An Introduction to Whitefish Credit Union
Or, how the largest credit union in Montana has gone about marketing their newest location in Missoula, Montana.
Yes, billboards were involved.
But that’s not all.
This campaign was far more personal.
And loads more powerful.
Meet Ryan and come away knowing Whitefish
He’s the Community Development Officer at the newly opened Missoula branch of Whitefish Credit Union. As it happened, Ryan was new to Missoula, too. He’d moved from Kansas a few months earlier, and—like Whitefish Credit Union—was eager to build connections and become part of the community. Both wanted to make good on their promise of involvement, and that started with introductions.
So, in a world of apps and screens claiming to make connection easy, we turned to one of the oldest advertising mediums—suprise—to let Missoulians know: Whitefish Credit Union had arrived—and more than anything, they wanted to get acquainted with their new home.
A financial ad that actually rewarded curiosity
But it wasn’t enough to launch the campaign, open the doors, and call it good. Where was the through-line? The payoff? What would Missoulians actually get for their curiosity? Whitefish Credit Union had promised community involvement—so what did that look like in practice?
That’s where the campaign’s splash page came in. As posters went up across town, a new site—NewToMissoula.com—went live. It tied the campaign to the new branch and to Ryan’s story as Whitefish Credit Union’s Community Development Officer. It showed how Whitefish planned to open its doors to Missoula not just as a financial partner, but as a genuine neighbor—offering on-site workshops on everything from fly fishing to mountain biking.
And it worked—Whitefish welcomed a new fanbase
NewToMissoula.com drew nearly 3,000 visits—not bad. Even better, 81% of that traffic came directly, meaning people were literally typing the URL into their browsers. No clickbait. No gimmicks. Just curiosity doing its job.
Another 18% found the site through search, typing in phrases like “new to Missoula” or “newtomissoula.com”—proving that people were hearing about it, talking about it, and looking it up. About 9% clicked deeper, exploring event listings and local links, which is a polite way of saying they stuck around long enough to get invested.
And yes, the conversation spilled over. Missoulians recognized Ryan almost everywhere he went, with one local comedian working in a minutes-long bit, about Ryan, into his routine. Other mentions popped up on Reddit, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn—a nice digital echo of those physical billboards that started it all. For a campaign built on real-world introductions, it turns out word-of-mouth still works—whether it happens on the street or in a comment thread.
Grand opening has people lined up outside
All of this word-of-mouth is great, but what did it mean for the grand opening? Well, folks were waiting to get in—it was that packed. Turns out, when you show up with some humility, a sense of humor, and a few really good billboards, people notice.
We were lucky to work with a client like Whitefish Credit Union—open-minded, community-minded, and game for ideas that could’ve easily died in committee anywhere else. It’s proof that smart, human advertising still works, and that a little fame isn’t reserved for the big national brands.
With the right story and the right people behind it, even smaller and regionals bussinesses can fill a room—and maybe, for a brief moment, feel what it’s like to be famous.
Wondering how your billboards could do more?
Get in touch. Let’s get up to something.
