I was fortunate enough to be on the selection committee for a new agency of record for Vancity. We have a wealth of very good agencies here in Vancouver and Vancity wanted to ensure that we have the right partner to help us move forward towards our vision of Redefining Wealth.
Redefining Wealth is our vision of growing wealth for our members in a way that directly benefits our communities. We have only started communicating it publicly, and the first place it shows up is in our new Annual Report. The title is obviously provocative, intended to get members questioning what we’re doing and reading on to discover what Vancity’s doing for the “wealthy”.
As we embark on this journey, we met with many agencies in Vancouver, some very large and some very small. It was a great process, helped by a consulting firm, Reynolds & Fyshe. Dan and Mike (Reynolds & Fyshe) helped us steer a transparent, fair, thorough selection process that focused mostly on fit. This was not a beauty pageant where agencies simply wowed us with some superlative work (although we did get to see lots of great work), but a process evaluating our DNA to ensure we found a real partner in our mission.
In the end, we were very excited to discover our amazing fit with local agency, Wasserman + Partners. They demonstrated amazing knowledge of our brand and alignment with our vision. Their work resonated with us, they asked profoundly good and tough questions and have demonstrated real business results with their other clients. It doesn’t hurt that they are a member of our credit union and have been since they launched. They show a deep understanding of iconic local brands, and Vancity is an important player in that field.
I know W+P from their work on the province-wide projects they do on behalf of all BC-based credit unions (see their TV ads). They have been the agency for Credit Unions of BC for over ten years, and their knowledge of this sector is a real plus. I have seen their work get stronger and stronger and the results of their work break through barriers identified as chief obstacles to increasing credit union membership. I have seen the early results of their upcoming campaign, and it is truly impressive.
So, a new chapter opens in the storied history of Vancity. I feel very fortunate to be able to play a role in all of this, and am excited to roll up my sleeves and work with our new partner, Wasserman + Partners.
Each one sent adds $1 to a donation pool at the Foundation, and senders can decide whether they want to support enterprising nonprofits, housing and homelessness or food security. It’s all contained here on a description page on ChangeEverything.ca.
I hope it’ll be an engaging way for people to connect over the holidays while supporting local issues.
Selfishly, it’s nice to see our main website and ChangeEverything.ca work together. For me, it’s putting together the pieces we already have to work harder together.
I have taken 2009 off from presenting at conferences, and it’s been a good decision. I’ve really enjoyed being able to focus on work and family here in Vancouver.
Social media is the new hot thing. It’s a great way for consumers to share their opinions and interact with leading brands. But how does social media fit in the B2B/B2C environment? Panelists will discuss how they use social media for their clients as well as their own businesses.
A couple of my fellow panelists are the same as my fellow panelists from last year (which is good thing).
Back in September at BarCampBankBC I met a man named David Cesarini. David is truly interested in financial services marketing, and after BCBBC he and I met up and I enjoyed chatting with him a lot.
I was asked by my friend Clayton Mitchell to speak at an upcoming luncheon presented by BC AIM (the BC Association of Integrated Marketers). I was happy to agree.
My subject, well known to regular readers of my blog, is called Do Well By Doing Good. Here’s the description:
Increasing community engagement and leading on key social and environmental issues can improve your brand and your business. Trust and accountability are two key drivers of success, and are directly impacted by demonstrating a commitment to shared values.
Good corporate citizenship increases transparency, accountability and trust
Improves ability to leverage social media
Creates a deeper connection with customers and prospects
He asked me what is the one thing I want people to take away from my presentation, and here’s what I said:
Knowing who you are as a company and integrating that across all media allows for unique opportunities to express and share your brand.
If you’re in Vancouver on December 11th, come on down.
Several months back, I signed up to write a chapter in the sequel to Age of Conversation, a book where 100 authors each submitted a one page chapter about how social media and community engagement is changing the way we work, communicate and live. It was a good and varied read.
Now there are 237 contributors to Age of Conversation 2, with the theme of Why Don’t They Get It.
The book was released this week and it’s now on sale at lulu.com. All proceeds from the book will again be donated to Variety, the international children’s charity, so it’s all for a good cause.
It’s a high interest savings account (as of this writing it is paying out a very competitive 3% interest rate) that works like any other. Except for one big difference:
Vancity donates a portion of the proceeds to a not-for-profit partner who runs a program called Future Foundations, which gives a 300% savings rate to eligible people who need help paying for:
training or education
paying for a child’s education
starting or expanding a business
purchasing housing
Truly amazing stuff.
This week, we launched a slightly edgy TV ad to promote this product. Take a look and let me know what you think…
When I moved back to Canada five years ago, I left some of our US money in my WaMu account. Well, whatever, it’s a small amount and I’m sure it’ll be fine. And then I get this little email marketing nugget.
I got this email TODAY. At 6:47pm. Didn’t their CMO get a memo or something? Am I about to start saving for the holidays… today… at WaMu? Hmmm, let me give that a little thought.
Two things I liked about the email:
There was this reminder in the tagline: Deposits at Washington Mutual are FDIC insured.Whew!
I can easily unsubscribe from future WaMu email marketing.
What would I have preferred? Some acknowledgement that the bank that holds MY money has been taken over and a link to some information that I need to know about how it affects me. Some recognition of what is actually going on.
At least they now have some information for WaMu customers on their homepage about the takeover, which they didn’t when I first received this email.
In this post, he tagged me, along with a few others, to continue a topic of Social Media Marketing Best Practices started on the Twist Image blog by digital marketing guru Mitch Joel.
He asked me to continue this thread by adding my two cents, so here goes.
My Social Media Marketing Best Practice is Community Engagement:
I used to call it Web 2.0, but that seemed to focus too much on technology. So I started calling it Social Media, but I think that focuses too much on the tools and leads us to jump to solutions before we fully grasp the issue we’re trying to address. Now I simply call it Community Engagement. The most important thing is to never lose sight of our core objective: People. We need to keep the people we’re trying to engage in a conversation front and centre, and develop a plan to inspire participation around a relevant topic, event, issue, brand, product or service.
I hope this thought furthers the conversation a little.
I’m a big fan of Currency Marketing‘s Young & Free Alberta campaign. I think it’s one of the smartest uses of social media to drive direct business results that I’ve ever seen.
When I speak to people about it, they have just one criticism. That Larissa Walkiw, the spokesperson of the Alberta program and an amazingly talented young woman, makes the whole campaign and you’ll never find another like her.
So a few months back when Tim McAlpine, the pioneer of Young & Free Alberta, announced that he was opening it up to allow for one credit union in each State or Province to replicate the program, I was very intrigued.
It will be fascinating to see how this new program progresses. I believe there are lots of talented and passionate young people who will take this program in new directions. That there is more than one Larissa, so to speak, and that there are amazing nooks and crannies that other people will take the program as spokesperson. But ultimately the proof will be in the pudding.
Redefining Wealth is our vision of growing wealth for our members in a way that directly benefits our communities. We have only started communicating it publicly, and the first place it shows up is in our new Annual Report. The title is obviously provocative, intended to get members questioning what we’re doing and reading on to discover what Vancity’s doing for the “wealthy”.
