The site is design to launch a competition amongst student teams, to answer this question.

How will today’s teens influence the financial services industry in Canada?  Describe an innovation, idea or concept that financial services should consider in light of this.

Some of the challenges they suggest can be addressed in the presentation entry, are as follows:

Trends – What defines today’s teens?  Consider impact and/or use of technology, social networks, loyalty and trust, globalization, demographics, education, urbanization, cultural diversity, etc.

Customers – As today’s teens progress through various life stages, what influence will they have on their own demographic as well as other demographics?

Competition – How will teen attitudes and needs affect the competitive landscape for financial services? Can existing institutions adapt to serve this group, or will non-traditional competitors make inroads? What would this look like?

Partnership – Can financial institutions fully satisfy the needs of today’s teens on their own, or will they have to explore partnerships in order to address shortcomings or bolster offerings?

Products – How will today’s teens influence the products and services offered by financial institutions? Is product innovation still possible in banking, investments and insurance? Do service improvements offer more potential?

Pricing – How will today’s teens influence the pricing of financial services? Will price competition become more important? Will institutions adopt innovative new pricing models as a form of differentiation?

Advertising – What vehicles will financial institutions need to use in order to promote their services to today’s teens? What types of messages will most effectively communicate the value of their services to this audience?

Marketplaces – Where will today’s teens go in pursuit of financial services? How do institutions maintain a physical distribution network, along with a meaningful presence online? What is the optimal channel mix?

Risk – What are the risks or challenges associated with providing financial services to today’s teens? What is at stake if financial institutions make the wrong assumptions about this market? What can be done to mitigate the risk?

Identity – As far as teens are concerned, what should the role of financial institutions be? Should they be processors, advisors, intermediaries, aggregators, risk managers, a combination of these or something else?

The competition is open to teams of students, who must be attending a University or College in Canada.  There will be a blog to discuss the competition coming out in November.

Relevance to Bankwatch:

The opportunity to develop Bank social network sites are only limited by Banks imaginations and courage.  The common thread is consumer engagement, and openness in how it is implemented online. to encourage discourse.

tags: banks+social+networks