4.22.2006

Nu (No, it's Ni! Ni!)

There's a new bank in town.
You ready for its name?
Drumroll.

NuUnion

OK, so it's a "Nu" Credit "Union". I get it.
But why "Nu"? Hipness? Probably, yes. Why else?
But is it a good idea to grab onto what I can only assume will be a short-lived trend?
Doesn't this strike anyone as, in five years, being so 2005?

They're not the only nu's out there. You've got:

Nu-Global (technology)
Nu Metro (South African theatre chain)
Nu Urban Music (urban music)

and more, I'm sure. But, a bank? Come on.

Granted, as a Greek letter, Nu's been around for awhile. And perhaps their nu moniker will attract some students from the local university. Whether they'll be opening an account or attempting to pledge Nu is yet to be seen.

Describing the move, their press release explains:

When the organization adopted the State Employees Credit Union name 53 years ago, it accurately described its membership. But today, less than 20% of its members are state employees. The organization chose the name NuUnion Credit Union to reflect the new kind of credit union its [sic] building for its membership -- one that combines more products and services families need with a long tradition of commitment to members, community, and service. The organization hasn't been bought, acquired in a merger, or lost its independence in any way.

It chose the name NuUnion to reflect their new kind of credit union. What, the pay-some-22-year-old-consultant-a-few-grand-to-come-back-with-"nu"-
as-a-makeover-concept? I see the pitch meeting just like all the meetings in Fox's The Loop, where the kid gets drunk the night before and comes up with his Grand Idea the second before it comes out of his mouth:

President [on speakerphone with ad agency]: OK, kid, whatcha got?
Joey [who has spent the first part of the meeting eating Bunny Basket Eggs, and has to respond with his mouth full]: Nuu?
President: New? Are you kidding me? How much're we paying this guy? My four-year-old could write this crap! Come on!
Joey [scrambling]: Uh, no. Sir! It's, uh, Nu! N-U. Like the Greek letter! As in, history! And Nu is very now, as well. Everybody's doing it. Nu this, nu that... it's fresh, trust me! So it's old... and new! Just like your bank!
President [after dramatic pause]: Crap, kid, you've done it! NU! Of course! It's brilliant!


A thought: NuUnion's website should use the NU domain. I checked: nuunion.nu is still available.

3 comments:

Q. Pheevr said...

And, of course, there's always Nutella.

Eric "Babe" Morse said...

I am such an island. I had to Wikipedia Nutella. It sounds fabulous. I'm feeling very disenfranchised right now, having been born in the midwest, with access to only 120 varieties of flake-based cereals and having never heard of this. I searched the World Market website and came up empty, but when i searched Wal-Mart it gave me this.
So.
I'm getting me some. And I'm going to smear it on a doughnut.

Oh, and Gnutella is suddenly a very clever name.

ACoolKid said...

Meijer, briefly called NuMeijer, carries Nutella. Try it with bananas on a crepe. Mmmmm. Just like they make it in Paris...

I find it interesting that they changed the name to reflect their customer base now. But what is the press release going to say in another 53 years?

When we changed our name to NuUnion 53 years ago, it reflected a desperate cry to be hip and young and the need to get our hands on hip, young, disposable income. But now we see we're stupid...