Introducing three epic music videos that all credit unions can use to celebrate and promote International Credit Union Day!

What do you get when you combine the talents of eight young credit union advocates from all over North America? An original rap, a wild Lady Gaga tribute and an epic Journey classic all created to promote all that’s good and right about credit unions.

What? We took six awesome credit union attributes and set them to music.

1. Membership is open to all
2. Members call the shots
3. Rates and fees should benefit members
4. Credit unions are just as accessible as banks
5. Financial education should be free and available to all
6. Giving back to the community is a priority

Who? Eight of our Young & Free Spokespeople came together to collaborate at our recent Spokester Summit in Indiana. Dex from Alberta, Janelle from Michigan, Jenn from St. Louis, Kaylie from Ontario, Lee from Alabama, Matt from Indiana, Michelle from New Mexico and Seth from Maine. Alex  from Tennessee and Darryl from South Carolina weren't able to make the trip, but were with us in spirit!

Share far and wide! Please spread the word about these videos on International Credit Union Day this Thursday, October 20 and beyond. Here are some ways to share the credit union love:

• Post to Facebook and Twitter
• Embed on your website or blog
• Write an article about them
• Include in a member email blast
• Tell the local media
• Encourage employees to post on their social media sites

Enjoy the videos!

CU Romance

Janelle and Kaylie take center stage in this iconic Lady Gaga tribute. Favorite line: "Word on the street is that we're too far and few, but our shared branches make that story untrue."

+ Go to YouTube to share the link and to copy the embed code

Don't Stop Learning

Lee, Matt and Michelle relive 1981 with metal hair and classic guitar riffs. Favorite line: "There's a place that I remember, provides education for its members and gives back to the community, the list goes on and on and on and on."

+ Go to YouTube to share the link and copy the embed code

Tha Way 2 B

Dex, Jenn and Seth bring the crunk and the funk in this original rap and hiphop showstopper. Favorite line: "Not a customer, I'm a member, I call the shots, if my account were a girl, she'd be so hot."

+ Go to YouTube to share the link and copy the embed code

Tim

98 Problems (But a Bank Ain't One)

Have you heard of The Disclosures? The Disclosures are an acoustic "thrift-rock" duo from credit union land (that's Wisconsin!) comprised of Chad Helminak and one of my fellow CU Water Cooler editors Christopher Morris.

They just released a video for their original song, "98 Problems (But a Bank Ain't One)." It's from the album, "(Hey, We're) The Disclosures." Check it out.

The single and album are available on Amazon.com, iTunes, and almost anywhere digital music is sold. Here are the details and links.

Here's some extra good news: The Disclosures will be the entertainment at the evening event at the CU Water Cooler Symposium on Thursday, September 29. Hope to see you there as well!

Tim

Presenting "The Credit Union Difference"

In January, six of our Young & Free Spokesters gathered in Jackson, Mississippi for the first-annual Spokester Summit. Cheryl from our office facilitated the two-day workshop. The main idea behind the Summit was to bring everyone together to learn from one another. All of our Spokesters are fast friends online, but there's nothing that can compare to meeting up in person. Held at the offices of the Mississippi Credit Union Association, the event was a smashing success! We'll definitely be doing this type of event again.

One of the items on the agenda was for the group to conceive and film a collaborative video. Great ideas flowed and the end product is now ready to view!

Alex Oliver, the Young & Free Tennessee Spokesperson, did an amazing job with the editing don't you think? We'd also like to thank the staff of the Mississippi Credit Union Association for their fabulous Southern hospitality!

Tim

CU Branding 101: Your credit union is not differentiated

This is my second CU Branding 101 post. If you didn't read the first, here's a link. Don't worry, this post will wait until you get back!

OK, so you get the gist. My fundamental belief is that credit unions need to be differentiated to succeed long term, yet almost all credit unions are not significantly differentiated. To illustrated my point, let me contrast the financial services industry with the television industry.

Fifty years ago, there were only three channels to choose from.

Occupying a unique position in consumers' minds was easy. As long as you filled the schedule with a variety of programs, you were guaranteed to have an audience and a full roster of advertisers.

Fast-forward to today and there are dozens of stations to choose from. By necessity, new stations are differentiated to attract an audience and advertisers. The difference between every station is obvious.

Most stations have a descriptive name and a defined niche they are seeking to connect with. Just think of The History Channel, Much Music, The Golf Channel, SportsNet, The Shopping Channel and Court TV to name a few.

To contrast, this is how the financial services industry looks from the consumers' point of view. There are dozens of brands that essentially look like the big banks that established the marketplace. Each going after the same target with essentially the same story and offering. The differences are so subtle and are not compelling.

If you don't believe me, ask your spouse, kids or neighbours to describe the difference between 10 financial institutions.

Think about how well positioned TV stations are in comparison. TV stations have the added bonus of being able to promote their offerings on other channels, in TV Guide and in the local daily newspaper. Also, let's not forget that consumers can access every choice from the couch!

Here's the irony. As competition has intensified, credit unions have moved away from the things that naturally made them different. 

• Serving employee groups and small regions to now serving larger geographic regions and broader fields of membership.
• Using city or employer names to now using acronyms and generic aspirational names.

These shifts have been done to appeal to larger groups of people. However, as more credit unions compete against one another and more alternative players enter the scene, all institutions are looking and feeling the same.

To make matters worse, consumer can't easily sample financial products and services.

Owning a differentiated position has become crucial. Your position has to be so differentiated and compelling to even get noticed. And by the way, being community oriented, member owned and providing better service is not a differentiated position.

These principles may seem obvious, yet most credit union leaders are afraid to position their organizations for fear of limiting their credit union's potential.

Tim

Who knows what makes your credit union special?

When I am in a new city at a conference or on business, I will often drop into a credit union and ask the receptionist, "I'm new to town and looking for a new place to bank, can you tell me what makes your credit union special?"

Nine times out of 10, I'll get a blank stare and then something like, "We have a great staff and we are nice to deal with."

There is always that one receptionist out of ten that rattles off three or four real differentiators. When that happens, it is incredible experience.

I will then dig a little deeper with that credit union and sure enough their website and annual reports are highly differentiated and articulate. Everyone at these credit unions knows who they are and why they are special.

This one question is a sure fire way to determine how strong a credit union's brand is.

The troubling part to me is that so few credit unions take the time to:

a) determine their difference, and

b) let everyone at the credit union know that difference.

I'm the first to admit that I spend too much time roaming the credit union blog-o-sphere, but the more I read the more I see a common underlying sentiment. I see post after post by those that champion the credit union movement that basically ask "why doesn't anybody understand what makes our credit unions different?"

There has been a great discussion taking place over the last week on Open Source CU. The post, "How long will we singe the choir's eyebrows" really brought it home to me. The author, Charlie Trotter, and the long list of participants in the comment string lament that the general public doesn't understand the credit union difference.

However, what most everyone is missing is that the most important people in credit unionville—the front-line staff (a.k.a. the brand ambassadors)—don't even know the difference. How can you expect your members, let alone the general public, to understand what makes your credit union special if your own people don't even know?

Tim