On the job at the credit union for less than a month, Teea Reed tackled a project that would intimidate marketing professionals with twice her experience.
But when she talks about embarking on a rebranding of her organization, Reed makes it sound like it was the only logical move to take.
“My preferred approach is to dive right in,” says Reed, senior vice president for marketing and business development at Union Square Credit Union in Wichita Falls, Texas.
And dive in she did.
Without a large team—she’s a department of one at the $352 million asset credit union—it fell on her alone to determine Union Square’s unique value proposition.
Reed started with the people she thought would have the most to say about that: members.
“I went to the heart of the organization,” she explains. “I spent days just sitting and talking with members of all ages and backgrounds. I turned on a camera, and they just started talking.”
A theme quickly emerged. Reed decided she wanted Union Square’s members to be its ambassadors, with a brand featuring real members telling real stories of their experiences.
Before long, the rebrand began to yield real results. Membership grew 4% in five years, and has reached an all-time high.
Reed implemented a “High-Five” referral program that’s heavily promoted to members and a series of student account products that resulted in significant growth as well.
It’s not just her work as a marketer that makes Reed a Credit Union Rock Star. As a leader at Union Square, Reed models the hard work that led to the development of this successful rebrand, as well as a commitment to the Wichita Falls community.
She serves on multiple boards of directors and has been active in service organizations that serve the place she calls home as well. Reed has received recognition and awards from, among other groups, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Junior League, and the Wichita Falls Independent School District.
“When our team has the opportunity to volunteer in the community, we always start with ‘yes,’” she says. “Being involved and active in the community helps us better serve our members because we’re getting to know people while working alongside them. That’s what the credit union is all about—people helping people.”
Credit Union Magazine’s Summer 2023 issue highlights the lending outlook for the rest of the year, how credit unions leverage fintech companies to boost digital lending, the power of lending partnerships, common Bank Secrecy Act violations, and the shift board members must make when becoming chair.
