The Denver Postal Credit Union will get some new letters next year-in its name.

One of the Denver area’s largest and oldest credit unions, the DPCU is changing its name mostly to reflect newer members not associated with the postal service.

But the word postal’s negative connotation-from “going postal” as a synonym for violent behavior to recent anthrax contamination through the mail-also influenced the change.

The 70-year-old Arvada-based credit union was this area’s ninth-largest such institution this year, with assets of roughly $161 million, according to The Denver Business Journal’s September credit union ranking. It has 28,000 members.

The postal credit union has been in the process of getting a new name most of this year and expects to have one in early 2002. It hired a naming consultant, the San Diego-based Nuancing® Group, last May to help.

After developing a new logo and marketing campaign to go along with the name, the credit union plans to launch it in early 2003.

“We’ve been around since 1931 and had the same name,” said DPCU spokeswoman Krista Stafford. “It’s a pretty major move, and we’re putting a lot of thought into it.”

Since The Nuancing® Group got involved, it has held meetings with employees and workshops with members to get input. It asked those people what the old name meant to them and if they thought it should be altered. Since it became clear a change is needed, the consultant has worked with the credit union’s naming committee to come up with the right name and tested favorite options.

“You’ve got to get to the essence of a company with a brand,” said Liz Goodgold, president of The Nuancing® Group. “We’re using real words, word twists, and invented words that sound like real words.”

Lots of things go into creating a new name, Goodgold added.

The credit union, for example, wants to honor its history of serving postal employees but also acknowledge new members-and attract even more.

Non-postal members include residents of local cities such as Arvada, Littleton, Denver, and Englewood. They also encompass businesses and organizations ranging from the A&A Tree Care in Wheat Ridge and the Aurora Gun Club to the City of Littleton and pro sports franchises the Colorado Avalanche and Denver Nuggets.

“The charter laws were opened up to new kinds of members,” Goodgold said. “But a lot of people never realized they could belong because of the name.”

The new name also should cut down on confusion over the current one.

The credit union uses Denver in its name, even though it’s based in Arvada.

And its website’s name, dpcu.org, was too close to the Dallas Postal Credit Union’s, dpcu.com.

The Texas credit union recently changed its name to Neighborhood Credit Union.

The Nuancing® Group is staying away from acronyms for the new name, too, because they’re often connected with something negative-or can be. South Korean carmaker Kia Motors Corp., for example, uses KIA as its logo. In the military, KIA stands for “killed in action.”

Ultimately, Goodgold is trying to create a name that’s easy to say, spell, and remember. It should also prompt a good feeling in people. “It needs to be compelling, relevant,” she added.

And although taking a new name is a big change for the credit union, it’s the only major change going on there, according to management.

“We want to reassure our members that only the name is changing and nothing else,” Stafford said

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