Welcome to
The Hales Connection

A cost-effective, remote Credit Union and CUSO growth resource for:

Email Marketing

Social Media Posting

News Distribution

SEO

New Product/Service Announcements

Reporting Analytics

Member Communication

SMS/Text Services

Press Releases

Discounted Constant Contact fees

for Clients

Frequent press releases, well-written white papers and other creative and engaging media are proven and cost-effective strategies that will enhance the brand and reputation of your Credit Union, CUSO, or trade association with your members, your community, your peers and the Industry.

The Hales Connection Offers:

20+ years credit union industry experience
An understanding of Credit Union Culture
An appreciation of the needs of Credit Union Professionals
Awareness of the Expectations of Credit Union Members
Knowledge of the unique relationship between Credit Unions and their Members

The Hales Connection Provides:

Quick turnaround of persuasive copy without close supervision - an effective and efficient supplement to internal staff.

The Hales Connection Understands:

The regulatory issues that must be considered when communicating certain messages to members.

Professional Communications for Credit Unions, CUSOs, Associations and Industry Partners

The Hales Connection delivers creative:

Press releases
White papers
Targeted email blasts
Social Media posts to Meta, Instagram, Twitter, Linkedin - all at once.
New hire announcements
New product announcements
Employee promotions
Member newsletters
Special Event Announcements
Specialized documents
Custom assignments

Corporate Communications by the numbers

Corporate Communications and the Marketplace:

Corporate communications plays a vital role in businesses’ success. Public Relations value statistics show that PR is 90% more successful in influencing consumers than advertising. A well-thought-out PR campaign significantly helps boost brand awareness, increases websites’ ranking on search engines, and generally improves brand/services’ public image. (Forbes)

Corporate Communication and Employee Satisfaction:

More informed employees outperform their peers by 77%. (Gartner)
Productivity improves by up to 25% in organizations with connected employees. (McKinsey)
91% of employees surveyed by Interact-Harris think that their managers are not good communicators. (Inc.)
Businesses with effective internal communication are 50% more likely to have lower employee turnover. (McKinsey)
72% of employees don’t have a full understanding of the company’s strategy. (IBM)

Corporate Communications and Growth Strategy:

Only 8% of communications managers believe they have the right set of skills in their staff to meet organizations demands. (Gartner)
41% of leaders are not able to gather appropriate information quickly. (PwC)
47% of employers say that they have the capabilities or processes they would need to meet a crisis with the best possible outcome. (Gartner)
60% of companies don’t have a long-term strategy for their internal and external communications (Workforce)
Organizations with effective communication programs are 3.5 times more likely to outperform their peers. (ThinkTalent)
56% of budgets allocated to projects are at risk due to poor communication. (BrightWork)
88% of PR specialists say that digital storytelling is the future. (USC Annenberg)

MFAQ

(Most frequently asked questions)

Q. What is “Corporate Communications?”

A. Corporate Communications refers to the methods that Credit Unions, CUSOs and Associations utilize to communicate with a variety of external and internal audiences, including members, employees, stakeholders, the media, general public and regulatory bodies. There are 3 major branches of corporate communications: management communication, marketing communication, and organizational communication – all of which work in tandem to build a strategic approach to an organization’s overall communication. Corporate Communications can serve multiple functions such as:

Advertisements
Website copy
Promotional materials
Emails
Memos
Press releases
Interviews
Branding materials, and more.

Q. What is the goal of Corporate Communications?

A. Most commonly, the goal of corporate communications is multifaceted. Many Credit Unions, CUSOs and Associations seek to form a communications strategy that promotes a specific brand, minimizes discrepancies with an organization’s identity, generates internal and external support and communicates effectively with stakeholders. If effective, corporate communications strategies can have the potential to increase an organization’s profitability, consumer engagement and longevity with their industry.

Q. What are Corporate Communications functions?

A. Corporate Communications has a variety of functions. Since organizations need to engage so many audiences on a day-to-day basis, they need to establish a robust communications system that provides effective coverage across all stakeholders. The main functions of corporate communications are:

Media and public relations (Corporate reputation, Corporate Responsibility, Organizational Identity)
Customer communications and marketing ((Corporate branding, Promoting, Corporate identity)
Crisis Communication
Internal Communication

Q. I have a great marketing department. Why should I outsource my corporate communications?

A. Great employees are paid to wear multiple hats and handle multiple tasks. While most marketing employees are creative and talented, they have multiple responsibilities. When you need to deliver a message NOW, you need a creative resource that won’t have to put your project at the end of a long list of pending tasks.

Do your employees walk in the shoes of your members? Does everyone on your marketing team have the experience of being an employee, and also being a business owner? Do they have real-life experience and expertise with a full spectrum of financial services? Have they been both a customer and a client?

Employees are expensive and take vacations. They do not work 24/7, 7 days a week and they generally are not used to working in fast paced environments with tight deadlines.

A good service provider can act as your professional sounding board, providing you with strategic insight, creative problem solving, and communications experience and know-how. Welcome to The Hales Connection.

Exclusively serving the Credit Union Industry, The Hales Connection provides creative communication services at ultra-competitive rates for Credit Unions, CUSOs, Credit Union Associations and NACUSO Member organizations.

Hello, I'm Mike Hales, founder and creative director.

With connections to thousands of management and C-Level credit union professionals and multiple publication resources, I am a banking, credit union and financial services trade association and consulting industry veteran who understands and masters the art of crystal-clear communication.

No project is too big or too small. I offer reasonably-priced professional creative writing and distribution services exclusively to credit unions, CUSOs, credit union associations, credit union-specific vendors and select non-profit organizations. For additional information, work samples and rates, please contact me –

•Via email: HalesConnect@gmail.com

•Via text or voice: (949) 291-6363

My financial services career spans commercial banking, credit union consulting, CUSO development and management, and association board membership, including:

• Commercial banker (consumer and commercial loan officer, branch manager, trust officer, regional

sales manager, regional vice president, president)

• Chair, California Bankers Association Sales and Marketing Committee

• Senior Banking and Credit Union Consultant, Moss Adams Advisory Services, LLP

• President, Counter Intelligence Associates

• Partner, The Rochdale Group

• EVP Strategic Relationships, Servatus Corp

• Board Member, National Association of Credit Union Service Organizations

(NACUSO) 2005-2022

My education and training includes:

• JD, Lincoln University School of Law, San Francisco

• Bank Marketing Association School of Bank Marketing Management and Strategic Planning, University

of Georgia

• Designing and Implementing Collaboration and Business Networks, Pepperdine University/NACUSO

I am an experienced author who has written and published:

• Hundreds of industry articles, white papers and press releases

Why is all this important?

There is no substitute for experience in consumer and commercial lending, bank operations, trust operations, CUSO development and management, and for financial services sales and marketing. Experience provides the best foundation for technical and creative writing when it comes to effectively communicating to members, peers, regulators and the general public.

CONGRATULATIONS!

If you are looking for a trusted partner who can work remotely and provide a highly creative, stand-alone, fast and affordable service to help with your strategic brand and marketing communications -

YOU JUST FOUND IT!

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Welcome to The Hales Connection