Buying the Naming Rights Farm

Community Choice Credit Union bought itself a headache when it agreed to buy the naming rights to Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Des Moines, Iowa.

The credit union agreed to pay $2.5 million over the next 10 years to rename the auditorium the Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center (CCCUCC).

This is the same credit union that recently unveiled an "unbanking" ad campaign.

However, the renaming of Veteran Memorial was greeted with a less-than-enthusiastic response.

An anti-name change Facebook group called on the boycotting of the Community Choice CU and the CCCUCC.

The negative community response caused Polk County and Community Choice CU officials to rework the agreement. The proposed new name for the auditorium will be Veterans Memorial Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center.

I wonder if Community Choice CU ever thought that buying the naming rights to this auditorium would have generated such bad publicity and made them the target of an unbanking campaign.

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