Credit Union Times | By Myriam DiGiovanni

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Suburban Journals

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UniversityCityPatch | By Maggie Rotermund

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Credit Union Times | By Natashia Chilingerian

All credit unions know their futures depend on connecting with Gen Y, but it still seems they’re having a tough time doing so.

According to a recent Filene Research Institute report, “Credit Union Market Niches: Social and Demographic Opportunities,” challenges such as closed fields of membership, weak technology and even a misunderstanding of the term “credit union” stand in the way of nudging the average CU member age down from 47.

Some credit unions, however, are using creative marketing programs to build young membership and have been reporting positive results. The $668 million Vantage Credit Union of Bridgeton, Mo., for example, is making a splash with young consumers in the St. Louis area through its Gen Y outreach program, Young & Free.

Vantage CU’s Young & Free spokesperson, 25-year-old Jenn Cloud, acts as a liaison between the young St. Louis community and the credit union. She hosts events, makes appearances and posts blogs and videos to the Young & Free St. Louis website, all with the goal of promoting Vantage CU and the credit union movement to the 18 to 25 age bracket.

Cloud said she helps snag new young members by marketing Not Your Mama’s Account, Vantage CU’s flagship Gen Y product. Not Your Mama’s Account is a free checking account that promotes saving through its Swipe2Save feature, an automatic transfer activated by debit transactions, and allows mistakes with the Oops NSF Fee rebate, which allows account holders one penalty-free overdraft every six months.

An online personal financial management tool helps Not Your Mama’s Account holders keep their spending in check.

“The goal is to get members in when they’re young and make sure they’re satisfied with the two most basic products – checking and savings accounts,” Cloud said. “Then, through continued education, we can be there when they’re ready for, say, a mortgage.”

Since beginning her position about six months ago, Cloud has raised awareness about Vantage’s products by hosting an ugly sweater Christmas party and a wine bar “tweet-up” for Twitter followers, just to name a few. The publicity has been positive: currently, 18- to 25-year-olds comprise 12.5% of Vantage CU’s membership and 37% of those members are Not Your Mama’s Account holders.

Cloud lists mobile banking access, social media participation and giveaway programs as three other vehicles for attracting Gen Y. Vantage CU is currently developing a mobile banking app and offers TweetMyMoney, which gives members limited mobile banking access via Twitter. It also has an active Facebook account and offers local merchant coupons to members.

She also pointed out that credit unions should keep in mind the needs of young folks in their geographical area. In St. Louis, for example, getting married and buying a home is common for 25-year-olds, which makes mortgages key products for local Gen Y-ers, she said.

The Young & Free program is currently in place at 10 credit unions in eight states and two Canadian provinces and employs 10 full-time spokespeople.

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timeline online | By Jon Street

The Gateway to the West is highlighting happenings with social media.

Yelp, Facebook, Twitter, FourSquare, Groupon and LivingSocial among other prominent social networking sites are helping St. Louis residents decide how to get the best bang for their buck.

Jennifer Cloud, social media expert and alumna of Missouri Baptist University, gave some tips on how to find things to do on a budget in St. Louis. 

“I love this city and there really is a lot of cool stuff to do, you just need to know where to look,” Cloud said.

Cloud recommended Yelp.com/st-louis, the only social media site specific to St. Louis.

“Yelp is an amazing social community and local business review site that really rewards those who use it and help build it up,” Cloud said.

Yelp users can post business reviews and interact with local users to make sure they’re up to date with what’s going on and how to get more for less.

Cloud, spokesperson for Young and Free St. Louis, a Vantage Credit Union sponsored organization that gives young adults a voice regarding financial needs, said she posts special offers from Yelp on the Young and Free St. Louis website when she finds them.

Another feature of Young and Free St. Louis is the events calendar, also letting users post their own events.

Cloud also highlighted websites like Groupon, LivingSocial, Eventful, Eventbrite and Patch, along with local media sites such as Sauce Magazine and Riverfront Times.

“Patch.com offers a highly localized news site where events are also listed, all very family friendly,” said Cloud. “Eventful and Eventbrite allows people to easily post and share their own events and even sell tickets but they also aren't communities of their own.”

Cloud said Twitter is also a great event resource, simply by searching for #STL and #StLouis hashtags.

St. Louis residents take advantage of a few of these online services to get deals available in several city venues.

• Concert and entertainment venues: St. Louis Symphony, Fox Theatre, Scottrade Center, Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, The Muny
• Radio stations: Y98, JoyFM, KMOX
• News stations: NewsChannel5, KMOV-4, Fox2Now
• Print and online publications: Patch, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Weatherbird
• Family-friendly attractions: City Museum, The Magic House, Saint Louis Zoo
• Sports teams: St. Louis Rams, St. Louis Blues, St. Louis Cardinals
• St. Louis districts: The Loop, Downtown St. Louis, Central West End
• Café and restaurant venues: Starbucks, Panera Bread, Chick-fil-A, Sno-Biz, Fritz’s Root Beer, Qdoba

A number of MBU students also find these deals go easy on a college budget.

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SF Gate (San Francisco Chronicle)

People have associated banks with trustworthiness, longevity and stability in the financial world - at least, until recently. With the shake-down of the financial markets and the collapse of many financial institutions, many of us are starting to question if banks are the best way to store, transfer and save our money. 

Misconceptions About Credit Unions

Jenn Cloud, the Young and Free Spokesperson for Vantage Credit Union, notes that credit unions are often mistaken for "a payday lender or some exclusive club that requires you to be a part of a union or work in a certain field to join." But, continues Cloud, neither of these misconceptions are true. So if you're considering a credit union instead of a bank, there are quite a few reasons to make the jump.

Friendliness and Accessibility

Big banks can seem cold, formal and even unreachable. It often seems that branch managers don't have the authority to make the decisions to help you, or that the bank itself is so enormous it doesn't really care about having your business. Credit unions can be friendlier in atmosphere and tone, and simply more accessible on every level. According to Cloud, "being smaller and local allows them to be very connected to their neighborhoods and versatile to respond to feedback." 

A Co-Op, Not a Corporation

Credit unions often consider themselves "financial cooperatives" rather than financial institutions. The goal is not to make more money from customers, but to "address a common need through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise," according to the Seattle Metropolitan Credit Union.

Nothing to Lose

According to Cloud, the only standard requirement for membership in most credit unions is that you live in the area. According to Cloud, credit unions offer all the same services as banks: "checking, saving loan and investment options."

It's a Democracy

Perhaps the most outstanding feature of credit unions is that they are member-owned and member-run. Credit unions are free to make decisions to benefit their members, rather than seeking to please "some removed group of stockholders somewhere," says Cloud.

Better Rates

"Being member-owned generally allows the rate of returns on savings accounts to be higher and the interest rates on loans to be lower than at a bank," notes Cloud.

The ability to make money on your own money is a huge step in the right financial direction, but something that's often out of reach at a corporate bank unless you reach a high dollar balance in your account. Since profits to stockholders aren't a part of the company vision, credit unions are free to pass surplus money on to members, "in the form of fewer fees, more services, lower interest on loans and higher dividends on deposits."

Cool Perks and Free Education

Some credit unions, such as Vantage, offer fun and useful products such as individual health and pet insurance and financial advisory services, says Cloud. Most credit unions focus on community enrichment and financial education, with many offering free classes or other means of education to the community. 

The Bottom Line

When it comes to banking services, credit unions offer the same menu of financial services that you'll find at large banking corporations. If you're frustrated with long lines and unresponsive customer service, a credit union might just be the best place to put your money. It's tough to beat a place that's community-focused, friendly and offers better interest rates.

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CU Move Your Money

Did you know that many credit unions even offer investment, mortgage and insurance products in addition to your regular banking needs such as checking and savings accounts? Even down to pet insurance and individual health insurance options for the self-employed, credit unions really can be a one-stop shop for ALL of your financial needs! After opening my checking and savings accounts and taking out 2 successful loans with Vantage Credit Union here in my home town of St. Louis I'm going to be visiting their insurance and investments division this month to start talking about how to save for retirement (at the ripe old age of 25!) and transfer my auto and renters insurance over, too. Why have these things all spread out when they can all be handled by one institution that I know and trust?

Credit unions can often do all the same things that banks do for you but are way nicer about it. You can deposit your money, take it out, move it around, invest it, easily pay all of your bills AND deal with someone in your local area if you ever have an issue arise. Your local credit unions probably do a lot more than you realize, give them a call or check them out today to see what the different ones around you offer to find the best fit!

In the St. Louis area, please check out Vantage Credit Union and our fun Young & Free program that gives a voice to the 18-25 year old crowd in our tri-county metro area.

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CUNA News Now

MADISON, Wis. (12/5/11)--Credit unions are using creativity and the power of the electronic media to capture the imagination of Gen Y.

After about six months of operation, Young & Free Maine has begun to achieve results in the marketing of the free4ME checking, according to the Maine Credit Union League (Weekly Update Nov. 25). 

Young & Free is a spokester recruitment program, launched in 2007 by Currency Marketing, a credit union marketing company in Chilliwack, Canada. Young & Free provides the tools to engage the youth market, using a combination of social media and contests to find a young, media-savvy credit union spokesperson. To connect with younger consumers, credit unions that participate in the campaign are also urged to create price-sensitive products, such as free checking accounts with low or no fees. Several state leagues are promoting the program as well.

Seth Poplaski, Maine's spokester, has made 45 spokesperson appearances and attended 30 media events, using a Young & Free-branded Chevy Cruz to travel the state.
 
Maine credit unions have seen an 8.2% increase in membership of 18-25 year olds from September 2010 to September 2011, with the majority joining between April and September of this year, the first six months of Young & Free in the state.

With 22 credit unions reporting--56% of which offer free4Me checking--the Maine league has tracked 1,707 new checking accounts as of Sept. 30.

The Maine Young & Free Website has attracted 30,000 visitors.

In Missouri, Vantage CU cashed in on the popularity of the Twilight series by treating two young members and their guests to a midnight showing of the movie, "Breaking Dawn," the fourth in the series, Nov. 18. For a chance to win the premiere tickets, Vantage CU's Young & Free St. Louis spokester, Jenn Cloud, encouraged fans to go to the Young & Free St. Louis website and answer Twilight trivia questions.

Cloud met the two winners and their guests at a local theater to take their places in line for the midnight showing. She treated other waiting moviegoers to Young & Free bracelets, lip balm and cell-phone screen cleaners.

The Association of Vermont Credit Unions employed its Economy of Me program to help students better understand and manage their money. Project Manager Colin Ryan presented back to back assemblies for students of Winookski High School in November.

Local CBS affiliate WCAX was on hand to film Ryan's presentation in preparation for an upcoming appearance on the station's late afternoon news show, "The: 30."  Ryan used the opportunity to raise awareness about Economy Of Me and highlight what Vermont credit unions are doing to educate young people.

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St.CharlesPatch | By Jennifer Allemann

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nextstop | by Courtney

Vantage Credit Union is introducing a new video series teaching young St. Louisans “How To” do many things around the region to save money, including taking MetroLink. It’s always great to teach others how to use the system, and an important lesson for us transit veterans on what people need to know to get on board. Thanks to Seth Teel of Citizens for Modern Transit for helping Vantage Credit Union’s Jenn Cloud learn how to ride MetroLink.

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