I read with great interest Editor-in-Chief Paul Gentile's columnin January calling for a national credit union branding campaign.However, I would argue that such an effort is actually damaging tothe credit union movement, and especially hurts smaller creditunions. That is true for statewide cooperative advertisingcampaigns as well. I've had the great pleasure of talking with manycredit union marketing professionals across the country, askingthem what sets their credit union apart from the one down thestreet who serves exactly the same geographic region. Surprisingly,the answers I get are nearly always the same – we have friendlier,more personal service, we're convenient, and we offer all the sameproducts and services as every other financial institution. Well,guess what? Every other bank and credit union is saying the samething. I know that someone is making stuff up because it'simpossible for EVERY institution in an area to all be thefriendliest, with the most personal service, and be the mostconvenient. And it's NOT a point of differentiation that aninstitution offers all the same products and services as everyother one. A national branding campaign, or a statewide co-opadvertising program, simply perpetuates the myth that all creditunions are the same. If they are all the same, then why isn't therejust one national credit union serving the entire country? It seemslike that is where the world is headed-we'll be left with just onegiant mega-bank, and one giant credit union. By definition, anational or statewide campaign can only paint a generic picture ofcredit unions. It doesn't have the opportunity to point out thespecial differences of different credit unions – what makes themunique and truly distinctive. The other problem with a national orstatewide campaign is that it helps the bigger credit unionsdisproportionately to smaller credit unions – which is exactly theopposite effect that is usually desired. Why is that? Here's why:Say you are a consumer who is actually motivated by the commercialto switch your bank accounts over to a credit union. (In our focusgroup research across the country, we have yet to find someone whohas actually switched because of an ad-it's always through family,friend, or colleague referrals.) But say you do decide to switch.Where are you going to switch to? One that you've heard of before,which is going to be one of the larger ones in the region who canafford to do their own additional advertising. What credit unionsdon't realize is that the exclusivity of their original chartersWAS their strength and point of differentiation from all otherinstitutions. People are comfortable with people they havesomething in common with. Now that that difference has disappearedfrom most credit unions, we need to find other meaningful ways todifferentiate. And those CUs that remain “pure” must hold on to,and crank up their exclusivity to the max. Large and small creditunions alike need to differentiate themselves or lose relevance intoday's world. And each credit union needs to hone and refine theirown unique brand, and strengthen the emotional connection it haswith its members. And it doesn't require a big advertising budgetto do it. When you have a great story, and you tell it well, wordwill spread, and that's something more valuable than anyadvertising campaign. Morriss Partee CEO EverythingCU.com Holyoke,Mass.