Published January
2003
Seattle
Telco Credit Union changes name to Watermark
SCBJ
Staff
Seattle Telco Credit
Union has grown out of its name, officials at the financial institution
say. So, beginning Jan. 1, the 64-year-old organization will be known
as Watermark Credit Union instead.
“The old name no
longer reflected who the credit union served or what it has grown to become,
which is a strong, high-quality financial institution,” CEO Chuck Cockburn
said in a prepared statement explaining the change.
Since starting in
1938 as a service to employees of Pacific Telephone & Telegraph of King
County, the Seattle-based credit union over the years has grown to include
a number of communities and hundreds of employer groups around the Puget
Sound region, Marketing Director Jerry Sparrow said. This past spring,
membership eligibility grew even more — to include anyone living in Washington
state.
“We’re not just in
Seattle anymore, and we’re not just for telephone employees anymore,”
Sparrow said, noting that the credit union, with more than 60,000 members,
has four branches outside of downtown Seattle — in Lynnwood, Redmond,
Bellevue and Southcenter.
So, this past year,
the credit union enlisted the help of Seattle-based Weber Marketing Group
and James Clark Design Images to help with a name change. Focus groups
made up of new and potential customers also were brought in to offer their
insights and opinions.
In the end, the credit
union decided on Watermark, “a handcrafted signature used for generations
to mark paper or documents with the highest level of quality,” said Bob
Valentine, chairman of the credit union’s board.
Along with the new
name, the credit union will roll out a new marketing campaign this year,
complete with bus advertisements and billboards in King and Snohomish
counties as well as radio and print advertising, Sparrow said.
“We have members
throughout Washington, but we will concentrate (on growing) membership
in the Puget Sound area,” he said, noting that the credit union already
is in the process of relocating two of its branches, including its Lynnwood
branch, to larger facilities.
Currently located
on 196th Street SW, the credit union’s Lynnwood branch will move to 18801
Alderwood Mall Blvd. by the end of February, Sparrow said, giving the
branch twice as much room, more parking, and drive-through teller and
ATM services.
Back
to the top/January
2003 Main Menu