Like everyone else, WESCO as an organization is looking for brand recognition that fits everything we do and where we hope to go. Several years ago WESCO introduced CU*Answers as the umbrella name for our entire suite of products. Today CU*Answers defines all of who we are… the Credit Union Answers people.

In thinking about the switch to CU*Answers, we considered three major questions that are universal themes for any organization thinking of changing their brand:

• Does the brand identify our potential partners and industry interest? Does it say something about our target market? This is a tough one in today’s world. It is hard to find a trademark or name that identifies either an industry, a community, or a specific topic that hasn’t already been used. Being unique is not easy. But CU*Answers products are targeted at credit union solutions-finding the answers that allow credit unions to provide service and fulfill their mission with credit union members. It’s not that CU*Answers has all the answers; It’s that we are in constant search for the very best credit union answers. CU*Answers represents not just a single answer, but a suite of answers (CU*BASE, CU*@HOME, CU*TALK, education products, consulting, etc.).
• Can we relate this brand to an Internet domain or URL? This is a relatively new consideration, but a critical one in our networked world. Our previous domain, www.cubase.org, did not tie well with CU*Answers or our full family of products, only to our core software product. But the efforts of CU*Answers and its partners and clients are far broader and more aggressive than simply a single software application. The www.cuanswers.com tag was available and it fit.
• Does the brand limit the scope of our potential? As an acronym for West Michigan Computer Co-Operative, Inc., WESCO was once very appropriate. Until the mid-1990s, WESCO was a Michigan-based company serving Michigan companies, and only allowed Michigan ownership. The Board of Directors decided that more diversity was needed in our products, in our focus, and in our partnerships if WESCO was to be a strong firm into the future. With our new brand, we hope to serve an industry, not just a geographical market. CU*Answers is about the credit union mission and financial solutions for credit union members, and fits our belief that everyone deserves to be a credit union member.

We wanted a mark that was inclusive of our products, our partners, the Internet, and our industry. A mark that could broaden in the future and change with the times, and ensure that our firm and efforts would always maintain their relevance in the credit union marketplace. CU*Answers fits the bill.