or whatever). Consider it a tangible, in-your-pocket, easy-to-explain* benefit of becoming a member.

So all the BC credit unions get together and put an ownership stake up for the Vancouver Canucks. And then we say to the General Public, “Hey! General Public! When you join a BC credit union you immediately go to the front of the line for Canucks tickets! Plus you get a discount for Canucks merchandise! And a discount on Canuck’s PPV! And we put Canucks logos on everything from ATM cards to cheque books to loan applications!”

Here’s why I love this idea**:

First, because BC hockey fans are seriously invested in the Canucks. As a basketball fan and a habitual sport-radio listener, this causes me endless pain, but I’m willing to overlook that pain for the sake of the credit union movement. I suspect that seriously invested hockey fans will do anything to get closer to their team, including joining a local financial institution just so that they can get a tiny threadbare tea towel with Roberto Luongo’s be-masked face on it as an account opening gift.

Second, because it kind of gives the Canucks cooperative community ownership. It’s a sort-of reciprocal arrangement where the community, via credit unions, owns the Canucks, and the Canucks provide the community with the joy of exiting the playoffs in the first round. Plus, there’s a bonus: apparently Gary Bettman and the NHL head office hate community ownership arrangements, and anything that annoys Gary is OK in my books.

Third, because, I think sports team affiliation is a pretty darn good marketing tool. A few years ago I was chatting with a guy from a regional bank in the U.S. which had an NHL franchise, and he was telling me that when they started printing ATM cards with the NHL team’s logo on it, they were literally lined up out the door with people wanting to become clients. For a logo on an ATM card!

Fourth, because owning a hockey team in Canada is a good investment. In Phoenix… not so much.

None of this prevents BC credit unions from creating better financial products and services, of course. The best reason to become a credit union member should be because we’re just better at providing banking services then the other guys.

But if you need a second reason, I can’t think of a better one than the potential that you might be the one lucky credit union member who wins the opportunity to play goal in a pre-season game against the Calgary Flames.

* This is sort of the issue, isn’t it? Our ability – as credit unions – to clearly enunciate the benefits of membership? That’s what we need to work on, right?

** This idea works for all sorts of things: BC Lions ownership, agreements with other co-op businesses (which William Azaroff spoke about at BarCampBankBC2** last weekend), travel discounts, etc.

*** If you didn’t attend the BarCampBankBC2 un-conference last weekend then you missed good people, good discussion, good pizza, and a good view of GM Place (the home of the Canucks), which prompted this post in the first place.