Say Hello To Jannou, The New Credit Union

The Saint Lucia Civil Services Co-operative Credit Union is now Jannou Credit Union. The press unveiling of the rebranded Credit Union was held at the Financial Administrative Centre, Pointe Seraphine, on Saturday December 14^th, 2019. However, as outlined by both the General Manager Emmerlyn Monrose and the President, Junia Emmanuel- Belizaire, the rebranding efforts began over two years ago.

Over the course of those two years, a Consultant with expertise in Brand Metamorphosis, Accela Marketing, was contracted after meeting the qualifications outlined in the public bidding process. What followed was over sixteen months of intensive research, committee meetings, member engagement meetings and board meetings as well as a Rebranding Retreat comprising a sample of Board Members, Management, Staff and Members.

Great effort was taken to ensure members voluntarily participated in the most important component, which was the Research. A total of eight focus group discussions were conducted with internal and external stakeholders.  The objective of the focus groups was to facilitate a better understanding of the brand and to assist in unveiling the brand archetype. Everything from the new brand personality of The Caring Hero, to the new brand colors was put to a vote by stakeholders. The Folk Research Centre was consulted regarding the new name, “Jan Nou” which was then creatively adapted to the more modern corporate title of “Jannou”. The new name and the new tagline, “Together We Can Move Mountains”, was then put up for vote and it won resoundingly.

The brand unveiling was met with rousing applause from the almost packed venue. Some key highlights were the President’s speech, which clearly articulated that, “An institution that is alive, dynamic and relevant is always an institution that evolves with the era.” She went on to extrapolate on the challenges of this new era where “we have more tertiary educated young people than ever before and most of them are not choosing to join the Civil Services. In fact less than 10% of current and new members are Civil Servants.” She went on to explain, “Meanwhile, Saint Lucia is poised to become one of the hottest investment destinations in the English-speaking Caribbean. The private sector and the entrepreneurial sectors are the ones that are thriving. Requests for business start-up loans are increasing. Eco-friendly upgrades to homes are increasing, with people becoming invested in going green, harvesting their own rainwater, using solar power and growing their own food.”

There was a great deal of excitement when Deputy General Manager, Celestin Laurent announced that the new Jannou Credit Union will be meeting the needs of this generation with Small Business Loans but more importantly, ATM services, Online Banking and eWallets in 2020. He went on to describe the new Customer Service approach “will aim to provide a “Jannou” welcome to all; warm, engaging and helpful”.

 
Closing off the unveiling was an honest, deeply personal and poignant address by the Honorable Lenard Montoute, Minister of Equity, Social Justice, Empowerment, Youth Development, Sports and Local Government. He described how the foreign multinational banks have often fallen short in delivering considerate and efficient service to him and his family over the years. Himself, a longstanding member of the Teacher’s Credit Union and in the process of revitalizing the Gros Islet Credit Union, he said that indigenous financial institutions owned by the people and working for the people are “our best option for rising out of poverty and seizing opportunities to advance in life”. To hearty laughter and applause, he announced his application to become a member of Jannou was already in the works.

  
Four-time Soca Monarch Arthur Allain, revved up the crowd with a live performance of the new Jannou Brand Anthem. On Monday, 16^th December, all offices were rebranded.  Extensive building renovations are expected in 2020, which will truly reflect the warmth, friendliness but yet modern and technologically savvy Jannou brand.