@Justin, I don’t want to revive anything negative, but I want to say after 10+ years of working with Tim McAlpine, I’ve never known him to be “an extreme xxxxxx xxx.” He’s an extreme credit union advocate, an extreme social media lover and sometimes an extreme goofball (in the best possible way), but never an extreme xxxxxx xxx.

Two observations:

1. If the African American gentleman in the ball cap (rant video) is Gen Y then I am Royalty from an exotic land. Also I have not a clue what his rant has to do with dissatisfaction about banks.

2. Why, if this site is a play for Gen Y is there no mention of any social media. No Facebook, no Twitter, no blog, nothing. A contact page with a generic contact form is not an innovative way to connect with a highly connected generation. And, as @Tim pointed out, the RSS link feels like a ploy to get an email address for a mailing list – not a way for me consume content via reader.

Very clever Phase One as @Donna replies. If you need assistance with new media/social media if delighted to consult

As I am now the target of a rant, it only confirms my feelings. Ranting is associated with hating and loathing and I stick with my opinion that associating a people-before-profits credit union with negativity just doesn’t appeal to me. But again, that’s just me.

Overall, I give UFCU huge props for getting in and attacking the industry-wide-lack-of-Gen-Y-members issue and I wish you all the best. I applaud you for running a fully integrated marketing program and not just putting up a blog and hoping for results.

@Justin – Abusive and derogatory comments will not be tolerated. Feel free to argue your point of view, but future ad hominems will result in a permanent ban.

What you see currently on our new site is Phase One. I totally agree with James and Tim when they pointed out that connecting to links on our “traditional” UFCU site is like day and night. We have plans to update our traditional site to have more of a “family” look and feel – not exactly the same since the target is different, but elements that will at least let you know that you’re still with the same organization. As you cam imagine, this has been a major project and it will be an on-going journey with improvements & embelishments as we proceed.

The first group of rants that were placed on our site were done pre-launch, but that does not mean that they are not legitimate rants. These are real Gen-Y’ers that were asked to speak their own opinions and were not scripted. Just yesterday (April 15th) we launched the initiative on two college campuses in our local market. Many students took the opportunity to record their own “rants” which will be uploaded within the next week. These will not be edited except for profanity. We want to be authentic, so we will take the bad with the good. We have additional college and community events coming up which will be added as we go forward to keep the site fresh and relevant.

Thanks so much for your feedback – it helps us greatly!

You are an extreme [xxxxxxxxx].

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Just one thing..you are an extreme [xxxxxx xxx].

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I think United FCU’s over-arching “Matter” theme is excellent. The collateral materials and confessional that are featured in the media room are very well done and will get attention. I really like the T-shirts as well.

While it is well coordinated and consistent in its execution, I can’t help but feel depressed after spending time on the microsite. I was left with a feeling of helplessness in a bleak, colorless and negative environment. The spray paint, stencil, distressed type and images and the graffiti feels so at odds with the credit union’s corporate website and actually feel dated to me. They feel like a throw back to the early eighties Seattle grunge scene.

Banks are down and out and have very few fans. Add onto that the bleak economy and overall feeling of uncertainty, we are in a depressing time right now. There is already so much negativity swirling around and this initiative is clearly attempting to capitalize on this feeling, but I think it may have a negative effect and associate United FCU with doom and gloom. People deal with more than one institution and credit union members are also bank customers. Being so overly anti-bank can definitely backfire.

I also do not like agency-created videos posing as user-generated content. I think it is OK to seed with one or two clearly marked examples, but a library full of fake rants doesn’t feel right to me.

Maybe to soften the negativity, United FCU could slightly modify the concept to include love and hate? What do you love or hate about your bank or credit union? Not everyone is a hater. One other easy modification would be to include a discoverable RSS feed to encourage return visits. There is an e-mail/rss updates function, but in my experience, only a percentage of a microsite’s visitors are willing to fork over personal information just to know when something has changed.

Obviously, this comment is filled with personal bias and I am not a member of Gen Y living in United FCU’s market. I know I am definitely more of an Oprah person than a Jerry Springer person and I prefer rainbows over thunder storms. But I really believe that people respond better to positive story telling versus negative ranting and bashing. And I grew up in the age of the rant listening to Pearl Jam and Nirvana!

One thing confused me on the “We are not a bank” page. It says “Number two. Community is our number one priority.” Which makes me think, why is it number two then?

Here’s another observation about the contrast in these two separate strategic directions. One (hope, idealism) implies a feeling of empowerment – I can accomplish something by participating. The other direction (anger, frustration) delivers the satisfaction of venting and “telling it to the man like it really is,” but it doesn’t really seem to offer any recourse or reconciliation — I’m pissed, but what can I do about it? The implicit call to action is that if you philosophically align with United FCU, you should do your banking there.

Excellent.