Community Challenge Saves 3.6 Million in 2013

MemberTree is proud to post the success of our Credit Union partners in 2013!
Click here to read more.

MemberTree Advisory Councel Announced!

MemberTree is excited to announce the formation of the MemberTree Advisory Council, or "M.A.C." as we like to call it.  The MemberTree Advisory Committee was formed to bring Credit Union professionals together to converse about what is happening within the Credit Union world - in regards to marketing.  See who is involved by clicking here.

MemberTree's Community Challenge Success Published

Jersey Shore Credit Union has been featured in Seifer Consultants latest edition of "Deposit & Loan Growth Strategies" emphasizing the success of their Community Challenge program. Click here to read more

Central Minnesota Credit Union Launches new website

MemberTree is proud to announce the launch of Central Minnesota CU's new website.    

https://www.mycmcu.org    

Central Minnesota Credit Union is a member-owned financial cooperative with locations in Albany, Avon, Belgrade, Cold Spring, Freeport, Grey Eagle, Little Falls, Long Prairie, Melrose, Moorhead, New York Mills, Paynesville, Perham, St. Joseph, and Sauk Centre.

Northern Hills Federal Credit Union challenges community for a 2nd year.

Northern Hills Federal Credit Union challenges community for a 2nd year.  

Community Challenge returns after doubling original savings goal.

(STURGIS, S.D.) – Northern Hills Federal Credit Union is posing a challenge to community members for a second year: save one million dollars in loan interest and help local charities.

Northern Hills Federal Credit Union wants to help community members save a combined total of one million dollars in loan interest between now and the end of the year. The Second Annual Community Challenge aims to not only save individuals money, but bring money back to the community. When the community has saved a million dollars in loan interest, Northern Hills Federal Credit Union will donate a total of $7,000 to five local charities.

This is the Second Annual Community Challenge. Last year the community saved over $1 million dollars in loan interest through this initiative, and a total of $6,000 was donated to three participating charities.
                       
“We are very excited about bringing back the Community Challenge. The support we got from the community last year was overwhelming. We were even able to double our original savings goal of $500,000,” Cindy Griffin, CEO of Northern Hills Federal Credit Union, said.

Charities involved this year include Northern Hills Area CASA Program, Spearfish Community Pantry, Front Porch Coalition, Crisis Intervention Shelter Service, Inc., and Autism Society of the Black Hills. Community members can vote for the charity they would like to receive the largest donation at www.MyCUSaves.org, or after refinancing a loan with Northern Hills Federal.

“With every loan made at Northern Hills Federal, we try to build member-centric relationships and always keep the members’ goals in mind,” Griffin said. “We have several ways for members to save loan interest and can help consumers find the perfect fit for them. With a full line of mortgage products, debt consolidation and vehicle loans, our professional loan staff can help members achieve their financial dreams,” Griffin added.

For more information on the Community Challenge or to get involved, visit www.MyCUSaves.org.

About Northern Hills Federal Credit Union
Northern Hills Federal Credit Union, chartered in 1950, is a member-owned, not-for-profit financial cooperative serving persons who live in, work in, worship in, volunteer in or attend school in Meade, Butte, Lawrence and Pennington counties.
 

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United Teletech Financial's 23% Loan Application Increase

After becoming an established MemberTree client partner, United Teletech Financial asked MemberTree how they could bolster loan application volume by 25%. 

After an analysis of UTF's banking share-of-voice across various mediums, MemberTree recommended a shift in the overall media strategy, coupled with an increased budget.  This was established as a test to determine if additional spend within this newly developed MemberTree strategy would drive application volume.  

MemberTree's revised media strategy started in July 2012. As soon as November 2012, the average monthly loan applications increased by 23%.  

This change in media weight and increased media spend set the stage for the 2013 media plan.  

United Teletech continues to see year over year increases in loan applications and funded loans.

https://www.utfinancial.org/

Northern Hills FCU sees 144% increase in consumer loans

Northern Hills FCU, located in the black hills of South Dakota, has been working with MemberTree for nearly 4 years. In that time, the credit union has witnessed the same ups and downs most CU's have with the shifting economy. However, 2013 is off to a strong start with an incredible increase of 144% in consumer lending when compared to January 2012 funded loans. This is representative of a 28% increase in total applications year over year and a 10% increase in the percentage of funded loan applications. 

Marketing messages in Q4 2012 and Q1 2013 focused on consumer lending which, given these numbers, appears to be a strategy well aligned with the marketplace.

Jersey Shore Credit Union Launches MemberTree's Community Challenge Campaign!

Things are happening fast for Jersey Shore Credit Union, having just launched on January 15, 2013;

Jersey Shore has already saved
their community close to $100,000!

Click Here.

Article about the MemberTree created CUAD campaign recognized within the Credit Union Times

Click to read more.

MemberTree Helps Dakotas CU Association Launch Awareness Campaign

The Credit Union Association of the Dakotas (CUAD) announces the launch of the much anticipated “We’ve Been Waiting for You” awareness campaign.

At the conferences, which will be held in Bismarck and Fargo, CUAD’s Robbie Thompson, President/CEO and Kristie Heit, Director of Strategic Initiatives, will announce the strategy that CUAD has developed with MemberTree Consultants, a division of H2M of Fargo, ND.

The strategy incorporates targeted mass media tied with community visits throughout North and South Dakota by CUAD staff, supplemented by a robust social media effort.

Through this campaign, CUAD will convey the message that credit unions offer similar services to banks, but with better service; that consumers are likely eligible for membership in one or more credit unions; that credit unions have money to lend; and that there is a credit union closer than you think.  Visit the campaign website at http://www.wevebeenwaitingforyou.org/

Headquartered in Bismarck, ND, the Credit Union Association of the Dakotas (CUAD) is the professional trade association serving 71 credit unions in North and South Dakota with assets in excess of $4.2 billion and serving nearly 450,000 credit union members. For more information about CUAD visit our website at http://www.cuad.coop

MemberTree receives a "Diamond" award from CUNA Marketing & Business Development Council

MemberTree is proud to be recognized for the work we provided for our credit union partner United Teletech Financial FCU.  Take a moment and click the following link to view our "We're all Ears" TV spot.

New ROTH IRA Campaign

MemberTree has added a new ROTH IRA commercial to their catalog of campaigns.
Take a moment to view this unique spot that helps put your financial future "in focus."
Click here to view

Watch Santa help "Cut The Card"

United Teletech Financial Credit Union, based out of Tenton Falls, NJ engaged MemberTree to create a unique television campaign.  Click here to view the commercial.

This campaign was developed to help increase the awareness surrounding their already created marketing message "Go All Ears."  MemberTree presented an idea that would definitely make consumers stop and take notice, and set the tone for an ongoing initiative that emphasizes United Teletech's willingness to listen to it's members needs.

MemberTree Recognized by CUES

The Credit Union Executives Society (CUES)  has awarded MemberTree with multiple Golden Mirror Awards for the work performed for Capital Credit Union in Bismarck, ND. 

MemberTree was part of 560 results-producing 2011 entries, and we're proud that our work made an impression with credit union consumers and Golden Mirror judges.

All wining entries are presented online at www.cuesgma.org.

Visit MemberTree at the MnCUN Fall Conference

The 2011 Fall Conference will be held September 9-11 at Madden’s Resort in Brainerd, MN.
Filled with educational sessions, entertainment, and recreation opportunities, this event provides a weekend of learning and fun.

   MemberTree will be on the tradeshow floor, while also attending various breakout sessions.

Click here to learn more.

MemberTree MNCUN involvement recognized by CUNA

MemberTree Consultancy is proud to become a member of the Minnesota Credit Union Network (MNCUN) VIP Participant. 

Click here to read the CUNA press release.

As participants, MemberTree agrees to offer professional service, quality product lines and competitive pricing to all Minnesota credit unions.

Find out more about the MNCUN VIP program by clicking here.

Visit MemberTree at the CUAD June 2011 Summit!

MemberTree will be attending the CUAD Summit in Fargo, ND.  
  June 7-10, 2011 at the Ramada Plaza Suites.  Celebrate the accomplishments of your credit union and the difference we all make to our members and communities. 

Content Creation: The Mediocre Are Always At Their Best.

By David Hanson, Pres. H2M

Posted 01/15/2011

We have now crossed a threshold where the average person can be a worldwide-published author of information and entertainment at the click of a mouse. Being ‘published’ means having obtained the means of disseminating work to a larger audience, usually by way of some other company’s network and channels of distribution. What information or entertainment that is being published is being lumped together under the term “content”.

Up to this point in time on planet earth, there has been a wide gulf separating those who published content and those who consumed it. News was gathered and analyzed by professional reporters. Films were created by professional filmmakers at professional film studios and disseminated over airwaves and theaters by the companies who owned the equipment to project and broadcast them. Record companies signed deals with artists, sank money into the their development and sold the finished products at a healthy price which, if it was a hit, covered all the losses of money they lost from the artists who didn’t sell enough records to cover their cost.

As little as 20 years ago, being published was extremely difficult if not impossible for the average amateur, because the production and content companies of newspapers, book publishers, film studios, record companies and television studios took all the risk, and were very careful about messing with proven formulas they had developed for financial success. Those who owned the means of production bore the risk because the means of production such as printing presses, recording and film studios were very expensive. No longer.
I recently purchased a Canon 7D digital camera that I bought at Best Buy for around $2000. This camera shoots 1080 hi-definition video and is consistently used now in major productions in Hollywood. Therefore, for the most part, I now own my own means of production. But more than that, I also “own” the ability to publish my content via YouTube, Facebook, Flickr and others for free with no financial strings attached to any other entity.

The inevitable consequence that follows this ability for the average person to publish is the average quality of all that is being published declines. We have now been lulled into an “average” appreciation of “average” content. Today new emerging talent is no longer required to “pay their dues” in order to “make it”. Our 15 minutes of fame, as postulated by Andy Warhol in the 1960’s, is now down to less than 30 seconds as we pass video, audio and blog articles back and forth at the speed of light. But this is not a diatribe against amateur content creators and I will not go so far as to say that we have dumbed down our intellectual and aesthetic appreciation or discernment, because that would betray the fact that this democratization of the means of production has given unknown and untested talent an incredible platform upon which to be discovered.

As for marketing, almost every company in the western world now has their own Internet presence of some sort. So now we are seeing the inevitable rise of content strategy and content creation experts. It’s as if all these businesses suddenly woke up and realized they have no clue as to how they are going to fill the space they have created with things that are interesting and relevant to their audiences No one likes to read the same thing over and over, so “content creation” and a content updating strategy has become the latest buzzword and a fertile market for those promising to fill the need for a price.

It’s one thing to create a strategy for good content, but it’s an entirely different thing to create good content itself. Although the means of production have now been evenly distributed, talent has not. The reality is that there are very few talented and skilled creators of anything that people would want to consume on a regular basis. Great content is something you can’t simply pluck off a shelf; besides great talent, it takes skill, insight, perseverance and often years of hard work to be good over the long haul.

Legend has it that Picasso was sitting in a Paris café when an admirer approached and asked if he would do a quick sketch on her on a paper napkin. Picasso politely agreed, swiftly executed the work, and handed back the napkin. The admirer asked him how much should she pay. Picasso replied, “five thousand dollars.” The admirer gasped, “But sir, it only took you a few seconds!” Picasso replied, “No madam, it took me my entire life.”

dave@h2m.biz

Why Some People Excel Far Beyond Others: The Relentless Drive Of Curiosity.

David Hanson Pres. H2M dave@h2m.biz By David Hanson, Pres. H2M Posted 12/19/2010 It wasn’t that long ago in America that if you wanted to learn something about something you had to look it up in published and often outdated books such as the Encyclopedia (if your household was affluent enough to own a set), or you had to go to the library. There was no “online” resource to “Google” or “Bing” an inquiry that would result in thousands if not millions of replies within seconds. Online resources today are superb, but even they cannot reach to the same depths of understanding and completeness that actually reading a complete book about a subject can reach. The Internet is terrific for quick bursts of information and various people’s opinions on things, but nothing comes close to the depth of subject matter that has been codified in a book. In most cases, because a book has taken a lot longer to create and format, will contain better thought-out material, tempered with various other views tied in to a complete overview great depth and clarity. And now to cut to the chase: In every organization there are people who excel at their jobs. There is something about them that is so vibrant, so engaging and so infectious that they attract success to themselves in a measure far beyond their peers without any seeming effort. I attribute this to a passionate curiosity. These are the ones who are never satisfied to rest on what they learned in school (often years ago) but consistently seek out not only the latest issues concerning their chosen field, but also the field the customers they serve. It astounds me how few times I find someone who has actually bothered to read about their customers business from available businesses trade information both online and offline. It’s as if once they graduated from school, they feel they have learned everything they need to know to have a successful career. I attribute a lot of this mindset to our educational system, which often promotes rote learning and grades over curiosity and passion. I receive many resumes from self-described young copywriters who can write but have no conception of how business works. They can string language together and utilize the correct syntax but have no solid conceptual framework that relates to the customer’s business upon which to hang their words. It is simply technique without understanding. Their work sounds like advertising, which is anathema to the whole endeavor. In short, they are not curious people. They, even at their young age, are already resting on the laurels of their past education. In this time of exploding knowledge and interconnectivity we live in can teach us anything, it is that today's learning of facts and techniques becomes obsolete almost before we can put them in to practice. And so in my experience over the years as both an employee and employer, I have learned it is the curious ones are the ones that excel. They excel because their curiosity betrays a deeper excitement and passion about the work they do. I know the journeyman type of work I’ll get from those who never keep pace with their customers businesses and their own craft. And I also know to expect the exciting surprises I’ll receive from the “curious ones” who consistently wonder how things work and how to make them work better. These are the ones that don’t need to be told to continue to learn about their craft and their custonmers. These are the ones that will grow into any challenge that comes their way. These are ones who will succeed beyond their wildest dreams.

New MemberTree Website Launched!

If you have some time, take a minute to visit the newly launched MemberTree Consultancy website.

Visit us at www.membertree.org