Continuing a tradition of superior member service, Tower Federal Credit Union received two Trailblazer Awards for Excellence in Marketing and Communications from the Maryland & D.C. Credit Union Association (MDDCCUA). MDDCCUA is comprised of 129 credit unions in the state of Maryland and the District of Columbia. Tower won “Best Marketing Campaign” and “Best Newsletter” in the credit unions with $500 million or more in assets category.

Tower’s award-winning marketing campaign focused on the credit union’s March 2010 launch of FinanceWorks™, an online Personal Financial Management (PFM) program that is free for Tower members. FinanceWorks users can
customize the program to fit their unique financial and savings goals, track spending and cash flow, establish and stick to a budget, and more.

In the first week following the FinanceWorks launch on Tower’s Web site, over 1,500 members signed up for the program. In just one month, that number rose to over 4,000. Today, over 10,500 Tower members are using FinanceWorks, according to Martin Breland, Tower’s President and CEO. Breland says Tower’s rate of member signups is more than twice the national average for bank customers who use a PFM program.

“FinanceWorks helps our members track spending and stick to a budget,” he says. “We have received positive feedback from members using the program.” He adds, “We are excited that our successful marketing campaign encouraged members to use the program. That the campaign received a Trailblazer Award is just the ‘icing on the cake’.”

This is the second year in a row that Tower has won the Trailblazer Award for Best Marketing Campaign. In 2010, Tower won for its Super Savers Sweepstakes, an innovative, year-long campaign that encouraged members to save through monthly and quarterly cash prize drawings—including a $10,000 Grand Prize. Members were automatically entered in the sweepstakes if they set up a qualifying direct deposit to their checking account or saved regularly in a
Tower also won this year’s Trailblazer Award for “Best Newsletter” in recognition of its monthly member newsletter, TowerLine. Tower has taken home this award for the past three out of four years.

“TowerLine is an effective way for us to communicate with our members and market our products and services,” Breland says. “Each issue includes educational articles and savings tips aimed at helping members save for the future and practice sound money management.”

The newsletter has some unexpected fans, Breland says. “On a recent visit to the vendor who prepares and mails our member statements,” he says, “we heard that the staff waits anxiously for TowerLine to arrive so they can follow that month’s savings tip.”

Tower has won national marketing awards as well, winning “Best Product or Service Promotion” in 2009 from the National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU), for a direct mail piece promoting Tower’s online Bill Payment
service.

The MDDCCUA Trailblazer Awards honor credit unions who exhibit creativity in marketing and communicating the benefits of their products, services and activities in 12 categories. This year’s awards drew 71 entries from 24 credit
unions. Of the 71 entries, the MDDCCUA awarded 34 Trailblazer Awards, according to Sarah Turner, the association’s Director of Public Affairs. Turner says 11 credit unions won multiple awards, including Tower.