Comments on: Showdown, Texas-style

By: Gen-Y twins, membership soars, ‘Rewards’ return, bees : The Financial Brand: Marketing Insights for Banks & Credit Unions

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 15:01:42 +0000

[...] Texas Twins: Similar Gen-Y programs raise tough questions [...]

By: DeAndre'

DeAndre' — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 06:31:09 +0000

Hey everybody!

I know all of the awesome discourse has quieted down a little bit, but I would like to fan the flans a bit! W am one of the Young & Free Texas spokesperson finalists!

Jump on over to http://www.youngfreetexas.com and see all of the candidate’s campaign videos, podcasts, and blogs, and vote for whoever you think represents the TDECU Go2 Account!

Make it happen, yall! Voting is open until the 24th!

By: Young & Free targets Gen Y in Texas, but they’re not alone « market insights insider

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:11:29 +0000

[...] there are a couple great discussions discussing both of these accounts/initiatives in depth, one on Everything CU and another on The Financial Brand. Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)Deadline [...]

By: DeAndre

DeAndre — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 06:28:04 +0000

Thanks for the comment on my video blog!

If you guys haven’t been watching, I’m one of the contestants for the Young and Free Texas competition!

Feel free to mosey on over to http://www.youngfreetexas.com and leave a comment on my video, or one of the other competing videos!

Right on,
DeAndre’

By: Morriss Partee

Morriss Partee — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 20:18:55 +0000

@Winter - Thanks for the comment! I certainly agree that every CU needs to have an effective online and social media strategy. And if you are shut out of Y&F because another CU in the state is doing it, that is indeed problematic. But each CU should devise its own social media strategy, and not copy something which already exists. Social media outreach doesn't necessarily equal spokesperson contest, online voting, making videos, etc. That's just one approach, there are many others. I have ideas for other ways this can be done successfully. In fact, I'd argue that being original with your social media strategy (and tying it directly to your CU's own unique business strategy) will be more successful than copying this existing campaign, no matter how great Y&F may be. Jeffry Pilcher has some inspirational quotes regarding innovation vs. imitation on his blog today.

By: Winter Prosapio

Winter Prosapio — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 20:11:47 +0000

Okay, I’m going to be an odd ball here, but I hope everyone copies the Young and Free approach. Not because I begrudge Tim his inalieanable right to billables (been there, done that), but because in my silly, idealized world of cooperatives we would all share best practices and adopt them in as many places as possible.

The goal should be, in the cooperative spirit, to make the Y&F knock offs as effective as possible. I know another CU that wanted to do Y&F but were toldthey couldn’t because one CU had bought rights to the state. Even though TDECU (of which I’m a HUGE fan and am getting my tattoo done next week) doesn’t operate in Dallas or San Antonio, Y&F won’t run there. Problematic.

So should major CUs in Major Markets in the state just hang out and try to do something different? Give up on a program that has clearly worked?

I agree, Morriss, one has to be careful in the adoption route to make sure you are grabbing the bits that really matter. But at the end of the day, I hope 50 CUs in the state find talented individuals to help them jump into mktg to a younger market. I hope they glean what they can from the campaign and build their own. Because I’d like to see CUs kick some bank @#$ and be set for the next phase of the financial marketplace.

Shoot. I’d be happy if we could just convince people that they can join a credit union. Most of the know it’s a good deal (according to polls) but people perceive they can’t join.

Okay, off the soap box. I’m getting a nose bleed.

By: Ross Graham

Ross Graham — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 15:04:29 +0000

@Tim Thanks for the clarification. … I saw her article come through my Google Reader today from my subscription to your Currency Marketing blog. Always good conversation over there.

By: Tim McAlpine

Tim McAlpine — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 14:41:04 +0000

Nala has written a post on the Currency blog that answers many of the single and multiple credit union questions you guys have been talking about here: http://www.currencymarketing.ca/blog/My-job-these-days-I-get-to-talk-about-young-and-free-all-day

By: VSelfridge

VSelfridge — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 00:22:10 +0000

I think it will be interesting to watch these two competing versions of a very similar “spokesperson” program in action in the same state!

I think Y&F Texas will have an edge – because they come with Currency’s experience behind them in launching and supporting this type of program… Resource One (and their supporting agency?) may have a bit more of a learning curve ahead of them.

But – I’ll watch and see!

By: Carlton

Carlton — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 23:44:11 +0000

Brilliant post!

I am saddened that some credit unions with the intention or guise of “people helping people” are in fact just stealing ideas from hardworking people and claiming it as their own.

Whatever happened to honesty? I visited the site and you all are right. It just LOOKS cheesy and cheap. It seems like it’s all smoke and mirrors, flash in the pan without any substance. What’s more interesting, if you look at the various press releases online, you can search for the names listed as contacts, and they pull up other marketing websites.

Who is this Andrew Szabo? I don’t think he’s with Resource One. There are sites with his name like marketingchef or marketingstrategy or something. Looks fishy. In their youtube videos he claims he’s the director of marketing for Resource One (youtube.com/mylifemymoneyr1)

If he’s the director, he might need to utilize the Internet a little more frequently before he claims “mylifemymoney” is a unique, fresh, idea. Or maybe he’s been utilizing the web a little TOO much…if you get my drift.

Why did Resource One decide to go do this?