With the economy not quite on the upswing from the recession, many residents of the Hudson Valley still find it difficult to be approved for a loan. On top of that, the local loan landscape has become quite competitive with many financial institutions wrestling to lend to a limited pool of qualified applicants. Candidates with less-than-perfect credit history wind up feeling discouraged and questioning whether they’ll ever have the opportunity to achieve milestones such as home ownership.

When TEG came to us for help with advertising their loan services, we decided to play off of that feeling of discouragement that has (unfortunately) become quite pervasive in today’s economy. We decided to stray from a typical, dry, bank campaign and created a bold and whimsical theme with the tagline, “Rejection Hurts.” Featuring humorous romantic scenarios, the campaign illustrated TEG’s holistic approach to lending. Rather than using credit score as the sole qualifier for loan approval, TEG takes many other factors into consideration: they “look for reasons to say, ‘yes!’” When they do have to say, “no,” they counsel the applicant to help repair their credit and make wise financial planning decisions so that the answer can become “yes!” in the future.  The ads appeared on television, radio, billboards and in print. We also created a comprehensive digital campaign, including a microsite explaining the difference between a credit union and bank, myths about obtaining a loan, and illustrating TEG’s Credit Union Services.

TEG Federal Credit Union's Rejection Hurts campaign by Ashworth Creative

 

The “Rejection Hurts” advertising campaigns have been incredibly successful. The response was so massive that we decided to continue to build upon the comical theme for the next phase of TEG’s advertising campaign, and shift the idea of “rejection” to “alienation.” Using fantastical creatures – the tooth fairy, a werewolf, and an alien – we echoed the bold, fun feeling of TEG’s initial campaign and the positive response continues to grow.

TEG Federal Credit Union's alienated ad campaign by Ashworth Creative

We love how these campaigns have really branded TEG as an approachable local credit union in contrast to an intimidating, faceless corporation. We truly feel that our partnership with TEG has helped shift the Hudson Valley’s perception of baking from a revenue-oriented institution to a personal, beneficial experience.