Searching for the next Verity Mom

We launched Verity Mom with Seattle's Verity Credit Union in August 2009. At the time I had stated I was pretty excited about the launch for the following reasons.

• It's a new social media program aimed at connecting and learning from Seattle-area moms. Moms are a segment of the population that we feel credit unions have tremendous potential to attract.
• At the center of the program is a public search for a part-time mommy blogger. We think this is a really compelling story and the chosen mommy blogger has the potential of creating fantastic content.
• We are working with social media pioneers. Shari Storm and her team at Verity Credit Union launched the first corporate blog by a financial institution in North America. Their experience will undoubtedly add to the success of this program.

Fast forward two years and I am thrilled to say that all of these reasons I listed have lived up to and surpassed my expectations. Through the 2009 search, Verity surfaced 34 amazing Moms who all felt really passionate about the opportunity.

In the end, Rosemary Garner, a documentary television producer, won the job. Rosemary's written and video work have been so exceptional that Verity extended her one-year contract for an additional year. Rosemary has built a loyal following that are always quick to leave an encouraging comment on her posts—1,584 comments to be exact!

Through this program, smart product design and additional marketing activities, Verity Credit Union has done a fantastic job at positioning itself as a family-centered financial institution.

Today, we excited to announce the launch of the search for the next Verity Mom. 

To mark the occasion, we gave the site design a refresh.

It will be interesting (and nerve-racking) to see if we can find a worthy successor to Rosemary! 

Also, a special thanks to Shari and Melina. They are a treat to work with and are always open to new and exciting ideas.

Tim

Young & Free Indiana launched by 3Rivers today!

We helped 3Rivers launch Young & Free Indiana today. Indiana is the 12th Young & Free region in North America to go live!

3Rivers has a number of key components going for it that will make Young & Free Indiana really work.

• Passionate staff and leadership
• A very visible, well-known and polished brand in the Fort Wayne marketplace
• Fresh, modern branches
• Great product mix with the livin' free pack
• Fully online account opening

Every Young & Free region comes together when there are senior champions that believe in it and when there is a great supporting cast. Indiana is no exception. From the beginning, Jeff Meyer, the CEO and Lisa Philips, the COO, have both embraced the program and made it a strategic priority.

In addition, the marketing team—Michelle, Dan and Chad—have been great to work with.

Internally, this program was launched under the guidance of Kate Davies. Kate has done a great job of managing this project from start to now. This is Kate's fourth launch in the past three months! She definitely needs a holiday.

Please take a moment and visit the Young & Free Indiana microsite. You can also follow along on Twitter and Facebook.

Tim

Young & Free Maine launched by 60 credit unions today!

We helped the Maine Credit Union League (MCUL), representing 60 participating credit unions, roll out Young & Free Maine today. Maine is the 11th Young & Free region in North America to go live and the largest group to date!

The program in Maine came together because of the leadership and drive of MCUL's corporate marketing manager, Debra Trautman. Debra and her team (Diana, Jess, Jon and Karen) worked extremely hard to build consensus and excitement for the program. 

Kate Davies and I travelled to Augusta, Maine in March and shot the launch video with 14 of the participating credit union CEOs. 

Please take a moment and visit the Young & Free Maine microsite. You can also follow along on Twitter and Facebook.

Tim

Young & Free New Mexico launched by 17 credit unions today!

We helped the Credit Union Association of New Mexico (CUANM), representing 17 participating credit unions, roll out Young & Free New Mexico today. New Mexico is the 10th Young & Free region in North America to go live!

The program in New Mexico came together because of the leadership and passion of a number of key people that believed in Young & Free, including Sylvia Lyons (CEO) and Denise Wymore (VP Association Services) plus 17 courageous credit union CEOs.

Launching Young & Free for a group of credit unions takes a great deal of cooperation and coordination! It allows small and large credit unions to affordably work together to make a big noise in their marketplace. We know it takes a lot to get on the radar of potential Gen Y members.

When Denise started at CUANM in the Spring of 2010, one of Sylvia's first requests was for her to check into Young & Free New Mexico. As luck would have it, I know Denise quite well! One thing led to another and here we are!   

Kate Davies and I travelled to Sante Fe, New Mexico in February and shot this fun launch video with most of the participating credit union CEOs. 

Please take a moment and visit the Young & Free New Mexico microsite. You can also follow along on Twitter and Facebook.

Side note: We do a lot of time zone-math in our office. Most of our clients are two or three hours ahead. It's nice to have another client that is just one hour ahead! Now, if we could only have a program running in Pacific time! :)

Tim

Young & Free Michigan launches today for Michigan First Credit Union

We helped Michigan First Credit Union launch Young & Free Michigan today.

Michigan joins (in order) Alberta, Texas, South Carolina, Alabama  Tennessee, Mississippi, St. Louis and Ontario to become the ninth Young & Free region in North America.

Michigan First has really integrated the Young & Free brand deeply into the credit union. We had the opportunity to help with the interior design of a newly remodelled Wayne State University branch. The branch opened three weeks ago, so we had to strategically cover some of the integrated Young & Free Michigan branding. As of today, the grand opening graphics will come down and all of the plasma screens and kiosk stations will feature the Young & Free Michigan Spokesperson search.

Michigan First is an extremely tech-forward credit union and has come to the table with both impressive technology and a fantastic product mix. You can see the full depth of the new First Gear Account offering here.

Key differentiators for Michigan First in its marketplace will be:

• First Gear Checking with no monthly or per-check fees and unlimited check writing
• MoneyNow overdraft protection plus “Oops Forgiveness”
• 1% discount on auto loan rate
• Earn double MoneyPerks reward points for eStatements and direct deposit
• Free custom MasterCard® Debit Card with unlimited ATM & debit card transactions
• Unlimited FREE ATM withdrawals at more than 28,000 ATMs in the Co-op Network plus three free ATM withdrawals monthly at non Co-op ATMs

Another key differentiator is the integrated personal financial management tool. It is a customized installation of Jwaala. Based on the unique login credentials of a First Gear Account holder, the site loads with a Young & Free skin. It's very slick.

In addition, Michigan First offers mobile banking apps for iPhone, Android and Blackberry, plus a native mobile web interface. Remote check deposit capability and live chat are also included.

Michigan First really has put together a great package of products and services. We're really excited to see how the combination of these account features performs with the Young & Free young adult marketing program in the Detroit area.

Every Young & Free region comes together when a senior champion believes in it and when there is a great supporting cast. Michigan is no exception. From the beginning, Michael Poulos, the President and CEO has embraced the program and made it a strategic priority.

In addition, the marketing team—Linda, Darren, Paula, Sandra, Steve, Allan and Susie—have been great to work with.

Internally, this is the first program to launch under the guidance of our newest program director, Kate Davies. Kate has done a great job of managing this project from start to now.

Please take a moment and visit the Young & Free Michigan microsite. You can also follow along on Twitter and Facebook.

Tim

Infographic: Young & Free Stats Update 2011

It's the start of a new year, so I thought I would give an update on how Young & Free is doing in infographic form!

I couldn't be more pleased with the growth and momentum that Young & Free has gained in the past year and 2011 is shaping up to be even bigger and better. Our team has been heads-down busy with the planning and execution of our next four regions. Expect to see them live within the next four months.

If you haven't seen it yet, we have a new comprehensive Young & Free section complete with videos. Check it out when you have a moment.

Thanks for everyone's continued support and interest in Young & Free.

Tim

All I want for Christmas is a new website

Welcome to the brand new currencymarketing.ca!

It seems that about every three years I get the urge to redesign our website! Time has flown by since our last launch in December 2007. Here's a few of the highlights of the new site.

Who we are

This section will give you a sense of who we are and what makes us tick. Make sure to watch the new staff profile videos for some little-known facts.

What we do

Since we get multiple inquiries every week about our Young & Free Program, we've put together a comprehensive section to explain most of the details.

Speaking

This page showcases information about what I speak about and how to invite me to speak. Over the past three years, I've spoken at about 30 events and have really come to enjoy public speaking (who knew!).

Resources

In this section you will find published articles and a collection of podcasts and live show archives.

Blog

I started blogging in 2006 and have since published 340 articles. Original titled the CU Brand Blog, I feel this title and focus no longer fits. There are much better blogs about financial branding and I really don't have much more to say on the subject since our focus has moved away from branding over the past couple of years (hence my infrequent posting on the subject). So, with a fresh website comes a fresh concept for the blog. Entitled, Credit Unions Matter, I will continue to explore and expand my thinking on why credit unions matter and what credit unions can do to matter more. This will also provide a clear division between this blog and our Why Gen Y blog.

Thanks for stopping by the new site. Take a look around and let me know what you think!

Tim

Young & Free Ontario launches today for Libro Financial Group and United Communities Credit Union!

We helped Libro Financial Group and United Communities Credit Union launch Young & Free Ontario today.

Ontario joins (in order) Alberta, Texas, South Carolina, Alabama  Tennessee, Mississippi and St. Louis to become the eighth Young & Free region in North America.

It's great to have a second region live in Canada! And it's not just any region—Ontario is by far the most populated province in Canada with over 13 million residents! Or put another way, 40% of Canada's population.

Ontario is our second region in North America and first region in Canada to undertake the Young & Free program as a collaborative initiative. The majority of our programs have been single credit unions representing a small section of their home state or province. This is unique partnership between two like-minded, non-competing credit unions that serve Southwestern Ontario. It’s exciting to see collaboration between two well respected credit unions. By coming together, they are able to share the costs and amplify their reach.

Nala and I travelled to Ontario in March and shot the CEO launch video while we were there. Jack Smit and Jim Lynn had a fun time working with each other and did a great job!

Please take a moment and visit the Young & Free Ontario microsite. You can also follow along on Twitter and Facebook.

Tim

We helped Listerhill Credit Union launch Young & Free Alabama today!

I am excited to unveil Young & Free Alabama for Muscle Shoal's Listerhill Credit Union. I'm so excited because:

• Listerhill is the smallest credit union in the smallest market to date to launch Young & Free. Listerhill is just over $400 million in assets. To date, all Young & Free credit unions have been well beyond $1 billion in assets. We feel strongly that credit unions of all sizes can pull Young & Free off provided that they are committed to the concept from the board and executive right down to the front-line staff.
• We are working with a team that is so fired up about Young & Free. The team at Listerhill has been terrific to work with. The core team that includes Amber, Kristen, Clay, DeAnna, Joyce, Brad, Debbie, Carolyn, Daryl, Tony and Ivan have championed Young & Free and have really made it their own.
• Another Young & Free region is now live and will help in fulfilling our purpose. Alabama, joins Alberta, South Carolina and Texas. Simply put, it is our purpose to help credit unions deepen their relationships with members and to persuade bank customers to become credit union members. We feel that the Young & Free Spokester Challenge has the potential to attract tens of thousands of new members to the credit union movement and Listerhill is another ideal partner.

Here are some of the pieces

Young & Free Alabama microsite

Video: Are you the Voice of  Young & Free Alabama?

Clockwise from top left: print ads, staff information kits and billboards

Here's how the program works:

• Young adults will visit youngfreealabama.com and fill out an application
• Everyone can watch and participate as the applicants are narrowed down to three finalists
• Site visitors will vote for the finalist they think should be the winner
• The winner will receive a full-time position worth $30,000 per year, a MacBook Pro computer, a Canon HD camcorder and an iPhone
• Prizes will be awarded to the other two finalists as well
• The winning spokesperson is expected to write four text-based blog posts per week, produce one video per week, produce at least one segment for the Living Young & Free Show per month and attend one event as the spokesperson per month

Sandy and I traveled to Muscle Shoals in July. We had a great time getting to know the Listerhill team and also touring around the area. We learned what a meat and three is, what thousands of cicadas sound like, what 90% humidity feels like and that the people of Alabama are incredibly friendly and helpful!

Please take a moment and visit the Young & Free Alabama microsite.

Tim

Young & Free update: New websites are here and multiple launches are just around the corner!

New website design

We originally designed the first Young & Free microsite in 2006. Needless to say the social web has progressed in the last three years and we have learned a tremendous amount from running three Young & Free programs. This experience has influenced a total redesign of the Young & Free sites. Here are some highlights:

• The new header prominently displays the regional hex logos, colors, textures and Young & Free Spokesters and better illustrates what the program is all about.
• During the Y&F Spokester's term, the blog is now the home page instead of a secondary page. This will ensure that visitors are greeted with daily fresh content. Visit the new Texas and Alberta home pages to see what I am talking about.
• We are using the new Disqus (pronounced Discuss) blog comment platform. Disqus enables visitors to login through their Twitter, Facebook, Seesmic or Open ID accounts. Participants can automatically tweet their comment, update their Facebook status with their comment and subscribe to further comments by e-mail. Disqus has the ability to accept video comments through Seesmic and will automatically add any tweets that link to a post.
• During the annual Y&F Spokester search or during a special promotion like the Young & Free SC Last Band Standing competition, the new site design features a promotional homepage. During these periods, the blog moves to the first secondary page.
• We have a new and improved right sidebar with:
  • A permanent spot for our new Living Young & Free Show
  • Greater visibility of our monthly prizes
  • A real-time search widget to highlight activity on Twitter
  • A latest blog comments widget to highlight active commenters, recent activity and popular posts
• The base of the site has a much larger product ad, more Flickr photos and readily accessible links to corporate pages and all of the other Young & Free sites.
• The top navigation bar has been reorganized to better highlight videos, financial information, events and a new forum.

Young & Free in the near future

Since going public in June 2008 with our plan to offer one courageous credit union in each state and province an exclusive license to run a Young & Free program, we have had tremendous interest. In fact, more than 150 credit unions and leagues have filled out our form requesting further information.

Although interest is extremely high from US credit unions, the economy and especially the NCUA Corporate Stabilization Program have had a tremendous impact on most credit unions' ability to move forward with an aggressive 52-week program like Young & Free. Having said that, we are extremely excited to announce that our fourth Y&F region will be live in one month and number five and six are launching at the end of January 2010 and June 2010 respectively.

Thanks for everyone's continued interest and support in Young & Free. Please let me know what you think of the new websites!

Tim