Sorting through a hundred or so applications from University ofMissouri students to fill five internship spots at Tigers CreditUnion has become a common occurrence for Laura Kogut, programdirector.

Since positioning itself as the banking alternative on campusand enlisting its 15 to 20 student staffers as advocates, studentshave been buzzing about the Columbia, Mo.-based branch.

“We realized that in order to reach the younger demographic, wecouldn't just do the typical avenues of radio or billboards,” saidKogut. “What we've found most effective has really been thatpeer-to-peer communication. Let's face it. banking doesn't come uptoo often in conversation. So our advocates just talk with friendsand other people on campus about their experience interning hereand how much fun it is. It's an effective way to spread the wordbecause then it becomes 'Oh, a guy in my dorm works at Tigers.'It's how we've been getting our most solid student referrals.”

She added that the staffers also act as a focus group, gatherfeedback from what they hear around campus to help Tigers CUdevelop and deliver products and services targeted to meetstudents' needs and expectations. The Gen Y insight has also been aboon to St. Louis-based West Community Credit Union. Tigers CUmerged into the over $134 million credit union in 2006.

“With US Bank here on campus we've got some prominentcompetition,” said Kogut. “Add to that the common industrychallenge of many still being unfamiliar with the credit uniondifference, our student staffers help make it more relevant andeasy to understand. Our position as the alternative credit unionresonates because it is a cause in itself that a lot of studentsbelieve in and want to be a part of. So we also partner with othercause-related groups or events on campus.”

As far as alleviating member pain points, Tigers CU has made iteasier for freshmen to open accounts online. Not only canapplications be taken on site during Welcome Week/FreshmanOrientation, but the credit union provides the incoming studentswith a backpack with information about the CU's shared branchlocations in Chicago, Kansas City and St. Louis and instructions onhow to open a Tigers CU account online when they get home.

“It has been huge for us. Absolutely everything is done onlineand that is what they expect of their financial institution,” saidKogut. “Usually about 100 new members per event apply later online,and that's 100 people we wouldn't have been able to capture before.It really is all about timing so they get the information withtheir parents while they are here for orientation and they can signup in their own time.”

According to Kogut, the orientation, which is required for allnew students and parents, includes about 5,000 students in themonths of June and July.

With $115 million in assets, Pocatello, Idaho-based ISU CreditUnion has leveraged its relationship with Idaho State University tooffer students the BengalCard Plus a branded student identificationand debit MasterCard.

The credit union went through the standard competitive biddingprocess required by law before being selected by ISU to offer thedebit card, which serves as the official ISU picture ID card andprovides access to a range of campus services. In addition, thecard offers users discounts at local merchants and entries to freedrawings and giveaways.

According to Richard Cheatum, vice president of marketing at ISUCU, the one card solution has been a win-win for all parties.

“Because the BengalCard Plus is only available to staff andstudents so we can really target market that card and theuniversity helps us do that to get as many involved with it,” saidCheatum. “We share a portion of the interchange income with theuniversity that's dedicated to future scholarship and studentservices at ISU. It also helps show the economic power of ISU inthe local community. Every time that bright orange card is pulledout to make purchases, it's a visual of ISU as an economic enginethat drives our town. Whether you are a large or small universitycredit union you need to get on board for a program like thisbecause everyone benefits.”

It has also helped ISU CU develop and deepen its existingrelationships within the university across all levels from thedecision makers to the gatekeepers as well. The credit union willnow be a part of the student orientation process and will offerfour 20 minute sessions for each orientation class on financialmanagement.

“It's a great opportunity to get face time with every student,”said Cheatum. “We had our first earlier this summer and had about12 to 15 students in each session. As the summer progresses. theclasses will get bigger to include 50 to 100 students persession.”

With a tech-oriented membership, Cheatum has implemented QRcodes to help roll out the BengalCard Plus that links to a list ofmerchant discounts available.

Recognizing that most students already have an establishedrelationship before entering college, ISU CU has plans to develop adebit card aimed at area high school students age 13 to 17.

“It's one of the ways we're trying to reach them before they'recollege freshmen,” said Cheatum. “Kids today have money, whethergiven by relatives or they've earned themselves yet still don'thave a way to manage their funds. We want to give them the tools tostart managing their money before they leave the house.”

At the University of Kentucky Federal Credit Union in Lexington,building its connection with younger members has evolved over theyears and technology has been a big part of it.

“Just in terms of communication there's a lot of technology thatjust wasn't around before like Facebook, which revolutionized howstudents interact with one another,” said Greg Baker, vicepresident sales/marketing at UKFCU. “A few years ago we startedadvertising on Facebook and we can set a target dollar amount tospend and upload our own ads or commercials to specifically reach acertain demographic within Facebook.”

The credit union also offers text message account alerts, whichhas been a very popular feature among students.

“We're doing everything we can to communicate with them andshare information they value in a way they want,” said Baker. “Ourslant is always financial literacy driven so if they aren't gettingthat money management knowledge at home we'll deliver it via ourfinancial blog where members can like content or not, on campusFinancial 101 classes or even our live chat function on ourwebsite. We just want to keep them connected.”

Topics covered range from information about renters Insuranceand credit score basics to how to pick your first automobile. Bakeralso uses the UKFCU Facebook page as a way to promote the creditunion's unique value proposition.

To help check the pulse of students needs, the UKFCU marketingteam meets quarterly with a mix of students and graduates age 18 to26. The group averages 12 to 15 individuals, and over lunch theyshare their financial service frustrations and ideas they'd like tosee implemented.

“The agenda ranges from products and services they use now andwhat's the coolest thing they've seen in the financial servicesarena to tackling their questions on why we even bother to offerxyz product or service,” said Baker. “It helps us clarify what'smost important to them, how we can make a process more efficientand create solutions aimed at resolving their frustrations. If wedon't take a look at it now we risk alienating them more as we moveforward.”