On Wednesday, February 13, the Federal Reserve hosted its annual Financial Awareness Video Festival. The competition called on college students to create a 30 second video advertisement which promotes making responsible financial choices, and warns against reckless spending and neglecting bill payments. Every year, the videos are judged based on accuracy, originality, level of appeal to target audience, and whether or not it will influence responsible financial behavior. This year, 41 videos were submitted from schools around the tri-state area, including Baruch College.
A new social media component was recently introduced into the competition in order to filter out the ten finalists. A total of 4,000 Facebook voters not only determined the finalists, but helped spread word about the competition – a clever marketing strategy for the Fed’s video competition. However, the winners were ultimately decided by a panel of celebrity judges who conducted live judging during last week’s even at the Federal Reserve Building downtown. Among the judges were personal finance expert Suze Orman, Tribeca Film Institute’s Jose Rodriguez, and actor Ashley Springer from the upcoming movie Wolf of Wall Street. CNBC’s Steve Liesman hosted the event.
The judges were asked to rate each video on a scale of 1 to 10 based on the four criteria. Orman’s critiques naturally placed heavy emphasis on financial accuracy, as she attempted to counteract the credit score fallacies that most of the videos seemed to promote. The videos that received some of her lowest ratings were the ones that insinuated that credit cards cause poverty, or advertised the notion that a good credit score leads to extravagant cars and homes. She explained to the audience of college students that buying on credit is not the issue, but neglecting payments are. Orman favored the videos that promoted responsible spending instead of negative outcomes. Liesman added that studies have shown that positive signs rather than negative warnings are more effective in influencing people. Although a 10 from Orman was a rarity, one particular video entitled Addictive Credit Cards made an impression on the financial advisor. The 30-second video showed a young man walking into a dimly lit room setting and lighting up a credit card to smoke it as if it were a joint. “It doesn’t have to be a drug to be addictive,” it read. Orman called out to the three video producers in the audience: “…and even if it doesn’t win, I’d like to air it on my show…if it’s okay with my executive producer.” A wave of ooh’s swept across the audience, and then applause.
While Orman dominated the accuracy department, Springer and Rodriguez seemed more impressed by videos with solid storylines, top-notch editing, and target audience appeal. Their lower ratings were given to the videos with poor video quality and overall message.
After receiving the tallied scores, Steve Liesman hurried to the mic: “The competition doesn’t get more dramatic than this…it looks like we have a tie for first place.” New York Fed President Dudley broke the tie by casting his vote for Repair Your Credit, Repair Your Life, by Estela Melendez, Bryon Guinanzaca and Christian Guinanzaca from Laguardia Community College. The video will air in select NYC movie theaters, which has a $6,000 value, according to the Federal Reserve’s website. In addition, the students received a check for $2,500 and a tour of the gold vault. Track by St. Johns students Stefan Bojic and Gabriela Machado Brigagao came in second place, followed by It’s Up to Me by Ron Hatcher, Javier Herrera and Anthony Marc Cruz from New York City Tech in third.
The 1st place video featured a young man on a black background: “Thinking twice before you swipe is really good advice because sometimes paying for your mistakes takes sacrifices.” Ashley Springer believed this was the most personable of the videos; it received fairly high ratings from all the judges. They believed it would promote financial behavior among young adults because the video offered a solution: “I came up with a plan. I only bought the necessary stuff…but it’s worth it in the end, because new doors open up, and new opportunities come along.” The actor walks into a car, and drives off into the distance
When asked about the inspiration for the video, the winners stated that Repair Your Credit, Repair Your Life was the sequel to their video, Think Twice Before You Swipe, which had also won first place in the 2010 competition.
The festival closed with a final comment on poverty in the United States, made by Suze Orman: “There are highways into poverty in this country, and not even a sidewalk out.”
See the winning videos and finalists by going to: http://www.newyorkfed.org/videocompetition/#popoutvideo/22/
Baruch finance student and finalist Stephen Benner posing with financial advisor Suze Orman
