In March, the West Michigan-based CUSO invited credit unions to submit an essay describing the benefits of owning a Talent Source Hosted Portal and the value it would add to their organization.  The rules were simple: Write a minimum of 500 words and submit by March 31^st.

According to the CUSO, while there were many excellent reasons submitted for owning a portal, the circle of judges especially liked the rationale of Mr. Varley’s, and rated it “best in class” for its intrinsic implication.  His theme overall was ‘Break Beyond’, which revealed his insight and vision for their portal:  “The portal carries everyone in the organization beyond the walls to get a new vision, see the bigger picture and generate fresh ideas.  Everyone is now part of something bigger and collectively we grow and succeed.”

For more information about Talent Source Hosted Portals, access http://ws.cuanswers.com.

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One Garmin GPS Navigation System will be awarded to one winner selected by random drawing from all member email addresses collected during the contest entry period by participating credit unions.  According to the CUSO, credit unions who participated previously experienced an average increase of 213% of email addresses on file.

According to CU*Answers, by participating in this contest and increasing the number of email addresses obtained, credit unions are positioned for better participation of their members in E-Statement enrollment, and increased effectiveness of E-Marketing services.

For more information on collaborative marketing services offered by CU*Answers Marketing & Xtend Partners in Practices, access http://marketing.cuanswers.com/

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According to the CUSO, a good project spec requires the ability to imagine and clearly explain big-picture, high level overview of the project, and get down to the nitty-gritty details that define how the software will behave and what the end-use experience will be.  Contest rules require that specs be submitted in a Microsoft Word formatted document, and include a thorough big-picture introduction suitable to be adapted for the Release Summary when the project is implemented, as well as include mockups of all related screens with explanations and illustrations of the specific changes to be made.  Detail and structure guidelines have been provided on their website, as well as sample programming instruction, techniques for making screen mockups, templates and more.

Suggested project ideas include creating an on-demand process for members opting into a CU’s ski-a-pay program, a configuration and work process to handle common wire transfers, integrating a Savings Bond Redemption flow into teller processing, and others.  The CUSO also recommends submitting an original idea, but reminds contestants to follow the posted rules and propose a project with enough complexity to warrant at least 7 pages of content.

This contest was announced in an email blast to CU*Answers clients late last week, with the headline “Another Chance to Win $$ for your Credit Union”.  The CUSO is also concurrently running their 3^rd Annual Video Contest, which awards $1,500 to the credit union that provides the best video contest concept conveying the theme: “Your Credit Union is Everywhere”.

According to Dawn Moore, VP Writing Team/Product Design for CU*Answers, “I’m really looking forward to discovering some untapped talent somewhere in the network.  At the very least, I’m hoping the contest will provide some insight into the software design process, which can be as time-consuming and complex (and expensive) as the development work itself.”

For more information on this contest, go to: http://www.cuanswers.com/spec-contest/

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The “Go Green!” contest was a CU*Drive campaign, designed and provided by CU*Answers to help CU*BASE clients update member personal information by offering incentives to members who sign up for E-Statements.  The campaign was a success with 46 credit unions participating in this collaborative contest, resulting in 8,875 new E-Statement enrollments during the August and September contest period.  Irene Aguilar, a member of First Financial Credit Union in Skokie, Illinois is the winner of a Nintendo Wii Gaming System.

CU*Drive Marketing Campaigns are free for CU*BASE clients, and are all designed to encourage members to participate in new services offered at the credit union.  The CUSO does require participating credit unions to pay for marketing collateral, however if these campaigns are run during the same period as the rest of the collaborative, there are substantial savings on print costs.

For more information on CU*Answers Marketing Partners in Practice, access http://marketing.cuanswers.com.

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Christine Petroff, Marketing Director for Glacier Hills Credit Union submitted the concept for the video, titled “My Credit Union, Realized Dreams Start Here.” For this years contest, the CUSO suggested a concept focus rooted in todays economic times, to illustrate why someone would or should want to “bank” at a credit union. The video was filmed and produced by Grand Rapids-based Fulvew Productions, and then announced at CU*Answers 18th Annual Leadership Concept held June 17th. The credit union was presented with a check for $1,500.

CU*Answers also produced a second video, titled “Your Credit Union For Every Generation,” which parodies the challenges of credit unions to connect with their younger members. Both videos can be found on http://ondemand.cuanswers.com

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The E-Statements environmentally friendly theme “Go Green!” emphasizes a members choice to print their electronic statements only if needed. The CUSO is providing a Nintendo Wii game console to be raffled off among all of the members that enroll in E-Statements during the months of August and September.

According to CU*Answers, this contest is an opportunity for credit unions to lower their statement printing and postage costs by encouraging members to view their statements electronically through Its Me 247. Pre-designed marketing materials announcing the promotion, as well as a banner ad for credit union web sites are provided by CU*Answers.

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According to CU*Answers, this promotion is a ‘Win-Win’ combination, credit union members learn they can do more than just transfer funds and balance their checking account online. They can purchase a certificate of deposit from the comfort of their home and as a bonus they get a chance to win a really nice prize. CU*Answers’ newest collaborative marketing contest is perfect for CU*BASE clients looking for ways to show members that it’s easy, safe, and convenient to transact their financial business online.

CU*Answers provides quarterly, pre-designed marketing promotions to its credit union clients that targeted to drive members to utilize more products and services at their credit unions. Costs are significantly reduced, as credit unions only pay for the printing of marketing materials ordered.

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Last year, CU*Answers sponsored a contest that inspired credit union professionals to promote a message in a unique and remarkable way. The result was a creative video production suitable for any credit union lobby, web site, or even YouTube. The response was overwhelming, and worthy of a repeat performance. A total of 24 ideas were submitted for 2008, with top honors going to Velvet Fuller of AAC Credit Union. Velvet’s winning concept, “The Owners are Coming” was scripted and produced by Fulvew Films, a production company located in Grand Rapids. Her winning video was presented at last year’s Leadership Conference, and AAC Credit Union was presented with a check for $1,500.

This year, the CUSO is hoping for even more entries. A suggestion for concept focus rooted in today’s rough economic times is the illustration of why someone would/should want to use a credit union. The contest is open to any CU*Answers client credit union. The deadline for entry is March 2nd, 2009.

For some inspiration and to see the quality of work from Fulvew Films, you can view last year’s winning video and CU*Answers’ collection of videos at CU*Answers OnDemand.

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The CU*EasyPay! Enrollment Contest resulted in an overall 16% increase in the number of new CU*EasyPay! electronic bill payments during November and December compared to the 2 months previous to the contest. Some credit unions did exceptionally well, increasing new bill payment enrollments by 200%. The winner of this contest was selected by a random drawing of 1,263 entries, from 41 participating credit unions. The winner, a member of Affinity, WySouth Credit Union in Wyandotte, Michigan was awarded a Dell Inspiron Mini 9” laptop.

This promotion is part of the CUSO’s CU*Drive program, in which pre-designed marketing promotions are targeted to drive credit union members to new products and services at their credit union. The only costs to credit unions participating in these programs are the printing of ordered marketing materials, which are substantially reduced because CU*Answers combines the order of all participating credit unions. According to the CUSO, it has sent out over 8 million pieces of marketing material, saving credit union clients thousands of dollars, while building member relationships.

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CU*Answers named $49 million AAC Credit Union the winner of its “Lights, Camera, Action” video contest, and produced the winning idea along with two other credit union-themed videos. Velvet Fuller, an employee at AAC CU, a SEG and community based institution also headquartered in Grand Rapids, submitted “The Owners Are Coming,” a simple skit that explains the difference between credit union members and bank customers. The video is customizable; multiple credit unions can brand the video for use in their respective markets.

“Video is a way of reaching members in closed environments like lobbies on flat panels, websites, and even distributed channels like movie theaters,” said Randy Karnes, CU*Answers CEO. “Video is also the channel of future generations, and having the talent to reach out this way is more important than television advertising ever was.”

Karnes said he wants to position his CUSO as a stimulus to reach the next generation of credit union members, and a video presence is key.

And, the technology pro admitted, it’s also a lot of fun.

CU*Answers produced two other videos: “The Power of the Network”, which features a “legion of world bankers” considering the power of credit union networks as a business strategy; and “Technology,” which pokes fun at the many transaction channels available to financial services customers.

All three videos were produced by Grand Rapids-based Fulvew Productions. The videos may be viewed at http://www.cuanswers.com/lc2k8/videos.php or on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeGPY-qVOaY.

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CU*Answers recently announced its latest collaborative marketing contest for clients using its CU*BASE processing system. This newest contest is designed to help clients update member personal information by offering an incentive to members who provide their email address to the credit union. A Garmin GPS Navigation System will be awarded to one winner selected by a random drawing from all member email addresses collected during the two month contest entry period by participating credit unions. CU*Answers coordinated the collaborative purchase of more than 300,000 statement inserts bringing the cost down to $.015 per insert. This allows credit unions of all size to participate affordably.

Credit unions who participated when CU*Answers ran a similar contest experienced an average increase in email addresses collected of 155%.

There are several benefits to credit unions participating in this contest. It provides an opportunity to update member records to include their email address. Collecting email addresses provides the credit union a valuable point of contact and members are excited having a chance to win a prize. It also positions the credit union for better participation of its members for enrolling to receive e- Statements and e-Marketing services via email.

CU*Answers said that in general, most credit unions have been relatively passive in securing this valuable member contact information. Acquiring a member’s email address can be the single most effective means for providing timely member contacts and delivering low cost marketing information. It also allows many clients to take advantage of various CU*BASE targeted marketing tools, including Member Connect, which is designed to deliver targeted marketing information simultaneously to 5 member delivery channels, including electronic email, e-statement and Online Banking messages.

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