By now you will no doubt be aware of the new name we have proposed for our credit union – People’s Credit Union.
I’m sure many of you will have all formed an opinion on the name. Hopefully you are as positive about it as I am.
I have to admit, on hearing the name, I wasn’t 100% sold. I liked it, but it didn’t have the initial impact I was expecting.
But then I thought more deeply about it. To put it simply, there is no other name that describes who we are so completely. I think it’s an excellent name to describe who we are and what we do.
At the heart of this credit union are its people – members, staff and the community.
These people – you – are why we exist. We’re not here to make big profits, we’re here to provide people with a fairer type of banking.
As you can see there’s one word which keeps coming through and that word is ‘people’.
I’d like to say selecting the name was as simple process, but there was a lot of thought behind it. It was shaped through six months of exhaustive research. The first step was identifying what we wanted the name to be. It had to:
- Be distinctive
- Be easy to say and spell
- Be appropriate for a financial institution
- Be motivating and exciting
- Tell a strong story
At the beginning of the process, we had hundreds of potential names on the list. Over a number of months and through some very thorough processes, we reduced that list down to six. Those names were researched extensively through focus groups and surveys involving member and non-members.
One clear favourite that emerged. That name was People’s Credit Union. Through the research, the themes that continually emerged about the name were:
- It is inclusive and community minded
- It’s easy to understand
- It makes sense for a credit union’s name
- It’s friendly, egalitarian and trustworthy
It would have been great if we could have asked every one of our members for an opinion on the name. But with about 350,000 members, it just wasn’t possible so we used comprehensive research to provide a snapshot of our members’ views.
The new name will clearly position us in the market and provide us with the opportunity to become the credit union of choice for people around Australia. The name “People’s” is not exclusive or limited to a certain group, it is for all people.
As you know, we’re now asking our members to approve the new name at our Annual General Meeting on 28 October 2010. I understand there are differing views on the name, however, I can assure you that we’ve selected a name which truly reflects the vision and values of our new credit union, and positions us well to take advantage of future opportunities.
We have a clear opportunity to create a financial institution owned by people, and run to benefit people. I hope that you share this vision and help us create an exciting new future.
Peter Evers
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