Inappropriate Marketing?

There are quite a few commercials on the air that annoy the heck out of me, like the Ally Bank commercials. I feel so bad for those kids (yes, I know they are actors), but I would never use Ally Bank specifically because of the commercials. I don't want to see ads that make me feel uncomfortable, so why would I use the bank that provides that discomfort and way too often?!?! Is that appropriate marketing for a "new" bank? Of course, that is another rub; it really isn't a new bank doing things differently, rather an old bank with new branding. But, that is an entirely separate issue.

On Sunday, my family piled the seven of us (my parents, brother, sister-in-law, niece, nephew and me) into a mini-van to visit my grandparents in Iowa. On the way home, the kids were hungry, so we stopped by McDonald's to get Happy Meals for them. In the car, they started talking about the toys and that they were big kid toys for the movie, Avatar. They asked me if I wanted them. I said if they didn't want them, they could give them to me. And, I didn't think anything about it, I just thought they didn't like the toys.

When we got home, my nephew asked about the toy, so I looked at it. It was an Avatar action figure. I said if he wanted to play with it, it was just an action figure. And, my sister-in-law commented that she didn't understand why McDonald's would put Avatar toys in Happy Meals because it was a PG-13 movie and Happy Meals are for kids. 

This got me to thinking about inappropriate marketing. Why would McDonald's put toys for a PG-13 movie in Happy Meals? Those are clearly for kids. Even if they were for Mighty Meals, those are targeted towards pre-teens.

How does your credit union target your youth accounts? Have you thought about what is and is not appropriate for different age groups? Do you give away Dum-Dum pops or do you stick with Saf-t-pops? Do you give away stickers? What type? Disney characters? Credit Union or money themed? Are Spongebob stickers acceptable?

Do you think McDonald's considered the movie rating when deciding to have Avatar toys in their kids' meals? Is it inappropriate marketing or not really a big deal?

CU Chat Up- Deja Vu! or Deja Ecoute!

Happy Holidays from CU Chat Up!


Due to Christmas, there will not be a new CU Chat Up radio show on 12/23.  I am fortunate to have my brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew in town today! But, that doesn't mean you can't listen to a show. What a perfect opportunity to listen to a show you missed! I highly recommend these 2 shows if you missed either!

Credit Unions and Twitter- Listen to how two different credit unions are using twitter to reach their members! Click link below to go to the streaming show.

CU Chat Up- Credit Unions and Twitter

Credit Unions and Credit Cards- Listen to Ondine Irving discuss how credit unions can join her free website http://www.creditcardconnection.org/ that helps consumers find the right credit union card for them.




You can listen to any of the shows on the blogtalkradio show page or the last few shows on the player on the right. 

I also want to thank all the guests that have been on the show so far! Without you, there wouldn't be a show! Happy Holidays!

CU Chat Up- Credit Unions and Credit Cards

On this week's CU Chat Up, Ondine Irving owner of Card Analysis Solutions and founder of Credit Card Connection will be the guest on the show. She will be discussing her impressive venture to promote credit union credit cards through the consumer website Credit Card Connection.

Consumers can go to the website and search for credit unions near them to find a credit card that is the most consumer friendly with low rates and fees. Each credit card is rated based on a 5-star system. Ondine will be discussing how credit unions can get their credit cards listed on the site, how she came up with the rating system and much more!  She will also be discussing how credit unions can improve their credit card program and portfolio.

Her consumer site may be one of the best ways for credit unions to get the word out there about how they are a great alternative to the big banks and their high rates and fees. This may be the best national branding campaign credit unions could have asked for, especially since Suze Orman has been supporting and promoting the site. What better publicity could there be?

Have questions for Ondine? Ask live in chat during the show or before the show in the discussion forum.

In addition, at the end of the show, Stacy Dugan from the Michigan Credit Union League and Brad Garland from The Garland Group will be on to discuss their thoughts from BarCampBank Chicago that they attended last Friday.

Ondine Irving can be found on twitter at: CardAnalysis and CCreditConnection.

CU Chat Up- Credit Union- Ideas in Marketing

On this week's CU Chat Up, Tim McAlpine from Currency Marketing and Shari Storm from Verity Credit Union and author of Motherhood is the New MBA, will be guests on the show. They will be on to discuss the new member outreach program, Verity Mom. The Mom spokesperson blogs, posts videos, and connects with moms to help Verity hear what families need from their financial institution.

In September, Tim had a blog series 30 Things in 30 Days, in which he planned on writing about 30 things he would implement or think about implementing if he was a credit union leader. He ended up writing only 22 items, but they were intriguing ideas. We will discuss what he came up with during the show. And, perhaps the chatters in the chat room will help suggest some items to help Tim finish out his list.

This show should be informative and hopefully you will come away with at least one new idea for your credit union, business or life.

There will also be a special announcement about the CU Chat Up online community.

You can listen live at http://radio.cuchatup.net and join in the live chat during the show. In order to join the chat, you do have to register with blogtalkradio, if you don't want to register, you can still listen in. The show is also available soon after the live broadcast to stream or download into iTunes at the same link or on the media player here.

After you listen come back here and continue the conversation!

CU Chat Up - Just the Beginning

Wow-2009 has come and gone so quickly it seems! And, CU Chat Up will be expanding into 2010! It started as a radio show, then a blog and coming soon an online community. I have been fortunate to have had outstanding guests for the first four shows and I am looking forward to having many more to end this year and in 2010!

I am looking for suggestions about what topics you would like to hear more about. Who would you recommend be a guest on the show? Do you know of someone in the CU world doing something extraordinary? Who is doing innovative things? Or, just what interests you? Please put your suggestions in the comments or email me at Carla at cuchatup dot net.

Here are summaries of the first four shows. They have covered a range of topics. 

1. The first show included introducing the show and Morriss Partee talking about unconferences and using Everything CU's Plumwall to showcase member comments about the credit union. 
2.  The second show was about the innovations happening in online banking including integrated PFM, account aggregation, and online communities with guests from Geezeo. 
3. The third show was about the new Federal Reserve rules that start in 2010 that restrict courtesy pay for certain transactions without member consent with guest Paul Stull and a call in from Morriss Partee.
4. The most recent show was about how credit unions are using twitter in a variety of ways including for member communication and as a mobile banking service with guests Michael Hostelter, Matt Fagala and Eric Acree. Also, Matt Davis aka CU Warrior called in to talk about the new website and radio show, CU Water Cooler. This a great website to help credit union professionals easily find the best credit union related content online.

For the last show of 2009, what would you like to hear about? The good, the bad, and the ugly from 2009 recap OR the good, the bad, and the ugly to expect in 2010 OR a little of both? Please answer the poll and comment with suggestions.

I am very excited to hear what suggestions you may have to make CU Chat Up the show you that you want to tune into every week.

Credit Unions and Twitter

More and more credit unions are using online communities and resources including blogs, facebook, other online communities and twitter. Twitter seems to be the one that credit unions struggle with the most on how to approach and use it. I had the opportunity to speak with Michael Hostetler from Finance Center Federal Credit Union (Financial Center) and from Vantage Credit Union, Matt Fagala and Eric Acree on this week's CU Chat Up. You can listen to the archived version on the player on the right. Or, on the show page at http://radio.cuchatup.net/.

Michael discussed how Financial Center first started using twitter and how twitter fits into their overall plans. He also provided insight for credit unions thinking about using twitter. One main recommendation was for credit unions to first create a blog to create content for their members. Here is the companion information from his segment: Financial Center blog and Financial Center twitter account.

Matt and Eric from Vantage Credit Union discussed their new service for their members, tweetMyMoney. It is a mobile banking service for members processed through twitter. During the show, they discuss how the system works, the security features in place, and how this fits into their overall mobile banking plans. Here is the companion information for their segment: Vantage CU twitter account, and tweetMyMoney Demo video and Member Announcement.

Twitter can be used in different ways to complement not only your traditional marketing plan but also your member communication plans. Is your credit union using twitter similarly to Financial Center? Are you considering implementing a transactional system like tweetMyMoney?

Listen to the show and hear what Michael, Matt and Eric have to share. I also recommend following them on twitter. I have linked their names to their accounts.

What do you think about what they are doing? What are other credit unions doing? Not using twitter yet and have questions- ask here!