PSCU's new social media platform,Make Your Money Matter, was recently named the best educationalresources website and a top five finalist for the people's choiceaward at the 2014 South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival.

The annual event, which celebrates music, film and emergingtechnology, drew more than 30,000 people to Austin, Texas, earlierthis month.

“We knew we were pushing the boundaries when we created MakeYour Money Matter as a platform to help our member-owner creditunions connect to the millennial generation where they live – inthe digital world,” said Fredda McDonald, executive vice presidentand chief creative officer of the St. Petersburg, Fla.-based CUSO.“It is nice to have digital marketing experts, like the judges atSXSW, validate that we are on the right road with the quality ofthe platform we are building.”

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Make Your Money Matter, which debuted last fall, includes ashareable calculation tool that allows users to see how much bigbank shareholders profit. Users are encouraged to share informationvia Facebook, Twitter and other channels.

The platform has also earned other awards for design, contentand interactivity, including a Gold ADDY Award from the AmericanAdvertising Federation, PSCU said.

The CUSO collaborated with New York City-based digital agency,Firstborn, on the site's design, content and functionality.

“Our goal was to not only explain the benefits of joining acredit union, but to do so in a way that was really approachable,”said Gabe Garner, senior vice president of digital development forFirstborn. “Illustration has always been a good way to set this upand flows nicely between a linear video story and an interactiveone.”

PSCU launched the platform in November 2013 at eightinstitutions: the $2.3 billion Redwood Credit Union in Santa Rosa,Calif.; the $1.6 billion GTE Financial in Tampa, Fla.; the $2billion Baxter Credit Union in Vernon Hills, Ill.; the $817 millionFirstmark Credit Union in San Antonio; the $5.4 billion BethpageFederal Credit Union in Bethpage, N.Y.; the $676 million MichiganFirst Credit Union in Lathrup Village, Mich. ; the $3.4 billionOnPoint Community Credit Union in Portland, Ore.; and, the $471million Mazuma Credit Union in Kansas City, Mo.

During the first eight weeks of the beta launch, which endedJan. 1, metrics trended well above anticipated benchmarks,garnering over 31 million unique impressions on Facebook, accordingto PSCU.

To determine the success, PSCU closely analyzed data andmeasured metrics in several key areas, the CUSO said.

Based on the success of the initial test, PSCU said it plans tointroduce the platform to its entire member base of 1,500 financialinstitutions, including 700 credit unions, at April's MoPRO 2014member conference in Las Vegas.

“The future for credit unions lies in their ability to do whatthey do best today – take care of the financial needs of theirmembers – but to do so in new ways digitally,” McDonald said. “MakeYour Money Matter can assist by enabling them to attract, educateand engage a new generation of consumers by highlighting theirenormous value using social media.”