DeAndre Upshaw of Gen Y Live, invited me to share my thoughts about Millennials for his audience of credit union professionals. The interview was conducted  via Skype.

Upshaw (@Deandresays), an energetic Gen Y’er himself,  blogs for Young & Free Texas, a youth marketing program for credit unions. He go the job by winning a contest. U.S. News and World Report wrote a great article March 10, about Millennials and financial services, titled“Gen Y to Banks: Do Better”.  Here is how US News describes Upshaw’s introduction to to the world of credit union marketing:

“The Texas Dow Employees Credit Union hosts an annual contest for a gen Y spokesperson who finds free things to do around Texas and shares them on the campaign’s website, www.youngfreetexas.com. (The campaign started at a Canadian credit union and has since made its way south.) Armed with a $30,000 annual salary, a Toyota Prius, a MacBook, and a high-definition video camera, last year’s winner, DeAndré Upshaw, a recent graduate of Baylor University, posted videos and blog entries on financial literacy, budgeting, and other topics relevant to his peers. Website visitors can click through to more information on the credit union’s offerings, but advertising products is not the focus of the site.
The campaign seems to be working. Young and Free Texas’s Trey Reeme says that in the past two years, the 18-to-25-year-old demographic has been its fastest-growing segment. “I think [the campaign] builds trust,” says Reeme, who is 29. Upshaw, Reeme adds, seems more like a friend than a banker, and the annual contest sends the message, “We want to learn from you, as well as help you—not just take your money.”

For more, on the Young & Free program, check out my post from January, “Why Credit Unions Are Winning with Millennials”.

Upshaw asked great questions and has tremendous charisma and energy, not to mention technical skill to pull off a live skype video interview with tweeted-in questions. I answered them all as best I could, but refused a request to dance.