Grand Prairie Daily Herald-Tribune | by Darrel Winwood

A hearty congratulations goes out this week to Grande Prairie's Youth Emergency Shelter Society which operates Sunrise House. Regular readers might remember that more than a month ago I told you about a contest GPYESS was engaged in via Twitter.

The shelter was trying to win a $500 donation from Servus Credit Union for being the first to get 500 votes in their favour through Twitter accounts. The contest was part of a program run by Servus called Young and Free Alberta which promotes banking to consumers under age 25. That program was originally created by the Common Wealth Credit Union which had branches here in Grande Prairie before it was taken over by Servus in a merger more than a year ago.

Long story short, GPYESS won the contest over youth shelters in Athabasca and Lloydminster which were also competing. I personally voted for the shelter and so the did the Daily Herald-Tribune. They were only two votes, but for anyone else who saw the votes and decided to follow suit, well done. It was an easy vote to make and at a youth shelter $500 can do a lot.

+ Original article

Grand Prairie Daily Herald-Tribune | by Darrel Winwood

As its presence continues to grow on the Internet, more and more businesses, non-profit agencies, and government organizations are learning the value of using social media websites to reach out directly to people and it’s a growing trend in Grande Prairie.

Media agencies, including the Daily Herald-Tribune, have been using social media for several years to stream news and headlines to readers in a different format, but this newspaper has been joined in the last several weeks by several other local businesses. It’s interesting to see how individual groups and companies adapt to the technology and use it different ways.

One of the more interesting ways is to use a company’s Twitter or Facebook account (to name the two most popular sites) to run specific online contests. We did this recently at the newspaper, giving away six pairs of tickets to last month’s Drag Wars event. Contest winners had to respond to specific messages we posted on our own Facebook and Twitter accounts to win the tickets and it didn’t take long. Within one hour we had given away the six sets of tickets, proving that in even in a smaller city such as Grande Prairie, the online community can be very active.

But that’s chump change compared to one contest being run by the Servus Credit Union which could benefit Grande Prairie’s youth shelter, Sunrise House. The credit union runs a program called Young & Free which targets young adults and teens, trying to attract their business. Each year it runs a contest to select a youth spokesperson. This year it’s Myles Peterman and he’s issued a challenge to supporters of youth shelters in Grande Prairie, Lloydminster and Athabasca.

Basically, whoever starts following Peterman’s account can ‘tweet’ their support for each community’s shelter and whoever gets to 500 supporters or tweets first that shelter will receive $500 from the credit union.

It’s a fun promotion that attracts attention to the credit union, its youth programs, and it offers a chance for a local charity to win a donation.

I already cast my vote for Sunrise House and if you’re on Twitter why not follow the account named YoungFreeAB and vote for our local youth shelter as well.

But contests aren’t the only way to use Twitter to attract buzz and interest for a cause or company. Social media can be a low-budget way to reach out to people directly. Two other notable groups have started using the medium in the past month in Grande Prairie.

The first is local municipal government – yes you can now get the latest news on our municipality directly on Twitter. The city began streaming news releases and promotional information earlier in the summer and so far has attracted (as of Wednesday) 131 people to its account. It’s a small but growing number and city marketing manager David Olinger said it’s part of the city’s overall communication plan.

“The city has examined a number of ways to reach out to citizens ... we’re really looking for ways to engage residents.”

The value of the service showed up in the summer when a chlorine leak at Bear Creek Pool forced the evacuation of the pool and shut it down for more than a day. One of the first places news of this leak showed up was on Facebook from residents forced out and the city was soon issuing updates on Twitter which spread and were rebroadcast.

“It’s a fascinating study in how news travels,” said Olinger.

I couldn’t agree more as every day I see how stories from this newspaper can travel across the Internet. Olinger also said that demographic studies from Stats Canada have shown that 75% of the city’s population is aged 45 or under, which leads more people being connected online.

The Grande Prairie Storm hockey club started up its own Twitter account in the past few weeks, streaming live updates on game scores, player moves and still to come will be ticket promotions and information on community events that Storm players are involved with, said marketing manager Echo Ross, who was quick to credit team ‘‘music man’’ Randy Kleist as the person behind the Storm’s Twitter account.

“It (idea) first came up a few weeks ago and we need to keep going forward with new technology,” said Ross.

And here’s the shameless plug – if you’re online you can follow this newspaper on Twitter by searching for gpheraldtribune or the Grande Prairie tag #gpab, on Facebook search for Daily Herald-Tribune.

Darrell Winwood is the DHT’s online and special sections editor.

+ Original article

CU Newswire | By Donna-Lane Nelson

Eric Dillon, COO Servus CU of Alberta, Canada, talked about the Young & Free Aberta program that his CU developed and also is being operated in Texas and South Carolina.

Under 25s vie for a one-year job to be the spokesperson for the CU for their generation. The job comes with car, computer and salary. Candidates post videos, blogs and use other social media entries. Then people vote for the candidates. The program brought in over 2600 accounts, Dillon said. In fall they will start looking for their third spokesman.

When the idea was first proposed, no one knew if it would work, but they decided to risk it. Dillon disputes that getting wallet share is enough for a CU. He believes that it is necessary to also find new members as well and not rely on current members.

+ CU Newswire website

CU Times | By Myriam DiGiovanni

The Young & Free world just got a little more connected with the launch of the Living Young & Free Show.

Currency Marketing Program Manager and Living Young & Free Community Manager Cheryl Weins will host a bimonthly coordinated show. Each episode will feature three, two-minute educational segments from Y&F spokespeople Myles Peterman (Alberta), Josh Sutherland (South Carolina) and DeAndre Upshaw (Texas). New episodes will be produced every two weeks and will be posted on each of the Young & Free sites as well as the Living Young & Free central site (livingyoungandfree.com).

According to Currency Marketing President/Creative Director Tim McAlpine, the move to grow a loyal audience through syndicated shows rather than posting random videos hoping for a viral sensation makes sense considering 24 hours of new video is posted on YouTube every 60 seconds.

McAlpine said the Living Young & Free Show will also be distributed on Blip.tv, iTunes as a video podcast, the Y&F YouTube channels, Y&F Facebook fan pages and “anywhere else we can post it. The more places we can get it seen the better.”

The Young & Free program is a financial management package designed to engage 19- to 25-year-olds toward effectively managing their money through nontraditional mediums, such as a microsite, Facebook, Flickr, Twitter and YouTube.

+ Original article

Credit Union Central of Canada

HALIFAX - Credit Union Central of Canada presented its annual National Credit Union Awards for outstanding achievement during a ceremony Wednesday that wrapped up its annual conference.

The National Credit Union Innovation Award was won by Servus Credit Union Ltd. of Edmonton for its Young & Free Alberta program that was developed by Common Wealth Credit Union, which last November merged with Community Credit Union and Servus Credit Union.

The program took an innovative approach to reaching younger members by developing an online presence using blogs and videos posted on YouTube.com. It engaged younger members in an interactive discussion about their financial needs and led to dramatic growth in new accounts by members in the 17 to 25 age group.

+ Original press release

Enterprise Magazine | By Diane Luckow

Jumping into online social networking to promote your credit union can feel a bit like embarking on an African safari

Now that even Tibetan monks are twittering on iPhones (check out the blog noboundaries.org), should credit unions be tweeting on Twitter? Blogging? Setting up a Facebook page? Posting videos on YouTube?

Does embracing social networking make sense as part of a financial services marketing strategy?

Absolutely, according to Miss604.com, aka Rebecca Bollwitt, a prolific Vancouver blogger. Profectio.com, a website catering to Canada’s ‘connected’ media and public relations community recently ranked her amongst the 10 most influential social media individuals in Canada. Bollwitt is also the co-founder of Sixty4Media, which offers social media consulting, services, and training.

Credit union blogs, says Bollwitt, can help people better understand the financial services industry and its communities. And Twitter is good for engaging with a new audience – if you maintain the conversation. “Make sure you write updates that are not personal but have personality,” she says. And don’t forget to monitor other social networking sites and respond to what is being said about your institution. “That shows excellent customer service,” Bollwitt adds.

While few credit unions are using Facebook, Twitter or blogs to reach members and the public, lots say they’re thinking about it. Perhaps the best-known credit union blogger is Larissa Walkiw, spokester for the Common Wealth Credit Union product, Young & Free Alberta (Y&F) and its corresponding microsite youngfreealberta.com. Walkiw’s blogs, vlogs and podcasts won awards and cultivated a youth following, increasing Common Wealth’s 17-to 25-year-old account holders by almost 10 percent in one year.

Kim Crockett, manager of the Y&F initiative for the credit union, which has since merged into Edmonton-based Servus Credit Union, says Walkiw generated between 300 and 1,000 visitors a day to the website, while her videos attracted almost 40,000 viewers.

Tim McAlpine, president of Currency Marketing in Chilliwack, BC, is the creative brain behind youngfreealberta.com. He says using social media has to involve more than just “online hugging.”

For example, Servus recently used a Facebook ad to recruit a new Y&F spokesperson. Since Servus would select its next spokesperson based on online voting, applicants had to create blogs, Facebook pages, YouTube videos and podcasts to draw attention to their campaign as well as Y&F. Handing out a challenge like this – with significant benefit or prize – generates a high degree of interest, says McAlpine. “It’s not just a blog about five reasons to save for retirement.”

Toronto Electrical Utility Credit Union blogged throughout 2008, growing its monthly visitors to 6,400 by October from 189 in January. Podcasts offering lifestyle advice on how to plan a wedding or ‘green’ your life attracted thousands of monthly visits. At the beginning, says CEO Diane Kocet, members only made commentaries online but now are discussing the site when they come into the branch.

Robert Leaker, vice president of emerging markets and business innovations at Ontario’s Meridian Credit Union, says that blogs, Facebook, and Twitter are all ways to solicit feedback and direction from members and non-members. That’s why he’s using a personal Facebook page and blog to create a conversation around new financial products and concepts. Within three weeks of starting the blog, justbankme.ca, Leaker attracted more than 150 followers.

The value in such social media, adds Leaker, is in “making a credit union’s brand more personal.”

+ Enterprise Magazine website

The Happy Minimalist Book

We recently came across the book The Happy Minimalist. Larissa Walkiw's Difference Between Banks and Credit Unions - Part 1 YouTube video is listed in the Appendix!

+ Book website

The Razor Report | By Stephen Brander

I found out about Young & Free Alberta while viewing the 2008 Forrester Groundswell Awards Winners. Since we do work with a local Credit Union, this really caught my interest.

Young & Free Alberta started when a credit union in Alberta created a campaign to generate more young customers. They conducted a contest to find a young spokesperson, who then used a blog, YouTube, and Facebook to connect with other young people in Alberta. Result: 2 million impressions, 2,300 new accounts, and $4 million Canadian in new deposits. Pretty impressive. The judges at the GroundSwell Awards thought so too.

Read more about Young & Free Alberta here - or visit the actual Young & Free site.

+ See original post

Online Marketing Banter Blog | By James Duthie

The social goodiness in the financial sector doesn’t end with our accounting friends. Commonwealth Credit Union (CWCU) joined in on the act, creating a multi-layered social campaign for…**drum roll**… a checking account. How Hollywood is that…? Convinced the Gen Y segment was being underserviced (and smelling the opportunity of lifetime value), CWCU created a checking account exclusively for the under 25′ers. Perhaps pessimistic of their ability to connect authentically with the Gen Y audience, they decided instead to create an ambassador role for an under 25′er to take up the challenege and spread the message to the people.

Entries to become the ambassador were submitted via video, with the audience themselves deciding who got the job. Once appointed, the ambassador’s role was to connect with the youth and discover what they wanted from their financial institution (duh… money). This was predominantly done via the Young & Free web site, where the ambassador used tools such as video, blogs and podcasts to connect with Gen Y. The results are impressive with 80,000 YouTube views and almost a thousand blog comments. Most important however was the 960% growth in new account openings in the 19 to 25 age group.

Boring product yes… but you can’t argue with those results!

+ See original post

Credit Union Journal

Lloydminster, Alberta - The introduction of a program called “Young & Free” has brought more than 1,000 new members to one credit union here.

Introduced in late 2007, the Young & Free program from Common Wealth Credit Union turned out to be an effective driver of membership during 2008 from a demographic many CU’s struggle with attracting. The financial management package targets young Albertans, includes a package of free, unlimited financial services, along with an online microsite that includes financial hints, polls, blogs and trivia.

Common Wealth CU has made something of a celebrity out of the spokesperson it has named to be the voice of the 17-to-25-year olds, and attracted publicity with each search. Each year a new spokesperson takes over the role, and travels around the province attending and speaking at events, producing and posting audio and video podcasts, and writing regular blog entries on everything from finance to pop culture.

Since it’s inception, 30% of the new members who have joined the 56,000 member CWCU have been young members, according to Kim Crockett, Young & Free manager.

“This translated into adding 1,000-plus new youth members to the 4,800 we had at program launch,” he said. Today there are 2,736 Young & Free account-holders with $3,924,220 on deposit for an average balance of $1,608. “These Young & Free members also have loans totaling $26,592,816 and investments totaling $1,409,003 with the credit union after just 12 months,” Crockett said.

Since launch, traffic to the Young & Free website has included 95,021 visitors with 285,440 page views. Those visitors have posted 1,381 blog comments and 128,014 You Tube videos.

The credit union estimates that the Young & Free program has also received more than $425,000 in unpaid media coverage to date, Crockett said. The initiative is marketed through the Internet on sites such as MSN, Flickr and YouTube.

+ CU Journal website

Newcap News at Six

Servus Credit Union's Young & Free Brand Manager Kim Crockett talks about winning the Forrester Groundswell Award

+ Newcap News at Six website

Marketwire

Youngfreealberta.ca Expands to Assist Youth Members with Job Search Function

Young & Free Alberta, a package of free banking services and fun resources to help young people move towards financial independence, today launched the latest interactive component to its successful youngfreealberta.com site - an online job bank with job postings tailored specifically for Alberta youth. The free job posting service is for Alberta-based organizations looking to connect with young job seekers.

Young & Free, an initiative of the new Servus Credit Union formed through a merger with Common Wealth Credit Union, Community Savings and Servus credit unions, is an initiative that connects with young people online through a microsite populated with blogs, vlogs and polls - and now jobs that fit the interests and skill sets of 17-to-25-year-olds.

"Young & Free provides online advice and resources to help young people make and save money, take out loans and build credit, so it's a natural progression to add a component to the site that helps them find relevant jobs," said Kim Crockett, Young & Free Manager, Servus Credit Union. "Rather than sift through job postings that might not fit their age group, Young & Free provides a platform for prospective employers to post jobs that are relevant and interesting to young people."

Servus hired its 2009 Young & Free Spokester, 18-year-old Myles Peterman, to provide video and blog content that is both educational and entertaining to young people on the Young & Free website, youngfreealberta.com.

"One of the things I noticed is there aren't a lot of resources out there to educate young people about finding good jobs, making and saving money, taking out loans and managing credit," said Peterman. "And since Servus provided me with the best job in world, it's pretty sweet to help others find cool jobs too through Young & Free."

+ Original article

Enterprise Magazine | By Eve Lazarus

Last January, Alberta's Common Wealth Credit Union handed over a chunk of its brand to 19-year-old Larissa Walkiw. The teen became the elected "spokester" for Young & Free Alberta (Y&F) - a new product with benefits designed for 17 to 25-year-olds. During the nine months of her term, Walkiw cranked out vlogs, blogs, podcasts and polls. She represented the $1.8-billion Lloydminster-headquartered credit union at financial conferences and hockey events, became an Internet celebrity and, along the way, received a crash course in business. By finding out what teens really want, she also created a pathway for Common Wealth's leaders to follow. (Common Wealth merged with Servus Credit Union on Nov. 1)

Walkiw doesn't have a financial background - she's never even taken an economics class. But the wanna-be filmmaker's lack of financial know-how turned out to be an advantage. "I knew I was on the right track if I understood what I was explaining," she says.

One of Walkiw's animated videos on youngfreealberta.com, showing the differences between banks and credit unions, scored more than 30,000 hits and is still doing the rounds in cyberspace. Comments posted to the Y&F website include things like "Sweet animation. I feel more connected to my credit union already" and "Just. Simply. Brilliant."

While financial institutions acknowledge the need to attract Generation Ys, few take any action. One financial institution that did hired a handful of university-age bloggers and then vetted everything they wrote. After eventually posting the comments to the website, their original thoughts sound more like a banking manual, says Walkiw. Young people, she adds, demand authenticity.

Bricks and mortar intimidate many Gen Ys and money is a daunting subject, Walkiw adds. "Online allows them to explore and ask questions almost anonymously, as opposed to having to sit in a little office with an account representative and feeling stupid for asking basic things." Bankers, says Walkiw, need to be receptive to questions such as "how do I get a car loan" and "how do I establish a line of credit?"

Want to attract the young? Try understanding their brand. Walkiw's Facebook profile tells you that she loves the Beatles, she watches Diggnation podcasts and her favorite movie is This is Spinal Tap. "Something corporate has to fit within that framework that I design for myself," she says.

Walkiw says credit union executives are afraid to enter the online universe because of a crippling fear of feedback and negative publicity. "It says a lot more about you as a company if you recognize what people are saying and respond to it," she says. "You don't necessarily need to have the answer, but as long as you recognize their thoughts and opinions that shows a very strong sense of character."

Does it work? Well, by diving head first into the online environment and putting a human face to the brand, in 10 months Common Wealth received deposits of $3.5 million into more than 2,000 new Y&F accounts, notched up 906 blog comments and received more than 55,000 website visits. Which only goes to show: innovation and honest communication can, indeed, be measurable.

From the preface

...Enterprise also chose to include Albertan Larissa Walkiw in this executive list. Walkiw isn't a credit union leader—well, not yet, anyways. But she has shown the same mettle this year through her hard work with Common Wealth Credit Union's Young & Free initiative, which reaches out to young members aged 17 to 25. As we all know, real leadership means listening to those at the bottom, because they are the ones whose ideas will ultimately push the system to further successes.

+ Enterprise Magazine website

CU Newswire | By Donna-Lane Nelson

Keeping with the feeling of the Young & Free campaign, the announcement of the 2009 Young & Free Spokester included a surprise party which is available in video www.youngfreealberta.com.

This is the second spokester for Common Wealth CU (CWCU). Myles Peterman, 18, from Edmonton, Alberta proved he best represents 17 to 25-year-olds by securing the vast majority of votes in a weeklong battle for what the previous spokester called, the most fun and rewarding job a person can ever have.

Peterman, an aspiring actor and filmmaker, secured 48 percent of the votes with his aggressive online campaign where he posted creative blogs and vlogs on the Young & Free website and on YouTube, Flickr and Twitter. With a Facebook group of more than 300 members and videos receiving 3000 views on YouTube, Myles worked hard to be everywhere his peers were online.

Young & Free began in fall 2007 as a way for CWCU to appeal to younger members. The Young & Free initiative has since won a number of national and international awards.

+ CU Newswire website

One Missing Letter Blog

A fine ottobre sul blog Groundswell sono stati pubblicati i nomi delle social applications che hanno vinto i Forrester Groundswell Awards 2008.

Queste le categorie in cui sono stati valutati i 150 pretendenti: Listening, Talking, Energizing, Supporting, Embracing, Managing, Social Impact e Company Transformation.

• Listening: Mattel’s “The Playground” Community by Communispace
• Talking: Young & Free Alberta by Common Wealth Credit Union
• Energizing: Hershey’s Bliss House Party by House Party
• Embracing: MyStarbucksIdea.com by Starbucks
• Managing: Borderless Workplace by Accenture
• Supporting: Nerd Network by National Instruments
• Social Impact: Artshare, Click Exposition, and Posse by Brooklyn
• Museum
• Company Transformation: Intuit, Inc.

+ Original post

Marketwire

Young Edmontonian Receives 48 Per Cent of Online Votes

Common Wealth Credit Union (CWCU), Alberta's fourth largest credit union, today announced the winner of its 2009 Young & Free Spokester search. Myles Peterman, 18, from Edmonton, Alberta proved he best represents 17 to 25-year-olds by securing the vast majority of votes in a weeklong battle for what the previous spokester called, "the most fun and rewarding job a person can ever have."

Peterman, an aspiring actor and filmmaker, secured 48 per cent of the votes with his aggressive online campaign where he posted creative blogs and vlogs on the Young & Free website, www.youngfreealberta.com and on YouTube, Flickr and Twitter. With a Facebook group of more than 300 members and videos receiving 3,000 views on YouTube, Myles worked hard to be everywhere his peers were online.

"Myles really delivered throughout his campaign to become this year's Young & Free Spokester," said Kim Crockett, Young & Free Manager. "His blogs, podcasts, videos and photographs were well thought out and effectively showcased his dynamic personality and ability to deliver quality content online."

"An opportunity of this magnitude doesn't present itself often, and I am ecstatic to be the next spokester," said Peterman. "I will do everything in my creative power to best represent Common Wealth Credit Union, the outstanding Young and Free account, and the 25 and under crowd. It's time for me to pick up where Larissa, the previous spokester, left off and honestly, I could not be more excited."

Young & Free began in fall 2007 as a way for Common Wealth Credit Union to appeal to younger members that included a search for a young spokester to engage young people with creative videos and open dialogue online. The Young & Free initiative has since won the credit union a prestigious Forrester Research Groundswell Award, one of the most recognized social media awards in North America, in addition to a number of credit union industry awards.

Watch the video that captured Peterman's surprise as the Young & Free team showed up at his campaign night party to break the good news here: youngfreealberta.com.

+ Original article

eMedia World

Young Edmontonian Receives 48 Per Cent of Online Votes

Common Wealth Credit Union (CWCU), Alberta's fourth largest credit union, today announced the winner of its 2009 Young & Free Spokester search. Myles Peterman, 18, from Edmonton, Alberta proved he best represents 17 to 25-year-olds by securing the vast majority of votes in a weeklong battle for what the previous spokester called, "the most fun and rewarding job a person can ever have."

Peterman, an aspiring actor and filmmaker, secured 48 per cent of the votes with his aggressive online campaign where he posted creative blogs and vlogs on the Young & Free website, www.youngfreealberta.com and on YouTube, Flickr and Twitter. With a Facebook group of more than 300 members and videos receiving 3,000 views on YouTube, Myles worked hard to be everywhere his peers were online.

"Myles really delivered throughout his campaign to become this year's Young & Free Spokester," said Kim Crockett, Young & Free Manager. "His blogs, podcasts, videos and photographs were well thought out and effectively showcased his dynamic personality and ability to deliver quality content online."

"An opportunity of this magnitude doesn't present itself often, and I am ecstatic to be the next spokester," said Peterman. "I will do everything in my creative power to best represent Common Wealth Credit Union, the outstanding Young and Free account, and the 25 and under crowd. It's time for me to pick up where Larissa, the previous spokester, left off and honestly, I could not be more excited."

Young & Free began in fall 2007 as a way for Common Wealth Credit Union to appeal to younger members that included a search for a young spokester to engage young people with creative videos and open dialogue online. The Young & Free initiative has since won the credit union a prestigious Forrester Research Groundswell Award, one of the most recognized social media awards in North America, in addition to a number of credit union industry awards.

Watch the video that captured Peterman's surprise as the Young & Free team showed up at his campaign night party to break the good news here: youngfreealberta.com.

+ Original article

Digital Vinyl Blog (Denmark) | By Jakob

A new book, social media, awards and great case studies are on today’s menu. Let’s go back to the beginning...

Well, not so far back, let’s skip a couple of years:

Since 2004, Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff, two analysts on social media from the international research company Forrester, have been bus. Since 2004 the’ve been posting about social media and technology from a marketing perspective on the blog Groundswell. This year they’ve written a book, which I have just ordered on amazon today.

Charlene and Josh are also handing out seven Groundswell Awards, rewarding excellent and effective use of social technologies to advance an organizational or corporate goal...

... As marketing professionals we often try to come up with brilliant and engaging ways of spreading the message about our company and product, moving towards greater emphasis on below the line promotion.

A month ago I wrote a blog post about the challenges of promoting generic low-involvement products such as personal banking. The winner of the TALKING award is The Common Wealth Credit Union. A bank deeply rooted in Northern Alberta. Click at the picture below and take a look at this brilliant video. It’s 8 minutes long but it gives a genuine insight into the case, portraying how they suceeded in growing the number of new account openings by 960% among 19-25 year olds compared to the same period a year prior:

This is social media marketing at its best. Really. Most importantly, it’s created extensive positive media coverage. I wonder if it would work in the banking industry in Denmark. Could we communicate this way to 19-25 year-olds about banking?

I, for one, would like to congratulate The Common Wealth Credit Union on their alternative yet solid work. Larissa, last year’s winner, got a nine-month contract. Now, Young & Free Alberta have just found next years spokesperson. Congratulation, Myles!

+ Original post

CU Newswire | By Donna-Lane Nelson

Common Wealth CU Young & Free Alberta program, developed by Currency Marketing, which has already won several national and international awards, has captured the prestigious Forrester Groundswell Award in the category of Talking. The announcement was made at the Forrester Research annual Consumer Forum in Dallas.

The Forrester Groundswell Awards recognize excellence in accomplishing business goals with social applications. Winners were selected based on a combination of online community reviews and proof of business value. The awards recognize companies that effectively use social media across seven categories: Listening, Talking, Energizing, Supporting, Embracing, Managing and Social Impact.

The Common Wealth Credit Union Young & Free Alberta entry was up against major advertisers. Many of the 34 companies competing firms are members of the Fortune 500. The Talking category's award is given to the entrant that best uses social media to spread messages about a company.

"Groundswell is the first widely recognized book to legitimize social media as a marketing tool. The perception of social media for many in the financial services industry has been kids killing time on the Internet. Now companies—credit unions in particular—realize it's an important many-person conversation that can grow a brand and sell a product or service. This is something credit unions need to participate in," explains Tim McAlpine, Currency Marketing President.

+ CU Newswire website

BRASSmedia Blog | By Dean

The global and local nature of the web never ceases to amaze me. While reading a post from Jeremiah Owyang (a Forrester senior analyst specializing in social media) reporting on the Groundswell awards, I took a second look when I came across one of the winners - a social application from Alberta! They won in the 'Talking' category. Here’s what Groundswell has to say about Young & Free Alberta...

Young & Free Alberta by Common Wealth Credit Union. A credit union in Alberta started a campaign to generate more young customers. They conducted a contest to find a young spokesperson, who then used a blog, YouTube, and Facebook to connect with other young people in Alberta. Result: 2 million impressions, 2,300 accounts, and $4 million Canadian in deposits.

You can find more about Young & Free Alberta here.

It’s great to see that the folks at Common Wealth Credit Union are reaching out to the younger generation in a way that is meaningful to them. From looking at the numbers—it looks like it’s working too! Here’s who put together the program for them—Currency Marketing, a Canadian company out of Chilliwack, British Columbia.

Just to think I travelled all the way around the world to find great things going on right here at home.

+ Original post