MARLBOROUGH, Mass.–The Cooperative Credit Union Association said it has reached an agreement with the Financial Exchange Radio Network to take ownership of 60 minutes of radio airtime each month.
The Financial Exchange is heard onnumerous iHeart Radio stations throughout New England; the CCUA represents CUs in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Delaware.
According to the CCUA, the hour-long program, Credit Union Roundtable, will air on those select iHeart stations the last Sunday of every month and will feature interviews and discussions related to the initiatives of CCUA’s member credit unions. Topics will range from financial literacy to elder financial exploitation to talk of credit union values and the many ways credit unions give back to the community. The series begins this month and is booked for a one-year run, the CCUA said.
The program’s video and audio interviews will be recorded each month at the Financial Exchange studios in Needham, Mass. The CCUA said Credit Union Roundtable is expected to reach far beyond radio airwaves by also adopting YouTube and other social media platforms as its delivery channels.
Creating a ‘Network’
“In essence we are creating the Better Values – Better Banking Media Network,” said Walt Laskos, CCUA’s SVP of Strategic Communications and host of the new consumer-focused offering, in a statement. “Credit Union Roundtable will give our member credit unions unfettered access each month to a wide range of consumer media touchpoints, from the radio airwaves of iHeart stations to the Internet and a variety of social media channels where our message can potentially reach a global audience.”
In markets such as Delaware and the Berkshires of Massachusetts where there are no stations currently carrying the Financial Exchange radio program, the CCUA said it has negotiated placement of a podcast version of Credit Union Roundtable on local stations WDEL in Wilmington, WXDE in Dover, and in the Berkshires, WBEC. Each station will also carry commercials throughout the month promoting the podcast on its website, the organization said.
Other Media to be Deployed
“While podcast versions of Credit Union Roundtable will also be posted to YouTube, the Better Values – Better Banking website and the iHeart Radio app, mini-segments of the program will find their way onto Facebook and Linkedin,” the CCUA said, adding it will also be encouraging its member credit unions to help promote the program through their own websites and social media postings as well.
CCUA said it plans to share promotional collateral for the program with its members in the next several weeks.
“This is ‘our’ credit union program,” Laskos added. “We own it and as such we are free to discuss all the topics and issues we hold close to our heart as credit unions.”
The association said it will leverage the Communications Advisory Committees it recently formed in each state as a resource to determine topics and interview guests for each month’s show.
Credit Union Roundtable is set to make its debut Oct 27.