by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
There’s money on the streets of downtown. And the Southbank. Really, there is. Just look, because that’s exactly what Vystar Credit Union wants you to do.
If you see people bumping into each other a lot, there may be a good reason for it. As a marketing ploy to promote the opening of its first downtown branch — it’s a three-day affair that started Wednesday and ends Friday — the credit union has placed thousands of dollars worth of half dollars and quarters around an area of downtown and the Southbank.
The money wasn’t just scattered, it was strategically placed Wednesday morning. Eventually, people started talking about finding half dollars on the sidewalk, just inside buildings and on steps leading into buildings. They all had a sticker that totally covered one side of the coin and a portion of the other side, promoting the branch’s grand opening. The official ribbon-cutting is today at 10 a.m.
“We put $1,200 worth of half dollars out today,” said Vystar’s Senior Vice President of Marketing Judy Walz. “We put two-thirds of that within a four block radius of the branch and one-third on the Southbank.”
Vystar, with the help of 45 employee volunteers who began their Easter egg hunt-like mission at 7 a.m. Wednesday, also taped 50 cents and Vystar business cards to dozens of parking meters in the same area. (For those of you wondering, this is not meter-feeding, which is illegal. The quarters were simply taped to something that hundreds of people use on a daily basis. Those who found them were free to do with them whatever they chose. The quarters were not fed into the meters by Vystar.)
Some people found lots of the Kennedy half dollars — one gentleman that works at Laura Place Cafe found $10 worth and cashed them. Others found one or two, but the result was the same. People downtown were talking about them, which was exactly what Vystar wanted.
“This is our first branch downtown. We had been looking for the right spot,” said Walz of the 121 W. Forsyth address in the Atlantic Building. “Our members had been asking for it. We had been locating our branches where people live rather than near where they work. If this branch does well, we will either look for a bigger space or open more branches downtown. It’s the right size to start with.
“We did not want to invest a lot of our members’ money to start out and we are happy with the size and location of the branch.”
The downtown, full-service branch will be managed by Robyn Jackett and there will be two other full-time employees. It’s the 20th branch in the five county area for Vystar — it used to be called Jax Navy Federal Credit Union — which has 330,000 members. The branch features two members services offices, Internet banking kiosks and two ATM machines.
Walz wouldn’t confirm whether the coins will be put out again on today or Friday, but she didn’t deny it, either. The concept was devised by Vystar’s marketing department in conjunction with Kreinest & Associates, a locaql marketing firm. Walls said no one individually came up with the unique idea.
“The whole group gets credit,” said Walz, explaining the idea behind it. “We were trying to figure out a way to effectively talk to people who work downtown and how we could have a direct impact. I told them that when my husband walks around he is always looking down looking for money. So, we said, let’s give it a shot. Over time we will know more about how it worked.”
Vystar is the 15th biggest credit union in the country with $2.9 billion in assets and it’s the largest state-chartered financial institution in Florida. Vystar President and CEO Terry West said the marketing plan reflected one of Vystar’s biggest goals — creativity in marketing and banking.
“Our approach with this campaign is to reach out to all Northeast Florida residents and, ultimately, help them uncover innovative ways to meet their financial goals,” he said.
And, there’s more marketing innovation planned. Vystar will have employee volunteers outside near the branch on Thursday and Friday in bright yellow shirts giving away good things to eat and other gifts. Anyone can stop by the new branch and sign up for the chance to win $1,000. The credit union is also waiving its $5 membership fee for new members and they are giving new members $15 for lunch.
Vystar also sponsored a JTA downtown bus for a month. Bus No. 112, which runs routes through downtown, the northside and the westside will be fare-free for a month.
So, there really is free money all over downtown and there really is such a thing as a free lunch.