How to WhamYour Members

By. Mark Arnold

“No whammies, no whammies, no whammies,” was a popular refrain on an old game show (Press Your Luck, in case you were wondering). One credit union, however, is actually seeking ways to “wham” consumers in their market.

ELGA Credit Union (Flint, MI) ($310 million; 49,000 members) started a “wham” campaign in January. Through this effort, the credit union empowers its 148 employees to do random acts of kindness for people in the community.

“Our employees have said this is the best marketing campaign ELGA has ever done,” said Cheryl Sclater, ELGA Credit Union’s business and community development manager. “They are so into it.”

Here is how WHAM works:

The credit union gives each employee a few WHAM cards. The WHAM cards say “WHAM!!!! You have just been hit with a Random Act of Kindness. Make it a GREAT DAY!!!”

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