Little Big Town has changed. And it shows in their new album, “Tornado.”

The country crooners, Jimi Westbrook, Karen Fairchild, Phillip Sweet and Kimberly Schlapman, are famous for perfectly pitched four-part harmonies, often taking turns singing lead vocals. Their new album reflects the bluegrass roots of their past work and brings in a darker, more emotional sound. “Tornado”’s goose bump-inducing harmonies, sweet southern honesty and hard-hitting lyrics meld together in a sweet promise that has every country music die-hard hitting repeat.

The album’s single, “Pontoon,” is the band’s first No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs Chart. The song’s one-of-a kind mandolin melody and laidback twang have everyone picturing him- or herself enjoying a summer day floating on the lake. It gave listeners a taste of something new and a quench only the album could fill.

“Your Side of the Bed” showcases the band’s new sound. The emotional ballad’s chilling harmony and wistful lyrics: “Tell me how, how’d you get so far away. All we have left are the memories of the love we made,” make it anything but the typical love-gone-wrong song. The lyrics’ haunting regret sticks with you long after the song fades away. The title track “Tornado” is a mellow equivalent to Carrie Underwood’s chart topper “Blown Away.” Threatening lyrics: “I’m a tornado, looking for a man to break,” cymbals like a whip slashing through the air, and Fairchild’s fierce voice would send any man packing.

The eclectic mix of deep emotion and playfulness in “Tornado” make it Little Big Town’s best work yet — an album not to be missed. They’ve proven that change is good.

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Feature Article

This is a blog post I wrote as a Marketing and Communications Intern at The Members Group.  It was published on the extranet website, TMG NOW, on March 7, 2012.

TMG Prepaid Update – Introducing Our Retail Payments Team & Product Enhancements

March 7, 2012

Over the past year, TMG has made some enhancements to our prepaid program in order to better serve you.

By creating a Retail Payments Team, a new client-service department, TMG is fully-staffed with qualified prepaid experts standing ready to help our FI partners run successful, profitable prepaid programs – from implementation to portfolio growth to prepaid cardholder service. Click here to meet the TMG Retail Payments Team (pdf).

Additionally, we’ve made great efforts to make prepaid more accessible and easier to get into the hands of your members. Here are the many enhanced benefits and features we’ve made to our prepaid product suite in 2011:

• Coopera Card – instant-issue available
• Instant-issue ATIRAreload cards
• Complimentary bulk loads to any of the prepaid cards
• Updated marketing materials
• Available prepaid sales training for your staff
• Email us to learn more.

With our robust prepaid solutions, TMG is the right partner for your FI’s prepaid needs. If you aren’t currently offering prepaid or are looking for a different solution, contact Konrad Christensen our retail payments product manager at konradc@themembersgroup.com or 800.268.1884 ext. 5205.

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March 6, 2012

Upgrades for Springboard go in to effect this week. The changes will be put in to place on March 7 and will be available for clients to access on March 8.

After the changes are implemented TMG clients who log in to Springboard will receive an upgraded and enhanced user experience. Springboard has been redesigned to provide user-friendly navigation and menu options to better meet your needs. The enhancements to Springboard will enable TMG to accommodate a variety of processing platforms and applications, and help create an even better foundation for serving your future needs.

New Features and Benefits:

• Easy navigation helps you quickly find and access information and functionality.
• Menu options are reorganized for fast and efficient navigation.
• Springboard now offers one point-of-entry for multiple applications (Account Management, MyPhotoCard, MyCardInfo, etc.), allowing administrators to also manage settings by application.
  • QuickLinks connect you to related applications within Springboard with similar functionality.
  • Universal breadcrumb feature lets you see at-a-glance the application you are using and the page you are on.
    • Redesigned user interface and styling provides a modern and visually appealing presentation.

What is not changing?

• Existing features will remain the same for the account management functionality. All current offerings will continue to be supported.
• Role-based, application-wide security settings.

TMG strives to make things easier for our clients. We want to create great experiences for you and the consumers you serve.

Miss the Webinar Sessions?
In case you missed one of webinar sessions we offered last week to review the Springboard redesign, or want to view it again, click here to access a recording.

Updated documentation will also be available on TMG Academy.

Data Retention Changes Talking Points­­

On April 1, 2012, TMG will enforce a new data retention policy.

• ClearTrend Data Warehouse data will be retained for data 36 months.
• Monthly-level dynamic reports and source data will be retained for 24 months
• Daily-level dynamic reports and source data will be retained data 13 months.

Why TMG is changing their data retention policy/ How it will benefit TMG clients

• To comply with Payment Card Industry (PCI) and Service Organization Control (SOC) 1 Audits
• To keep down client costs
• To help ensure faster customer service when clients request data
• To help protect client data by purging it from the system after a set expiration date

TMG’s current policy

• TMG currently keeps data for as long as possible until it becomes unmanageable to support and backup.
• TMG has reports with 2-8 years worth of data.

Accessing data before and after the policy changes

• TMG clients can access data before April 1, 2012, through a one-time billable process.
• As of right now, TMG is not planning to implement an archiving solution in order to refrain from increasing clients’ charges.

Click here to view the survey

Member Education for Fraud Prevention Best Practices

At TMG, we understand the importance of having your cardholders and members taking the necessary steps to act as your first line of defense in preventing fraud. In this document, we share some simple tips to share and provide to your members to decrease their chances of becoming a victim of identity theft in every life. This document also includes a call to action for those who believe their identity has been stolen or they are a victim of fraud.

Prevention

Inserts and takeaways – provide tips for preventing fraud in the following areas:

• Online use
• Cell Phones
• Travel
• Steps to take including who to contact at your FI if they feel they are a victim of fraud

General Messages and Actions to Promote

• Monitor cards and statements frequently
• Report missing cards or suspicious transactions to the financial institution
• Shred all financial documents when discarding
• Never give out personal information

Online Practices

• Use strong passwords, including numbers, letters and symbols
• Do not include personal information  in passwords
• Change passwords often
• Do not share username or password with others
• Do not list personal information on social media websites
• Never save login information on a public computer
• Install and/or update virus protection on personal computer(s)
• Only download files from trustworthy websites and refrain from file-sharing
• Use the spam filter on email to separate junk mail out of inboxes
• Do not open or respond to suspicious emails or are from unknown senders
• Sign up for email/text transaction alerts from keep track of purchases

Mobile Phone

• Do not save login information on mobile devices
• Enable the privacy feature so that it locks when not in use
• Do not give out personal information, such as card numbers, over the phone
• Only reply to texts or messages from people who are known and trusted
• Always exit mobile banking apps when done using them
• Download apps that have high ratings or are from  trusted sources

Travel

• Notify your card issuer of travel dates – prior to traveling
• Keep cards in a safe location at all times while traveling
• Have the Post Office hold mail while traveling
• Do not announce trips on social media websites
• Avoid public Wi-Fi when completing transactions
• Save all receipts from trip sand double-check them against bank statements

Fraud Recovery

Steps to take when someone’s identity has been stolen

• Place a fraud alert on credit files by calling one of the Credit Reporting Agencies: Equifax, Experian or TransUnion
• Report any stolen credit or debit cards and obtain new cards, account numbers and passwords
• Contact financial institution about stolen checks or to close fraudulent accounts
• Get a copy of credit reports and look over them, making note of any suspicious activities
• Change all of passwords. Include numbers and symbols to make strong passwords, and do not save passwords on computer or mobile device.

MyCardInfo is a tool for your cardholder customers allowing them to access their credit card information online at their own convenience. The easy-to-use service puts the information they need right at their fingertips and lets them access details of their credit card usage in near real-time. This guide contains some best practices for reaching out to your cardholders and promoting MyCardInfo.

This guide contains the following areas of information:

• MyCardInfo Promotional Features
•  MyCardInfo Promotional Messaging
• Frequently Asked Questions

MyCardInfo Promotional Features

Below are a few of the features about MyCardInfo to promote to your cardholders.

• Ability to check current balance information, including credit limit and credit usage
• Make payments on balance either automatically or on a per-transaction basis
• View past payments made on account
• Review at least three months of statement history
• Request to receive e-statements instead of paper statements
• Receive transaction alerts by either email and/or text for selected activities
• Transfer a balance from another lender to your financial institution’s credit card
• Download transactions to Personal Financial Management Software

Promotional Messaging

Consistent messaging is a strategic way to encourage cardholders to use MyCardInfo. Therefore, we have provided some sample messages of different lengths to help your FI promote MyCardInfo to your customers.

These sample messages can be easily integrated into a variety of marketing materials such as:

• Account statements
• Website articles
• Online/Website advertising
• Member and employee newsletters
• Direct mail inserts
• On-hold messages
• In-store advertising

Several messaging options of varying length and target audience are provided for flexibility. Select the option that best fits your communication objectives and space requirements.

Sample Customer Messages

Under 20 words

• Easily gain access to your credit card information online in real-time with MyCardInfo.

• MyCardInfo ensures you’ll never be out of touch with your credit card information again.

• Want to look through past credit card statements? E-statements on MyCardInfo make this normally overwhelming task almost effortless.

• Can’t remember what your current credit card balance is? Quickly check it at your convenience using MyCardInfo.

• Wish you could transfer all outstanding balances owed onto one convenient card? Now you can, with balance transfer on MyCardInfo.

• Making credit card payments just became effortless. Choose automatic payments on MyCardInfo and stop worrying about late or missed payments.

• Accurate decisions require accurate data. MyCardInfo updates your credit card account information in real-time for those real-life purchases you’re making.

Under 60 words

Keep up-to-date on all your important credit card information

MyCardInfo allows you to conveniently access your credit card information online, enabling you to check your current balance information, statement history, current activity and last payment made. You are also able to pay your credit card bill or ask questions regarding your account. It’s free for cardholders and simple to enroll.

Under 200 words

Sign up for MyCardInfo today and stay informed about your credit card account when it’s convenient for you.

After enrolling your credit card on MyCardInfo, you will be able to access a variety of tools designed to make your account information quick and easy to access anytime.

Once logged in using Single Sign-On, the account overview page will display your credit limit and available credit, current balance, pending charges, last statement balance and payment information.

Signing up for E-statements provides you with the ability to access an electronic version of your credit card statement while extended statement history allows views of up to 12 months of statement history.

Making your credit card payments online is particularly convenient. MyCardInfo has the option of making either a one-time payment for a specified amount or automatic payments that will pull an indicated amount of funds from your account at the end of your statement period.

Be aware of your current card activities by requesting transaction alerts. This option allows you to receive a text message and/or email that contain transaction information when certain transaction criteria, determined by you, are met.

All these tools, available in one place, make staying up-to-date with your credit card account safe, easy and convenient.

Sample Employee Message 

Promote MyCardInfo to Cardholders

Offer your cardholders more tools to keep track of their credit card account with MyCardInfo.  Cardholders can conveniently access statements, current balance information, payment history and even sign-up to receive e-statements or transaction alerts.

MyCardInfo can be accessed from almost anywhere either online or through mobile banking.  This ensuresing cardholders can be up-to-date on their account information whenever they need it. Having this information at hand gives cardholders more confidence when making a big purchase because they are aware of all essential information.

To learn more about MyCardInfo, ask your manager for details.

Give cardholders the information they need, when it’s convenient for them.

MyCardInfo allows cardholders to access their credit card account information on their own time, whenever that might be. If a cardholder needs to check their balance at midnight to make an online purchase, they can easily look without having to worry about calling in. When a cardholder needs to pay off their balance in order to make a large purchase, this is easily completed using MyCardInfo. Should a cardholder need to view a past statement, they can do so on their computer without having to search for old paper statements.

MyCardInfo is the epitome of cardholder convenience because all card information can be found in one easy-to-use place. The cardholders are in control of what features they do or do not want, such as e-statements, automatic payments or consolidated balances. This ensures they have access to everything they would want to know regarding their credit card.

To learn more about MyCardInfo, ask your manager for details.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does MyCardInfo cost anything to use?

No, MyCardInfo is a free service offered for your convenience.

Do I need to have a different username and password for MyCardInfo than I use for my home-banking site?

No, Single Sign-On allows you to use the same username and password as you do for your home-banking website.

Once I sign up for e-statements, can I go back to receiving paper statements if I change my mind?

Absolutely, un-enrolling in e-statements just requires the click of a button in MyCardInfo.

What is the difference between automatic payments and one-time payments?

Automatic payments are applied to your remaining balance automatically, at the end of your statement cycle. You can choose from several different payment options:

• Pay a specific amount each month
• Pay minimum payment amount
• Pay balance or minimum payment amount
• Pay balance

The cardholder manually inputs one-time payments for a specified amount on a requested date.

Can I cancel or edit a payment after submitting it?

Yes, as long as the payment has not been processed or posted to your account, you can change or cancel the requested payment.

Emily Zach is frustrated.  She’s had a lonely day stuck in her office.  Her eyes burn from staring at a computer screen for hours, and her boss doesn’t pay her enough.  At last, she finishes up for the day.

At the end of a workday, most women kick off their heels and relax.  Not Emily.

An attorney, entrepreneur, exercise fiend and mother, she trades one pair of shoes for another.

An Enforcement Attorney, Emily spends her days preparing cases against insurance agents and companies to go before judges.  “I try to put them out of business,” she says.

Although she’s spent six and a half years protecting the public from substandard insurance agencies, she doesn’t love it.

Emily wanted more out of life but wasn’t sure how to go about it.  A single-mother at 18, she had originally gone to law school to provide for her now 13-year-old son.

She gave birth to a baby boy during winter break of her freshman year of college.  She had planned to give him up for adoption and continue her education.  “I had parents picked and everything,” she says, but her priorities changed.

“When he was born, he looked just like me,” she says.  Suddenly unable to give him up, Emily decided to keep Luke and enroll as a student at Coe College.  She moved back home with her parents while juggling the responsibilities of a single mother and student.

Upon graduation, Emily set her sights on law school.  She graduated from the University of Iowa, passed the Bar Exam in 2005 and moved to Des Moines.

It didn’t take long before she realized being a lawyer wasn’t the right fit for her.

After complaining to her boyfriend, Drew, multiple times, he gave her life-changing advice. ‘Do something about it.’  Taking it to heart, she reflected and journaled about her passions and what she wanted to do.  She realized she enjoyed thrifting, going to garage sales and having relationships with people.

Emily decided to open a vintage clothing boutique based on a store in Iowa City she particularly liked while in law school.   “I called up the owner and spent a day picking her brain,” she says.  Emily came back to Des Moines inspired to succeed.

Emily opened Francy Pants in the Drake Neighborhood in June 2011.  Having a taste for style, she purchases vintage and unique pieces for her shop.

She loves vintage but doesn’t wear much of it.  “A lot of vintage clothes are smaller than I am,” she says.  Instead, she tastefully incorporates signature pieces, such as earrings or a broach, into her wardrobe.  This fits in perfectly with the conservative clothing requirements of a lawyer.

Although she claims to not wear stylish clothing, Emily fits right in at Francy Pants.  Wearing a flowing black tunic with white polka dots and black tights, she resembles fashion icon Twiggy.

With a mixture of jewelry, shoes, accessories and clothing, either old or new, Emily strives to appeal to every woman.  Genuine Frye boots, sequined TOMS shoes and handmade Iowa necklaces are displayed on shelves along with patterned scarves and cute cardigans.

Her friend, Chelsea Pickett, describes the store as “an entryway for someone that wants to experiment with style but not spend a fortune.”

Emily is that entryway.  She’s the best friend every girl wants to have shopping with her.  Encouraging customers to try things on and gossiping about the latest trends, she forms personal relationships with people.

Talking to people is a major reason why she loves Francy Pants so much more than her other job.  Working at the boutique, she’s a different person.  Greeting customers with a smile and building friendships, Emily feels at home.  She’s in her element when juggling pricing new items, greeting customers, advising friends on what unique dress to try next and re-organizing displays of locally made jewelry.

Although Emily is a pro at multitasking, long days of work coupled with teaching classes at her gym and her son’s cross country meets make for an exhausting schedule.  An avid cyclist and tri-athlete, she trains as much as she can squeeze in.

While many would balk at Emily’s hectic routine, she says she gets through it by following the mantra, ‘God never gave you more than you can handle.’  This saying keeps her grateful for all the blessings in her life, including the success of Francy Pants.

Emily hopes one day to be able to quit her job as a lawyer and work at the boutique fulltime.  “I don’t want to have to sit by a computer all day,” she says.

Until then, Zach plans to continue to grow Francy Pants.  Supportive family and an optimistic attitude help her stay balanced as she goes through her days switching from heels to tennis shoes to vintage orange heels.