Credit Union Storytelling With A Mission Focus

State-of-the-art storytelling is a key piece of the arsenal as Navy Federal Credit Union ($194.0B, Vienna, VA). The country’s largest financial cooperative considers storytelling a delivery channel for mission, using it to deepen connection, engagement, trust, and preference through small, human interactions that exist at institutions of any size.

“We aim to build a storytelling culture,” says Allison Stevens, senior communications strategist. “We search for and share true stories about real people.”

Storytelling Culture With A Surround-Sound Message

Storytelling is a long-standing priority at Navy Federal.

The credit union relies on its nearly 25,000 employees to surface member experiences, highlight service moments, and spotlight military-community successes across its 15 million members. The search for authentic stories spans life stages and financial needs, from young savers to veteran entrepreneurs, from families starting out to those rebuilding after military service transitions. Stevens and her team present these stories through an array of channels, reinforcing the single idea that the credit union exists to serve the military community.

“Our team works to elevate stories across various areas,” Stevens says. “Whether that’s products, such as savings accounts and business memberships; services, such as corporate social responsibility efforts or personalized member service; and brand campaigns, such as support for members of the military community.”

Building culture and telling stories includes uncovering and synthesizing data insights with narratives; training subject-matter experts to tease out personal anecdotes to share in speeches, media interviews and other thought leadership; and producing an internal “moments in the mission” video campaign that demonstrates how staffers support members.  The credit union even added a dedicated storyteller role to the corporate communications team in 2023 to help share member successes in external media and owned content.

To that end, the credit union publishes stories across blogs, podcasts, social channels, and sponsored content to maintain a consistent voice, integrating owned, earned, paid, and social media so audiences encounter the same narrative everywhere. This coordinated approach to marketing and advertising creates what Stevens describes as a coherent, member-centric “surround sound.”

Tiles In A Larger Mosaic

Stevens and her team work across the credit union to surface member stories, bringing team members into close contact with mortgages, loans, banking, investments, brand campaigns, executive leadership, and more — storytelling runs through all of it, guided by Navy Federal’s growth goals.

“We see stories as tiles in a larger mosaic that communicates a narrative about the value of membership and support for members of the military community,” Stevens says.

Meanwhile, the term “storytelling” can mean a lot of different things, and “brand storytelling” can be particularly confusing. According to Stevens, the biggest misconception is that a story is simply “words with a face on it.” To make the message memorable, however, a story needs elements such as plot tension and a strong protagonist who resonates with target audiences. The protagonist also must have a clear goal, whether that be buying a first home or retiring early to care for grandchildren.

In brand storytelling, the protagonist also needs to address how someone or something related to the brand helped them overcome challenges in their path. For Navy Federal, that someone or something could be a member service representative who goes above and beyond, a branch on a military installation abroad, or even just access to low-cost accounts.

Additional components Stevens says are nice to have include dialogue, pictures, and clear, descriptive text. Finally, if the credit union wants to secure earned media, it’s easier when the narrative has news value.

“Finding such stories sometimes feels like searching for the proverbial needle in a haystack,” the communications strategist says. “But with 15 million members, we know many great stories are out there.”

Like the Gipsons’.

A single story can have many lives — whether that’s a short post on social media or an hour-long podcast. Entrepreneurs are among those who make great storytellers because, in many ways, they live the hero’s journey — a natural story arc where a protagonist sets out on an adventure and, if successful, overcomes challenges to achieve a goal.”

A “Vetrepreneurs” Story

Aaron Gipson is a Marine Corps veteran who co-owns Hair Formations Salon in Jacksonville, FL, with his wife, LaVonia. They came to the marketing team’s attention as it was working to raise awareness about Navy Federal’s support of “vetrepreneurs.”

“We interviewed the Gipsons and published their story around National Family Owned and Operated Business Day in June 2024,” Stevens says.

Since then, the credit union has promoted the Gipsons’ story in media interviews, across social channels, in an email newsletter to business members, as a sponsored content piece in Military Times, as branded content, and on a podcast on the credit union’s Your Next Mission channel.

“A single story can have many lives — whether that’s a short post on social media or an hour-long podcast,” Stevens says. “Entrepreneurs are among those who make great storytellers because, in many ways, they live the hero’s journey — a natural story arc where a protagonist sets out on an adventure and, if successful, overcomes challenges to achieve a goal.”

In this case, with the help of Navy Federal.

The Thrill Of The Hunt, The Right Thing To Do

Stevens says a story is not a story if it doesn’t involve some kind of conflict.

“We keep this principle in mind when searching for stories to share: if our protagonist has not overcome an obstacle, then there’s no story to tell and we move on,” she says. “The obstacle does not have to be intense or extreme. It can be light, like exhaustion during a running race, or heavy, like coping with PTSD.”

The Navy Federal communications strategist says that identifying the obstacle — or “tension in the plot” — is key because it triggers the release of cortisol, which sharpens the focus and causes the brain to retain information. That’s one reason that stories stick in one’s memory more than data and facts, Stevens says, citing research on that topic from Harvard Business School. Stevens also points to empirical evidence showing the power of storytelling in creating emotional connections and strengthening relationships with core audiences, noting a piece in the National Library of Medicine titled “Why Inspiring Stores Make Us React: The Neuroscience of Narrative.”

“Ultimately, we hope brand stories build trust with our audiences, and trust can be hard to quantify,” Stevens says.

So, how does Navy Federal measure storytelling success?

The credit union applies industry standards to metrics that measure awareness, such as unique visits and average time on site (i.e., dwell time) on owned assets; impressions and engagement on social assets; and sentiment, messaging quality, and reach on earned assets.

“We also lift up stories because it’s simply the right thing to do,” Stevens says. “Shining a light on members of the military community —  their struggles and their accomplishments, their challenges and their triumphs — is one of the many ways we carry out our mission to serve our members.”

That work, Stevens says, has its own kind of payoff.

“The best part of my job? The thrill of the hunt,” she says. “Finding a great story about how a member of the military community achieves a goal with our help. That, and the kind words many share upon seeing their story out in the world.”

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