07/24/2008

BarCampBankBC: Help us pick the shirts.

By Tim McAlpine

We are now inside two months to go until BarCampBankBC. If you haven't signed up yet, I encourage you to head over to the Wiki and sign-up today. Plan to be in Vancouver for September 20 and 21, 2008.

Today's BarCampBankBC interactive challenge for you: help us select the T-shirt design. The design with the most votes gets printed.

 

 
Some of you are no doubt wondering what the heck this BarCampBankBC thing is. One of my organizing partners, William Azaroff, does a great job of explaining the BarCampBank phenomenon in his recent blog post on NetBanker.

If you are on the fence and wondering if this type of event is for you, I encourage you to get off the fence and give it a try. You won't regret it.

---

 

01/28/2008

Podcast 02: Credit Union Innovator Wayne McKay

By Tim McAlpine

Welcome to episode 2 of Credit Union Innovators. My guest is Wayne McKay from Westminster Savings Credit Union located in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada.

You can listen by streaming audio here on the blog or you can subscribe to it in iTunes and listen on your iPod.

Again, the format of this and future episodes will be interviews and conversations with people that are doing good things for the credit union movement.

I have known Wayne for more than a decade. He has been working within the credit union industry since 1965!

 
First with Vancity in the early days pioneering daily interest and lending to woman, then in his own marketing practice, Wayne McKay & Associates and, finally, as the Vice President of Marketing with Westminster Savings Credit Union for the past few years.

He is an avid collector. His office is filled with bobble heads and sports memorabilia. I had the pleasure of interviewing him in this great space on Friday, January 18, 2008.

Fast facts about Wayne

• How long in the CU world? 43 years
• Favorite ball team? Brooklyn Dodgers
• Favorite ball player? Duke Snyder

In search of new intro music

Nala was quick to point out that my music choice for the podcast intro "sucked." So, I am turning it over to my listeners to help me select a better track. Listen and then vote.

Track 1: A Song for Jake by Oregon Chad
Track 2: Emo Shuffle by Oregon Chad
Track 3: Autobahn zur Hauptstadt by Oregon Chad
Track 4: All I Said by Everyday Jones

Looking for innovators

If you know a credit union innovator who I should interview, please e-mail me at tmcalpine at currencymarketing dot ca.

Production notes

+ Recorded with a M-Audio Microtrack II mobile digital recorder
+ Edited in Audacity
+ Hosted on Evoca
+ Podcast RSS Feed through Feedburner
+ Music is All I Said by Everyday Jones licensed through Creative Commons

Thanks for listening.

NOTE: If you are listening on this page and want to post a comment, there is a good chance the CATPCHA will time out. Make sure to hit the 'Post Comment' button twice. Copy your comment to your clipboard just to be safe. Thanks!

---

 

12/19/2007

Merry Christmas from your friends at Currency!

By Tim McAlpine

In the spirit of 2007—the year we embraced all things Web 2.0—we give you our digital Christmas card.

Share the joy by sending this URL to your credit union colleagues. Copy and past this link into your own e-mail or on Twitter and spread our credit union Christmas wishes!

http://tinyurl.com/yq7xnk

We are going to give $1,000 to a worthy cause and we want your help. Please participate in our simple poll to help decide where we should donate the funds. 

 

 
We wish you, your friends, your family, your co-workers, your members and, especially, your credit union a Merry Christmas and a very successful 2008.

---

 

11/30/2007

News flash: user-generated content is dumb!

By Tim McAlpine

I was catching up on my blog reading last night when I stumbled upon this comment by Ron Shevlin on his Marketing ROI: Whims from Ron Shevlin blog.

"I think UGC (user-generated content) is dumb. (nothing like burying THAT statement in a comment where hopefully nobody sees it)"

Well Ron, I saw it and it stopped me in my tracks. I am compelled to comment.

Ron had an excellent discussion on "Hiding behind the veil of experimentation" that you should read before going further. As usual, Ron has given a clear and well-argued point of view.

I read Ron's blog regularly and tend to agree with each post. He is a thought leader in the marketing return on investment space and, trust me, his brain is at least 230% bigger than mine. I agree that companies should not be hiding behind experimentation for experimentation sake. I agree that every marketing initiative deserves measurement.

What I took exception to is the blanket statement deep in the comments that user-generated content is dumb. 

I believe that a brand is no longer something that can be controlled from behind the marketing and public relations desk. I believe that successful brands in today's over-saturated marketplace have to engage with the audience in new and meaningful ways that create two-way dialogue.

User-generated content is not just people submitting goofy videos, personalizing a company jingle or amateurs producing a Doritos Superbowl Ad. As defined by the user-generated content kings at Wikipedia, user-generated content refers to various kinds of media content, publicly available that are produced by end-users. User-generated content is a two-way conversation. The comments on this and every other blog are examples of user-generated content.

I spend the lion's share of my time thinking about how to differentiate credit unions and I believe that credit unions need to work harder to engage members and potential members. We need to go beyond the safety of traditional advertising and get out of the statement-stuffer mentality of the past.

To say user-generated content is dumb is to ignore the crashing reality of Web 2.0 and the rise of social networking as the primary use of the web.

I don't think user-generated content is dumb. How about you? 

UPDATE: Due to Ron's comment clarifying that he meant user-generated advertising and not just user-generated-content, I have adjusted the poll to read user-generated advertising instead. As Ron was the first to arrive at the scene of the crime, there were no votes cast. Sorry Ron, at least I am helping your Technorati ranking!

 

P.S. Hey Ron, you asked the Credit Union Warrior what it took to get featured on our blog. I guess you figured it out. I will agree that a great percentage of what is on YouTube could be considered dumb!

---

 

09/15/2007

Bellco has balls! Forget the cooperative spirit, the gloves are off.

By Tim McAlpine

Here is a prime example of a growing trend in member acquisition: stealing from your credit union cousins.

Denver Colorado's New Horizons Community Credit Union has recently been acquired by a Texas-based credit union. To capitalize on this opportunity, New Horizon's competitor, Denver's Bellco Credit Union, has mounted an aggressive new promotion to steal New Horizon's members.

The campaign creative features a "Greetings from Texas" postcard with one of your happy $100 dollar bills waving to you from another state.

The copy is witty and gets right to the point. "Here I am in Texas! It's a little hot, but everyone wears those fun ten-gallon hats. Can hardly wait to come home to Denver."

And another zinger, "It will almost be as if you're with a big out-of-state bank instead of a friendly, local credit union."

Followed with a list of compelling reasons to switch and a great offer: "When New Horizons Community Credit Union members open a Bellco checking account now, Bellco will give you $100. Rather open a Bellco savings account? Bellco will give you $25. It won't cost you anything to join Bellco—in fact, you'll make money on the deal. It's an easy way to keep your money within visiting distance. And give it some friends to play with. Ready to give your money a better home, right here in Denver?"

Sounds pretty good to me. In the past, there was an unwritten understanding within the credit union movement that credit unions where all in this together and the banks were the enemy. The new reality, especially in multiple credit union markets, is a full-on, no-holds-barred fighting to the death (or merger).

You will either love or hate this approach. From a pure marketing standpoint, this microsite for Bellco is a stellar example of an aggressive member acquisition strategy. I don't know what the rest of the campaign looks like, but I imagine if I was a member of New Horizons Community Credit Union and I saw an ad that looked like this in my local newspaper, I would definitely take notice, probably visit the microsite and definitely consider moving my account.

This campaign begs the question: Is this a good thing for the credit union movement? Or does the ethos of the cooperative spirit and the collective credit union movement really matter anymore with everyone on a quest for more members and billions in assets?

I am torn between saying "Shame on you Bellco!" or "Great job Bellco!" It's kind of like laughing at a dirty joke when you know you aren't supposed to.

What do you think?

Update: There is also some good discussion on the Bellco story on Open Souce CU, BRUEN/BENSLEY Credit Union Blog and Ron Shevlin's Marketing ROI blog.

---

 

05/31/2007

CUETS to be acquired by MBNA (a.k.a. Bank of America). Is this good for the credit union movement?

By Tim McAlpine

I have intentionally stayed clear of controversial topics on my blog posts, rather opting for light-hearted observations about credit union marketing and branding. I figure there are enough pundits proclaiming that mergers and acquisitions are the only way forward and that bigger is the only answer. But I had to pipe up about this one. I was doing my regular credit union site rounds when I stumbled upon this news release posted on Credit Union Central of Canada's website. It took me a moment to process what was actually happening here. Here is an excerpt from the release...

MBNA Canada Bank has reached an agreement to acquire CUETS, the largest MasterCard credit card issuer for credit unions in Canada. The acquisition significantly increases the size and capabilities of MBNA Canada Bank, a subsidiary of Bank of America.

I was struck with sudden realization that I now have two Bank of America credit cards in my wallet mascarading as Canadian credit union MasterCards. Is this the right thing to do? Doesn't this go against every fibre of the Canadian credit union movement? Am I just naive? The release continues...

...the sale is a strategic move that is in the best interest of CUETS, its credit union clients and their members. CUETS and its clients will now have the opportunity to incorporate the MBNA products, service and marketing strategies to achieve even greater results with their programs...

Yikes, how is this in our best interest? I thought a strong independent, non-US-bank-owned credit union system was in our best interest? If I wanted a bank Visa or MasterCard, I would get one. I choose to support the credit union system because I believe in it.

What do you think?

(I must confess, I borrowed the idea for a poll from Trey at Open Source CU. I think it really adds some interest to blogs. Thanks for the idea Trey.)

Vote 4 Tim Update. The campaign was a success! I received word Wednesday on our blog that I have been chosen to speak at the Forum Solutions/Trabian Partnership Symposium. It has been a blast putting my neck out there on YouTube. The reception has been phenominal. I encourage everyone to consider attending this conference—there is a great speaker and topic line up. Thanks again for all the positive feedback. The credit union social network is awesome!

---

 

Viewing 1 - 6 of 6      |  

 

BLOG SEARCH

BLOG CATEGORIES

30 Things (24)
A Day In The Life! (56)
Announcements (27)
Awards (7)
BarCampBank (15)
Big Evil Banks (17)
Blogging (22)
Blogs To Read (7)
Board of Directors (2)
Book Reviews (2)
Branding (47)
Challenge Marketing (19)
Collaboration (2)
Community (4)
Conferences (46)
Co-op Advertising (2)
CU Branding 101 (11)
CU Innovators (19)
CU Movement (15)
Cuckoo Campaigns (6)
CUES Podcast (4)
Currency Work (21)
Demographics (3)
Economy (1)
Endorsements (2)
Guest Posts (10)
I Heart CUs (33)
In The News (8)
Innovations (10)
Marketing (80)
Member Acquisition (1)
Member Service (16)
Musings (4)
Naming (3)
New Competitors (2)
Off Topic (3)
Opinion Polls (6)
P2P Lending (4)
Podcasts (26)
Positioning (8)
Press Coverage (2)
Product Dev (10)
Productivity (2)
Public Relations (8)
Ranting (5)
Scary Big Ideas (4)
Segmentation (2)
Service Not Enough (3)
Shout Out! (25)
Small CUs (5)
Social Economy (6)
Social Media (137)
Speaking (40)
Technology (20)
The Truly Weird (4)
Tips: Bad Practices (2)
Tips: Good Practices (3)
User-Generated (31)
Viral Marketing (6)
Web 2.0 (154)
Wet Blanket (1)
Young & Free (78)
Youth Marketing (83)
YouTube Videos (76)

ARCHIVES

August 2010 (3)
July 2010 (2)
June 2010 (2)
May 2010 (2)
April 2010 (3)
March 2010 (2)
February 2010 (7)
January 2010 (5)
December 2009 (5)
November 2009 (6)
October 2009 (7)
September 2009 (27)
August 2009 (5)
July 2009 (3)
June 2009 (3)
May 2009 (6)
April 2009 (8)
March 2009 (6)
February 2009 (7)
January 2009 (6)
December 2008 (11)
November 2008 (17)
October 2008 (11)
September 2008 (25)
August 2008 (20)
July 2008 (18)
June 2008 (18)
May 2008 (18)
April 2008 (21)
March 2008 (21)
February 2008 (14)
January 2008 (11)
December 2007 (7)
November 2007 (6)
October 2007 (6)
September 2007 (7)
August 2007 (9)
July 2007 (12)
June 2007 (11)
May 2007 (7)
April 2007 (3)
March 2007 (3)
January 2007 (1)
December 2006 (3)

OUR WRITERS

Nala Henkel (38)
Tim McAlpine (354)
Colleen Pepper (1)
CU Skeptic (1)

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
(1 Comment)

August 8, 2010
Young, Free and Super-charged

July 28, 2010
There actually IS meat on bacon!

July 19, 2010
Co-op Vegas?
(2 Comments)