Published January 2003

Seattle Telco Credit Union changes name to Watermark

SCBJ Staff

Seattle Telco Credit Union has grown out of its name, officials at the financial institution say. So, beginning Jan. 1, the 64-year-old organization will be known as Watermark Credit Union instead.

“The old name no longer reflected who the credit union served or what it has grown to become, which is a strong, high-quality financial institution,” CEO Chuck Cockburn said in a prepared statement explaining the change.

Since starting in 1938 as a service to employees of Pacific Telephone & Telegraph of King County, the Seattle-based credit union over the years has grown to include a number of communities and hundreds of employer groups around the Puget Sound region, Marketing Director Jerry Sparrow said. This past spring, membership eligibility grew even more — to include anyone living in Washington state.

“We’re not just in Seattle anymore, and we’re not just for telephone employees anymore,” Sparrow said, noting that the credit union, with more than 60,000 members, has four branches outside of downtown Seattle — in Lynnwood, Redmond, Bellevue and Southcenter.

So, this past year, the credit union enlisted the help of Seattle-based Weber Marketing Group and James Clark Design Images to help with a name change. Focus groups made up of new and potential customers also were brought in to offer their insights and opinions.

In the end, the credit union decided on Watermark, “a handcrafted signature used for generations to mark paper or documents with the highest level of quality,” said Bob Valentine, chairman of the credit union’s board.

Along with the new name, the credit union will roll out a new marketing campaign this year, complete with bus advertisements and billboards in King and Snohomish counties as well as radio and print advertising, Sparrow said.

“We have members throughout Washington, but we will concentrate (on growing) membership in the Puget Sound area,” he said, noting that the credit union already is in the process of relocating two of its branches, including its Lynnwood branch, to larger facilities.

Currently located on 196th Street SW, the credit union’s Lynnwood branch will move to 18801 Alderwood Mall Blvd. by the end of February, Sparrow said, giving the branch twice as much room, more parking, and drive-through teller and ATM services.

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