08/31/2010

Want to attend How Magazine's Mind Your Own Business Conference? I've got a code for you!

By Tim McAlpine

if you are a credit union marketer, this post is likely not for you. But if you are a marketing agency or design firm owner, then this post is definitely for you!

After being in business for ten years, I attended How Magazine's inaugral Mind Your Own Business conference in Cancun, Mexico in 2000. It was a watershed moment in my professional life. Up until that point, my business had grown like wildfire, but it felt like a handful of mud. If you've every tried to keep a handful of mud from slipping through your fingers you know what I mean! In design school I was taught how to design, not how to run a business and my first decade in business was an adventure in figuring things out in complete isolation.

I learned so much at that those three days in Mexico. It was amazing. I have attended three more MYOB Conferences since and each one has been incredible. It's not cheap, but worth every penny.

Fast forward ten years later and I've been asked to speak at this year's MYOB Conference in New York. I am totally honored and excited by the opportunity.

As a speaker, I’d like to invite you to join me at this year’s event being held October 12 to 14 at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers.

Tailored specifically to address the challenges faced by creative-firm principals and owners, this one-of-a-kind business conference offers ways to improve your corporate positioning, grow your bottom line and realize your firm’s potential. Trust me, you'll learn a ton and meet other people in your situation.

For complete session descriptions, speaker info and everything else you need to know, visit www.MYOBconference.com.

And be sure to use discount code MTM10 to get an additional $100 off the registration rate. See you in New York!

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08/20/2010

Lack of young blood runs deeper than membership

By Tim McAlpine

This is a guest blog post that I contributed to the Credit Union Times blog.

The lack of young credit union members has been a hot topic for awhile. A growing number of credit unions and leagues are taking this potentially industry-ending issue seriously and are actively pursuing younger members. But what are credit unions doing to attract, retain and reward the future leaders of the industry?

It is well-documented that the average age of a credit union member is fast approaching 50, more than a decade older than the average age of the general population. I would hazard a guess that the average age of a credit union employee is equally as old. In addition, Gen Y is less likely than baby boomers to stick to a single industry for their careers. Before we give up, a number of signs of hope have emerged recently.

Sign #1: An ever-expanding group of young credit union advocates are online writing, debating, chatting and even singing about the power of credit unions. Social networks including Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are chockfull of credit union people connecting and collaborating. Numerous live Internet radio and video shows have popped up talking about credit union issues. There are a number of credit union bloggers making their ideas and opinions known. People are even live blogging from the traditional conferences that used to be the sole domain of our white-haired CEOs and directors. There is a palatable sense of urgency, unrest and passion brewing.

Sign #2: The CUDE program. I keep running into these "DEs" at conferences and they seem to be getting younger and younger. I don't know exactly what happens during the intense week-long training sessions, but whatever it is seems to fire up credit union people to take interest and action. When you talk to a DE, you can tell that credit unions are now in their blood and that they see being a credit union lifer as a viable and rewarding career option.

Sign #3: Crash.coop. From the Crash website: "We’re a group of young credit union professionals catalyzing the movement through meetups, development projects, online collaboration and mentorships." Headed up by Brent Dixon of the Filene Research Institute, this group of passionate, young credit union advocates is growing. About 20 under-30 "Crashers" first crashed the GAC in Washington, DC in February and another 10 or so new Crashers just crashed The 1 Credit Union Conference in Vegas in July. There are plans for the Crash movement to spread to league conferences and into mentorship programs in various states. The key for the Crashers will be to keep the fire going and growing.

Sign #4: Next Top Credit Union Exec. This is a social media challenge marketing program Currency Marketing is co-producing with CUES. More than $50,000 in prizes will be awarded, plus the title of the Next Top Credit Union Exec. The field of 41 entrants has been narrowed to six finalists. It has been exciting and very encouraging to see the depth of talent and passion from young credit union professionals in every discipline. It is also very encouraging that a deeply respected organization such as CUES is taking the next generation very seriously.

These signs are a good start but they are just a start. Just like the young adult issue on the member side, the young professional issue on the employee side is an incredibly important topic that needs to move from talk to action. What are we doing to inspire young folks and make other young professionals clamor to be part of the credit union movement?

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08/08/2010

Young, Free and Super-charged

By Tim McAlpine

This past Friday morning I presented in front of about 1,500 credit union CEOs and directors at the 33rd Annual Directors' Convention. This was definitely the largest crowd I have ever been in front of. I am the little scared dot on the stage in this photo!

Here is my slide deck.

The subject was Young, Free and Super-charged: Building social media campaigns that work. It was basically an overview of my thoughts on social media marketing for credit unions and a recap of the lessons learned from our eight live Young & Free regions.

I promised the folks in the audience that I would have these slides online after my presentation. Suffice it to say that the flaky hotel Internet access had other plans for me!

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07/28/2010

There actually IS meat on bacon!

By Nala Henkel

Most of you have probably seen that Cheryl and I have thrown our collective hat in the ring to be the CU Water Cooler Symposium WildCard Speaker.

When you work in marketing and advertising, surrounded by fun co-workers and fun clients, on an incredibly fun and innovative product (Young & Free) it's hard not to let that spill over into contest entry for a wildcard speaker’s spot (as evidenced by our most recent campaign video).

But we want to clarify something—our presentation isn't going to focus on funny videos and bacon, it's going to delve into research we are doing with Gen Y'ers in regards to their use of social media platforms.

We are asking a cross section of young people across North America about:
• Which platforms they use
• What they actually use them for
• What they would never use them for
• And how they perceive businesses interjecting in those spaces

(just to name a few)

We will be compiling these results and sharing 3 practical ways that Credit Unions can take this information and implement a social media strategy in these spaces that will be relevant and get results.

So here’s what you need to know: yes, half of us are young and both of us are silly, but we're going to deliver a fun presentation that will leave the audience with some insight into how Gen Y is actually using social media and share information on how credit unions can get involved and get bottom line results.

We’re really excited to have a conversation about this, and if you are too, you can vote for us here:

http://www.cuwatercoolersymposium.com/vote/

Voting closes Friday at 2pm PT.

All the best,

Nala (and Cheryl)

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07/19/2010

Co-op Vegas?

By Tim McAlpine

I attended the 1 Credit Union Conference in Las Vegas last week. The venue struck me as an odd choice. I wondered what kind of first impression Vegas would give the visitors from 60 countries. This tweet from Shari Storm summed up my initial thoughts, "Listening to the regal women of Zimbabwe marvel at how little clothing the young women in Las Vegas wear." Was Las Vegas the best way to show off the western world?

Then it struck me: Vegas is the perfect example of the power of cooperation. Don't believe me? Let's run Vegas past the seven cooperative principles.

Principle #1: Inclusiveness
Everyone is welcome regardless of how much cash they are carrying. From the penny slots to $5,000 minimum bets, Vegas has something for everyone. It does not discriminate. Vegas will take money from anyone!

Principle #2: Voice
Vegas is a democratically run ecosystem, entirely controlled by consumers' wants and desires.

Principle #3: Benefit
Consumers directly participate in the financial success of Vegas by emptying their pockets on gambling, dining, entertainment and taxis. Surpluses are returned to consumers in the form of an occasional jackpot to make everyone believe it's possible to beat the odds!

Principle #4: Independence
As your plane descends, you are struck with how isolated (and illuminated) Las Vegas is.

Principle #5: Education
Financial literacy in Vegas? Heck yes. There are gambling hotline posters displayed in every casino. This service is free and available to all.

Principle #6: Cooperation
Cooperation among casinos is vital. If there was only one casino or one show in Vegas, it wouldn't work. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

Principle #7: Community
Every visitor to Vegas shares a common bond and shares the famous motto, "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!"

All joking aside, Vegas is a great example of people and organizations working together to make something much bigger than would be possible in isolation. All of the stakeholders in Vegas pool their money and market Vegas as a whole. There is real power in this co-op marketing model that credit unions could learn from.

P.S. I'm not sure what principle this falls under, but I would argue that nowhere else on earth has a group of innovators made better use of air conditioning than in Las Vegas!

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06/14/2010

The Symposium is back!

By Tim McAlpine

I wrote a guest post on the CUES Skybox on May 12 and Doug True at FORUM Credit Union left this comment.

"Your post also made me think how we really should bring back the Symposium. The foundation blocks are still there and FORUM Solutions would welcome the opportunity to host in Indy. If there is interest we just need to find out who the enablers will be and get together to work out the details. I only want to do it though if it adds value to an already crowded conference marketplace"

Further down in the comments, George Hoffheimer from Filene chimed in.

@Doug...Filene's in for next iteration of Symposium

I immediately emailed Doug True and Matt Davis and said let's make it happen. So, after a one-year hiatus, the symposium is back. We've got a new title, the CU Water Cooler Symposium, and a new theme, Bubbling up the best new credit union talent!

Here are some details.

• This will be a unique experience in the already over-crowded credit union conference space.
• It will be held in Fishers, Indiana on Thursday, October 28 and Friday, October 29. FORUM Credit Union has been gracious to donate the use of its wonderful FORUM Conference & Events Center.
• It's dirt cheap. The $199 early-bird price basically covers the costs of catering.
• Matt Davis and I will be your hosts.
• The other 11 CU Water Cooler editors are each responsible for recruiting a speaker with a new story. These speakers will be revealed two at a time over the next six weeks on the Liquid Lunch.
• There is a "Be a Speaker" contest. This is an awesome opportunity for someone with an interesting credit union story to tell. 
• There are sponsorship opportunities for a few select vendors.

This is sure to be a fantastic event and we want you there! Book your spot today.

+ Check the website out for all of the details.

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06/04/2010

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

By Tim McAlpine

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.

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05/28/2010

Young & Free St. Louis launches today. Sometimes it's worth the wait!

By Tim McAlpine

On October 4, 2007, I gave a presentation at the FORUM Solutions Partnership Symposium in Indiana. As part of my talk, I introduced Young & Free Alberta, which had just launched that day.

In the audience was Eric Acree, the Executive Vice President of Vantage Credit Union in St. Louis, Missouri. He was immediately struck by the concept and when he learned in early 2008 that Young & Free was going North America wide, he championed the concept at Vantage and signed the first US contract. Vantage has the exclusive rights to Missouri, but chose to go with the Young & Free St. Louis name since all of their branches are located in the Greater St. Louis area with spill over into southern Illinois.

Why the two-and-half-year wait? The folks at Vantage had some very big plans! Vantage has paired Young & Free with an incredible new account and a custom-built online banking system specifically designed for the 18-to-25 crowd. All built in-house!

Dubbed Not Your Mama's Account, it has an impressive mix of products and services, but the real key is the online experience with significant real-world members benefits.

At the center of the package is the coolest online banking system that I have ever seen. In addition to standard banking and bill pay capabilities, this next generation of online banking system includes:

• Personal finance tool that uses keyword “tagging” and feeds spending/saving forecasts to help members with budgeting
• Relevant merchant ads and coupon offers based on merchants/services used according to actual transaction history
• Social media integration that incorporates real-time feeds from the member's own Twitter and Facebook accounts, and feeds from the VantageCU Twitter account and website
• Value-offer summaries let members know how much they’ve saved or could have saved based on coupons redeemed as well as Vantage offers/savings and rebates received
• All-inclusive landing page that incorporates a high-level total services view, spending forecast, holds/alerts, last five transactions, upcoming bills, quick transfer feature, spending tags, merchant ads and coupons, Vantage offers/savings and rebates, and social media feeds, all in one single view

What I love is the very unique approach to budgeting. The system does not require young people to spend a lot of time setting up a PFM tool and dedicating ongoing time to updating and monitoring their budget. Instead, the system learns about your habits and forecasts your spending automatically and presents that info to you on the dashboard at all times.

In addition, the ability to deliver relevant ads and coupons for specific spending habits is awesome. Vantage has built an incredible self-serve advertising platform on the back-end for local merchants complete with Google map integration. I've seen the demo a couple of times now and it's impressive.

Near the end of the CEO intro video, Hubert Hoosman, Jr. touches on a few of the features. Check it out.

We have proven that the Young & Free concept works at attracting young adults to credit unions and we know that when there is a unique and attractive product offer coupled with the program, young people become members. We are so looking forward to seeing what happens when something truly different and new is added to the mix!

Every Young & Free region comes together when a senior champion believes in it and when there is a great supporting cast. St. Louis is no exception. It's been great working with Eric and his team including Kathy, Cam, Matt, Sarah and Jennifer.

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

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05/12/2010

Guest post on the CUES Skybox: Get social to advance your career

By Tim McAlpine

I wrote a guest post on the CUES Skybox today about how blogging can be good for your career. Please take a read and leave a comment over there if you love it, hate it or have a better idea!

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04/26/2010

My advice: don't over think, over edit and under power your social marketing efforts

By Tim McAlpine

The fine folks from the CU Grow blog interviewed me after my presentation last month at the 2010 CUNA Marketing and Business Development Council Conference in Washington, DC.

After watching it, I should put a footnote on my 'ignore compliance and legal' comment. I don't want to get anyone in hot water! I would involve those that have product and compliance knowledge at your credit union in your social media marketing activities and equip your 'social voices' with the know-how and freedom to put accurate information out there without a lot of editorial review.

The point I was trying to make is don't let the red tape get in the way of enthusiasm and action and don't just try things half way. Use common sense and connect with your audience in a meaningful way.

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RECENT POSTS

August 31, 2010
Want to attend How Magazine's Mind Your Own Business Conference? I've got a code for you!

August 20, 2010
Lack of young blood runs deeper than membership

August 8, 2010
Young, Free and Super-charged

July 28, 2010
There actually IS meat on bacon!

July 19, 2010
Co-op Vegas?
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