MUSCLE SHOALS, Ala.—One CU is not just targeting Millennials but actually bringing more on board through the use of a creative, monthly print magazine.
Yes, print.
Listerhill Credit Union said the average age of its membership has been getting younger since it introduced SET magazine in 2012. The publication targets Millennials with funky covers (see images at right) and content aimed at Millennials and written by Millennials. The magazine is distributed citywide in restaurants, coffee shops, hair salons, gyms and many other public places.
Topics cover what the team of 15 Millennial writers choose to talk about—often music, technology, health and movies. The credit union also makes sure at least one article is focused on finances.
“We had a strong youth initiative going a few years ago, but wanted to change things up,” said Marketing Director Chris Anderson. “We wanted something that seemed less like an advertisement to Millennials, and something they could connect with and feel a sense of ownership of.”
Chris Anderson
Counterintuitive?
Anderson acknowledged that choosing print to reach this highly digital demographic may seem counterintuitive.
“We wanted to stand apart. We could have produced this magazine in a digital format, or created an app to push out this kind of news. But we feel there is a lot of noise in the digital space right now with Millennials, and that it is getting worse. Noise in the print space is getting less and less.”
Anderson said the $795-million credit union also recognized that there was not another magazine in area coffee shops and restaurants targeting Millennials.
“And no one has the kind of covers that we do, with the funky-looking art,” he said. “These magazines get picked up every month, a lot. And we get a lot of comments back from young adults in our community. One thing we often hear is that the credit union gives a darn.”
Listerhill CU subtly pushes its products and services with a limited number of ads in the 32-page magazine. “We did not want to have too many ads, because Millennials are sensitive to being sold to. But SET is working, as the number of Millennials we enroll every year increases, based on feedback we get from our branches.”
Anderson feels SET makes a strong connection with Millennials because it is written by them. The credit union hired a part-time editor, a Millennial who came aboard from a local college newspaper, who finds the writers and works with them to determine stories.
simple And Clean
“We pay writers about $30 a story, and they also get their name in print and the experience,” said Anderson. “We also use our team of writers when we have community events targeted at Millennials. We ask them if they want to represent Listerhill.”
Between 8,000-10,000 copies of SET are printed each month, costing about $6,000 for total monthly production, which includes paying the agency—Weir/Stewart, Augusta, Ga.—that designed SET a retainer. SET is promoted on the credit union’s website.
Anderson said Listerhill chose the name SET because it was “simple and clean. It can mean getting set for the next part of your life, and it also connects with the large music community here—a music set.”
