When New England Federal Credit Union (NEFCU) and Vermont State Employees Credit Union (VSECU) merged to become Vermont’s largest credit union, they made the decision to come together under a singular, unified name and brand. Leadership wanted to ensure that the new brand name would capture the spirit of the merged organization, without either credit union outshining the other in name or member perception. The new EastRise Credit Union name and brand represents a bright new day for the financial institution’s members and reflects their community-first mission and the vibrant character of their members and region.
One goal of the rebrand was to unite the credit union from the ground up, with shared values and vision expressed with a fresh Vermont-focused name and identity. This identity is bold, fresh, differentiated, and most importantly, completely unique to them. The EastRise brand identity includes a nod to the Eastern Seaboard, with the logo featuring the Vermont state bird and brand elements evoking the colors, natural landscape, and geography of the area, building momentum to provide a sense of belonging to everyone.
The rebrand has transcended the name and logo to become a reset of our organization, creating unity and setting our teams up for success.”
– John Dwyer, Chief Executive Officer, EastRise Credit Union
Creating an Integrated Culture
Brand and culture must work together to shape a cohesive organization from the inside out. From the start of the rebranding process, the utmost importance was placed on culture integration. The merger of VSECU and NEFCU brought together two distinct corporate cultures into a singular institution with its own signature approach. A dedicated group of team members from both credit unions worked together to co-create an enduring and meaningful brand story, position, mission, and values that the entire organization could rally around.
Culture integration starts with a strong foundation. It’s important for all team members to have a deep understanding of the new brand identity and brand values, because brand and culture live together. Banks and credit unions merging cultures must consider:
What are the beliefs and values of each organization, and where do they overlap?
How do the people “show up” for work at each financial institution?
What are the barriers to unification?
How can you ensure advocacy for – and embrace of – change?
EastRise’s new brand purpose is to “care for the people and the communities we serve by building strong and sustainable financial futures.” This foundation upon which the EastRise brand is built reflects the newly formed credit union’s brand values – create connections, deliver better, elevate everyone, and make impact. Five guiding principles – people first, positive impact, one team, enduring strength, and right now – guide how the credit union acts, makes decisions, and leads.
Culture Launch
The EastRise brand was unveiled internally at a corporate-wide brand launch event, which brought employees of both credit unions together in person. This event provided an opportunity to celebrate the new brand and unified culture, communicate the excitement of brand change inside and outside of the organization, and ensure everyone was brought along for the journey.
The internal launch event kicked off with an acknowledgement of both legacy brands and the milestone of coming together, reasons for rebranding, how the brand was developed, and, finally, the brand reveal. Following this was an in-depth presentation explaining the new brand identity, brand execution, timing for launch to the members and the market, and a Q&A with credit union leadership.
A “Living the Brand” training covered the role of EastRise team members in bringing the brand to life, communicating what the new brand sounds like, acts like, and feels like with interactive exercises to help employees internalize the new brand. Most importantly, the event celebrated all EastRise employees as a dedicated group of team members working together to create something meaningful and enduring.
What Comes Next
It can be a challenge to bring two organizations together culturally, even if they share the same value system. Collectively, creating a new culture takes time, as does adopting it and advocating for it. The real work – and true ROI – comes from consistently living out a brand’s cultural values daily, long after the excitement of the brand launch wanes. Sustaining a culture requires a commitment to communication, measurement, and reinforcement, so team members understand not only what the brand stands for, but how to translate those core values into action.
For financial institutions, investing in post-launch brand engagement results in stronger advocacy, more consistent member and customer experiences, and meaningful long-term brand value. Culture is not just a moment celebrated at launch, but long-term practice that’s reinforced through every interaction. To maintain a unified brand culture, organizations should:
Reinforce purpose and values regularly – Keep values visible in everyday communication and decision-making
Continue training beyond brand launch – Provide short, ongoing culture training sessions to help team members learn to live the brand
Establish culture champions – Empower ambassadors to represent the brand internally, provide feedback, model behaviors and maintain momentum
Track cultural engagement and brand adoption – Measure sentiment and brand health at regular intervals
Connect culture to business growth – Show how brand-led behaviors deliver experience, growth, and impact
It’s very important for your team members to have a deep understanding of the new brand, the new brand identity, new brand values, because brand and culture live together.”
