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White coats enlisted
to push state credit union

People in white lab coats now populate the offices of the Hawaii State Federal Credit Union. It isn't that the credit union has hired a bunch of doctors, but it has hired an advertising agency.

Huh?

The credit union is offering its members free 30-minute financial checkups -- and the doctors' coats are being worn as a representation of health, albeit fiscal.

Laird Christianson Advertising Inc. came up with the gimmick after learning about the business and how best to market it, said Tricia Buskirk, the credit union's creative services officer.

"It was a service that our financial services personnel were already doing for our members," Buskirk said, and the ad agency saw an opportunity to repackage or relabel it and promote it.

The specialists will help members figure out what their credit reports say and how to improve them, if necessary. They also will see if members are putting enough money into savings and if members can save money by refinancing loans and credit cards.

"They want to make sure (members) are making the best use of their money, but it also helps them learn about identity theft," Buskirk said.

The fiscal-fitness exams are being promoted through the credit union's print and broadcast advertisements as well as on its Web site, and the push has increased membership, though Buskirk didn't have an exact number. "It also helps with existing member accounts," she said. The credit union serves active and retired state, city and county employees and their families statewide.

It is the type of service most financial institutions would provide to a customer, said Gerry Keir, executive vice president of corporate communications at First Hawaiian Bank.

First Hawaiian has employees that will relay the same type of information, he said. "We actually have put together some little booklets that we give to people called 'Managing Your Money,' and they're targeted to different age groups," Keir said.

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