United FCU project, dubbed “Matter,” invites those between the ages of 18 and 30 to rant, complain and express their feelings about financial matters. The campaign targets the much-coveted Gen-Y crowd, positioning United FCU as being an alternative banking experience. The credit union says its primary goal is “to create an opportunity for interactive dialogue. Read More
Subscribe to The Financial Brand via email for FREE!This year, credit unions across the country are offering “savings challenges,” reality-based contests in which selected finalists compete to achieve specific savings and debt reduction goals (see 8 examples below). Participants work with a financial planner on a set of realistic yet ambitious financial goals. Over the. Read More
Subscribe to The Financial Brand via email for FREE!Informal research conducted by The Financial Brand indicates a significant increase in the utilization of the popular video-sharing tool YouTube within the credit union industry. Still, the relatively small number of financial institutions that have YouTube accounts is very surprising. [Note: This is a companion piece with. Read More
Subscribe to The Financial Brand via email for FREE!In recent years, more and more banks have created interactive, Flash-based online games. There’s everything from throwing pies and floating balloons to classic driving games. But can banks make online games that are any good? What do people think when a bank tries to make its message. Read More
Subscribe to The Financial Brand via email for FREE! Currency Marketing launched the third iteration of its Gen-Y financial program Young & Free in South Carolina. South Carolina FCU joins two other credit unions running Young & Free. Texas Dow Employees CU has Young & Free Texas and Servus Credit Union in Canada has Young. Read More
First Tech Credit Union is about to announce which households will be participating in its U-Turn Challenge. In this social media contest, ten finalists will document their financial successes and challenges using blogs hosted at the credit union’s microsite. Selected households will compete for a $10,000 grand prize. The prize goes to the household that. Read More
Subscribe to The Financial Brand via email for FREE! “I work for Bank of America and I’m here to help, listen, and learn from our customers in the Twitter community.” — David Knapp, BofA’s Twitter Representative Last Week, Bank of America launched a Twitter account, becoming the largest financial institution in the world using a. Read More
Subscribe to The Financial Brand via email for FREE! First Direct, the online bank birthed from HSBC, is launching a new online review site in the U.K call Little Black Book. Customers who use the site will be invited to share tips on topics such as day trip ideas and favorite restaurants, and will be. Read More
Subscribe to The Financial Brand via email for FREE!“We understand you are going to have questions and comments about what’s going on. That’s why we created this blog – for you, our customers.” — WF/Wachovia Blog “One team, twice as strong.” That’s the slogan on Wells Fargo’s latest online social media effort, The Wells Fargo. Read More
Subscribe to The Financial Brand via email for FREE!ING Direct just wrapped up their “My Dream Is” promotion in Australia, a user-generated photo+savings contest offering a first prize of $10,000. The general public chose the top 100 entries by rating them at mydreamis.ingdirect.com.au website. A five-person panel made up mostly of ING Direct representatives then. Read More
“In most cases ‘On Your Way’ will pay for itself right away.” — On Your Way website The credit union industry can add one more firm to the list of companies specializing in Gen-Y marketing solutions. TBA Marketing is joining the ranks of vendors like PSCU Financial Services and Currency Marketing who are competing in. Read More
Subscribe to The Financial Brand via email for FREE!To support the launch of its new online self-service offering, UBank, NAB created a blog at myfuturebank.org. But the bank closed the blog earlier this month after one of its employees posted comments posing as a legitimate customer. At first, the impostor denied he was a bank. Read More
Subscribe to The Financial Brand via email for FREE!Ten thousand people took Wells Fargo up on its latest promotion, Someday Stories. The promotion had people submit a 250-word story about how they’d use $100,000 to fulfill a dream. Five finalists have already won $10,000. One of them will win an additional $100,000: Danny from Provo,. Read More
Subscribe to The Financial Brand via email for FREE!There’s much talk about Web 2.0 and social media in the financial space these days. Often, you get the impression that you’re failing if you don’t have a MySpace page, a Facebook account, a blog, a Twitter account, etc. Reality Check: Most people don’t want to hang. Read More
Bank of America’s Morris on Campus,™ Life According to an Upperclassman™ is designed to “educate and empower students to take control of their finances and bank with confidence in this new academic year,” the bank says. Unlike other Gen-Y online promotions, “Morris” is not the product of a “spokester contest,” but is instead a 23-year. Read More
Subscribe to The Financial Brand via email for FREE!WSECU takes the fight to banks in a small but brave online initiative targeting college students called “What the B.” The campaign includes a microsite, blog and visits at college campus events. The campaign’s central creative hook centers on a playful-yet-derogatory portrayal of banks. For starters, the. Read More
Subscribe to The Financial Brand via email for FREE!“The culprit? Mountain America Credit Union. Check out the site, but don’t sign up to do business with them. At least if I lived in Utah I wouldn’t. Not after hearing about this horror story.” – Joseph “Dear Bank of America, your credit line is a scam!!!. Read More
The Dallas Morning News reports that Resource One Credit Union based out of Dallas, TX is launching a competition for a “spokester” on August 13. Contestants will submit a 500-word blog and video online during the first phase of the competition. Resource One will then select the top finalists who will have to solicit votes. Read More
Subscribe to The Financial Brand via email for FREE! Mo Rocca, a comedian and political satirist of some success, plays a man-on-the-street character in one of Bank of America’s latest promotions, “Mo on Banking.” In a series of online videos at a microsite, Mo reports wryly on banking topics, including this tidbit from the intro. Read More
Subscribe to The Financial Brand via email for FREE!“A buttoned-down organization trying to look hip is like a 50-year-old drunk uncle at a wedding trying to dance with teenagers.” — Charlotte Observer An article in the Sunday edition of the Charlotte Observer entitled “Your Bank Wants to Be Your Friend” takes a skeptical look at. Read More
Subscribe to The Financial Brand via email for FREE!As financial institutions across the country make announcements about their 2008 scholarship initiatives, Tinker Federal Credit Union is taking a unique approach by having an online video contest. The concept is simple: Think about what money means to you. Show us any way you want in a. Read More
Subscribe to The Financial Brand via email for FREE!Informal research conducted by The Financial Brand indicates a significant increase in the utilization of video sharing tools such as YouTube by credit unions. Search results for “credit union” on YouTube went up 47% over a 3-month period: October 2007: 524 January 2008: 772 Google Video results. Read More