Credit unions across Canada and the United States are struggling with the consequences of an aging membership base. Attracting the next generation of members is therefore a top priority. Meanwhile, millennials (that next generation of credit union members) are overconfident and underprepared when it comes to money management.

Currency Marketing initially hired me to deliver a minimum viable product based on the growing need for original shareable financial education content. I set out to help credit unions attract and foster new relationships while closing the financial literacy gap with accessible and entertaining personal finance materials for young adults.

The timeline for my proof of concept was 6 weeks.

To better understand user need, Currency Marketing conducted interviews with credit union employees and reviewed research about trends in young adult financial education. I used these findings as a starting point to inform key design decisions that would help the resulting product appeal to young adults as well as credit union stakeholders.

The logistics of juggling both content strategy and artistic production presented their own unique challenges. In addition to meeting Currency Marketing’s product design goals, I needed to ensure that my proof of concept could scale in a way that would:

Two key elements shaped my initial proof of concept:

A modular system of learning materials embraced the topics-based approach recommended by research. Concise, bite-sized lessons captured short attention spans and provided client-facilitators with the flexibility to mix and match content to meet their individual needs.

From a production standpoint, modular materials enabled the team to get It’s a Money Thing® (the product) to market quickly. Launching with only a few topics to start meant that the team could incorporate user feedback early into the design process and refine the product with each subsequent topic release.

Animation and humour set the tone for It’s a Money Thing and helped it stand out from the typically (and tragically) dry materials offered by large financial institutions. By choosing storytelling over lecturing, It’s a Money Thing could tackle personal finance topics in an engaging and non-judgmental way. The use of character and colour also helped credit union clients recognize the program as something new and completely original.

After launch, the program averaged a 49% increase in active subscribers year to year and grew to become Currency Marketing’s main selling product. During my time working on It’s a Money Thing, I transitioned from an individual contributor to Creative Director and lead the design on product extensions and iterations.