Red Canoe CU name change is talk of the town

LONGVIEW, Wash. (10/6/06)--The new name for Weyerhaeuser Employees' CU is the talk of the town, says a local newspaper.

Weyerhaeuser announced earlier this week that effective Jan. 1, its name would change to Red Canoe CU (News Now Oct. 4). The local newspaper, The Daily News, reported on it and let readers comment on the new name on its website, tdn.com.

"Within minutes, comments started to pile up below the story," said the newspaper Wednesday.

Most early commenters didn't like the name change, and some threatened to leave a financial institution that had "red" in its title. However, later commenters, many identifying themselves as loyal members of the credit union, said they liked the change.

By Tuesday afternoon, more than 130 people had registered their opinions. The credit union also announced the name change in letters to its 39,000 members.

Comments ranged from, "sounds like a beer, Red Canoe Amber Ale" or a summer camp to "You could call it the Pineapple Piggy bank and I would still go there."

The new name had to be unique to the Northwest, representative of the current membership and appeal to future members, said CEO Bob Kane in a press release announcing the change. The credit union is no longer affiliated with Weyerhaeuser Co., the timber company, and the company had asked the credit union to change its name.

Vice President of Marketing Amy Davis told the newspaper that name changes seldom are popular and that the response is typical. However, it's a good business decision for the credit union, she said.

One commenter agreed. "I think you disgruntled people are proving it is a marketing genius. It is the talk of the town."

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