The global and local nature of the web never ceases to amaze me. While reading a post from Jeremiah Owyang (a Forrester senior analyst specializing in social media) reporting on the Groundswell awards, I took a second look when I came across one of the winners – a social application from Alberta! They won in the ‘Talking’ category. Here’s what Groundswell has to say about Young & Free Alberta . . .

Young & Free Alberta by Common Wealth Credit Union. A credit union in Alberta started a campaign to generate more young customers. They conducted a contest to find a young spokesperson, who then used a blog, YouTube, and Facebook to connect with other young people in Alberta. Result: 2 million impressions, 2,300 new accounts, and $4 million Canadian in new deposits.

You can find more about Young & Free Alberta here.

It’s great to see that the folks at Common Wealth Credit Union are reaching out to the younger generation in a way that is meaningful to them. From looking at the numbers – it looks like it’s working too! Here’s who put together the program for them – Currency Marketing, a Canadian company out of Chilliwack, British Columbia.

Just to think I travelled all the way around the world to find great things going on right here at home.

Dean