In a few hours, I’m hopping a plane to Indianapolis for the 2008 Partnership Symposium . Like last week, I’ll be broadcasting sessions and events live right here on Open Source CU (this time with improved audio and video). I’ll post the Ustream video window up here tomorrow morning.
In addition to the live video feed, we’ll have a chat window up – accessible to anyone – and will be taking questions not only from the live audience, but from virtual participants as well. Here’s the agenda (all times are Eastern):
Day One – Oct 1
9:00 am – 9:15 am Welcome & A Look Forward – Ron Shevlin, Event Host
9:15 am – 10:00 am Young & Free – Attracting New, Young Members
Tim McAlpine, President & Chief Strategist, Currency Marketing
We all want new members, especially those with many years of borrowing, depositing, and investing ahead of them. Tim McAlpine will share the grass-roots approach one credit union is using to engage the youth market. He’ll share the process, phases, and results of Common Wealth CU’s Young & Free Program, as well as provide insight into how they have solved some unforeseen issues that have come up during the campaign. Learn from Tim’s experiences with the Young & Free Program how to better attract younger members to your credit union.
10:00 am – 10:45 am Brand Positioning: Cascade Community Credit Union
Jeff Stephens, CEO & Brand Director, Creative Brand Communications
In this look at Cascade Community Credit Union, Jeff illustrates positioning through advanced branding tactics, why trying to be “different” is more effective than trying to be “better,” and how to avoid differentiating yourself on the same attributes as everyone else.
11:00 am – 12:00 pm Debit, Credit, & More – Remaining Relevant to Your Member’s Payment Habits
Jeff Russell, Executive Vice President, The Members Group
Radical changes are taking place in the payments industry. The door is open for an entity to become the center of your members’ payment and financial management world. Who will that “entity” be? Learn from Jeff about trends in financial payments and how you can best position your credit union to remain relevant in your members’ payment habits.
1:00 pm – 1:30 pm “Fire Your Trainers” and More Advice to Make Symposium Stuff Stick
Andy Janning, AVP Training & Quality Service, FORUM Credit Union
You’ll leave the Symposium with new ideas and innovations for your credit union and members. Your first stop back home may be to your Training department, where you may request, “Make a class that teaches everyone about this fabulous new idea!” Ironically, this approach could be the kiss of death for your innovative brainchild. We’ll examine the short, focused list of questions that will radically transform the way in which training supports organizational innovation and delivers member-focused results.
1:30 pm – 2:15 pm Top 5 Success Practices for Building an Online Community
Morriss Partee, Chief Experience Officer, EverythingCU.com
EverythingCU.com started in the year 2000 as an idea, and has since blossomed into an active online community of 5,863 credit union professionals, with a focus on marketing and business development. In this session, Morriss will share the top 5 success strategies that make an online community thrive (as well as be profitable). Credit unions inherently have every one of these success factors available to them, only they currently lie dormant. We’ll examine how you can apply each of these practices to revitalize your CU’s web presence.
2:30pm – 4:00 pm Idea eXchange – led by participants
This time is for attendees to discuss solutions that have worked for them, present problems for others to offer ideas, and generally collaborate with your peers. Attendees can sign up for a topic/issue they wish to present.
Day Two – Oct 2
8:45 am – 9:45 am Engaging with the Social Economy
William Azaroff, Interactive Marketing & Channel Manager, Vancity Credit Union
A growing segment of the economy is driven by social decision-making. Credit unions play a natural key role in this shift, both as community-focused organizations and as holders of significant consumer assets. This presentation will include examples of the emerging social economy, as well as a case study of ChangeEverything.ca, a social network created by Vancity, which speaks to the values shared by the largest credit union in Canada and the community it serves.
9:45 am – 10:15 am The Hyperlocal Credit Union – A Vision
Matt Dean, CEO, Trabian
The Internet connects people across the world, but it also brings together people within a community. Just as hyperlocal media has revolutionized journalism, the hyperlocal credit union can transform the way their members interact with local merchants, with each other, and with their financial institution. Matt will share a snapshot view of a credit union that uses its local focus as more than a “we’re from your hometown!” warm and fuzzy feeling to bring tangible value to its members.
10:30 am – 11:15 am Serving the Mobile Member
Gene Blishen, General Manager, Mount Lehman Credit Union
Still not sure how to best tackle mobile banking or are you looking for alternatives to enhance your current offering? Gene will share valuable member and product information his credit union has gained over the past three years, discuss various aspects of mobile banking and service options, and talk about different approaches for implementing mobile banking (do-it-yourself, vendors, partnering, etc.). Gene concludes with thoughts about “harnessing the wisdom of crowds” and the concept of innovation coming from multiple outside sources and how to ensure your credit union is receptive to these sources.
11:15 am – 12:00 pm Thrift: The Rise of the Credit Union Warrior
Matt Davis, Director of Public Relations, Members Credit Union
As the guest speaker contest winner, Matt will reintroduce the concept of promoting thrift for credit unions. He will discuss some of the ways that credit unions across the country are promoting thrift, not only amongst their members, but also amongst the general community. Finally, Matt will introduce some exciting ways that your credit unions can recapture public goodwill with this concept.
1:00 pm – 1:45 pm Turning Business Problems into Business Opportunities
Robbie Wright, General Manager, fi-linx
How do you turn an obstacle or problem into a potential business opportunity? In this session, Robbie from fi-linx, a CUSO of MaPS Credit Union, will discuss how the CU has taken challenges and turned them into new CUSO ventures and partnerships. He will review the CUSO industry and discuss past and present CUSO ventures, the role that credit union employees play in the formation of new a CUSO, and what the CUSO landscape may look like in the not too distant future.
1:45 pm – 2:30 pm Improve CU Reputation & Build Loyalty
Michelle Bloedorn, Executive Director, Member Loyalty Group
Diana Dykstra, CEO, San Francisco Fire Credit Union
Six credit unions, including San Francisco Fire CU, have come together to form the Member Loyalty Group CUSO. This CUSO has the goal of spreading the use of the Net Promoter Score among credit unions and making it affordable for institutions of all sizes. Hear about how San Francisco Fire CU has incorporated NPS and social media techniques to engage members and create true loyalty.
2:45 pm – 3:15 pm Using Video to Engage Your Target Market
Jon DiGregory, Founding Partner, Cantaloupe
New ideas for using video to engage your market.
3:15 pm – 3:45 pm The Credit Union Difference?
CU Skeptic, Unveiled
“At their current state, credit unions as a whole are no different than banks to the end user.” Since his arrival in the CU blogosphere, the CU Skeptic has been stirring the pot with articles, comments, and interviews based around this central theme. Discover why he thinks “the credit union difference” is largely unapparent in today’s (US) market and what he thinks are the keys to turning the tide of irrelevance. For the first time ever, the CU Skeptic will reveal his true identity and is prepared for an extended Q&A session.
3:45 pm – 4:00 pm Symposium Rewind
So, what did we learn at this event, anyway? Let’s bring it all together and make sure we’re all leaving with new ideas and strategies that will help us better serve our members and engage them in new, relevant ways.
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Safe travels to everyone who’s flying in. See you live or on the web tomorrow!
