HAMPDEN – The incoming class of Maine Business School graduate students spent Thursday teaching the Maine Savings Federal Credit Union how to be cool.

As part of their intensive MBA Residency Week at the University of Maine, the 34 students acted as consultants to the credit union, offering the institution solutions to a nagging problem: attracting younger customers.

“You have to advertise all over [the UMaine] campus and get students with different interests,” said Kris Sgambato, a 24-year-old MBA student from Cheshire, Conn. Sgambato and his team of four other students gave a 15-minute presentation to the credit union’s top executives Thursday afternoon.

The executives hoped the students, most of whom were in their 20s, could give them some insightful strategies for advertising the credit union’s products and services to people aged 18 to 34. In turn, Maine Business School Dean John Mahon said it was a great exercise in banking, marketing, public speaking and teamwork.

“None of these students are expert bankers,” Mahon said. “This is an opportunity for the University of Maine to do something for the community.”

Tony Emerson, vice president of finance, accounting and operations at the credit union, presented the students in the morning with a written description of the problem at hand, as well as the bank’s history, customer demographics and current marketing strategy. Later that afternoon, he noted that 87 percent of depositors at Maine Savings Federal Credit Union are over the age of 44.

“We have an aging customer base,” Emerson said. “And I’m 40, and I’m the youngest person on the executive team.”

The students, dressed almost uniformly in dark suits, took their daylong task seriously. They ranged in age from 22 to 50-something and have come to Maine from around the United States, Germany, China, Lebanon and Russia.

After spending the morning brainstorming ideas in small groups, the 11 women and 23 men prepared 10 PowerPoint slides and rehearsed their afternoon presentations.

Most students suggested the credit union advertise itself on social networking Web sites such as MySpace.com or Facebook.com. The first group suggested ATM cards be manufactured in a hip, wavy shape, and the second group said customers ought to be able to design their own ATM cards.

Several groups divided up the 18- to 34-year-old demographic into at least two groups, explaining that young people ages 18 to 25 spend money very differently from people ages 25 to 34, who often own homes and have full-time jobs. The students encouraged the credit union to promote its checking accounts at UMaine sporting events and at the Maine Center for the Arts.

After each presentation, the group fielded questions from several of the bank’s executives. A panel of professors in the back of the conference room acted as judges, cutting student speakers off if they went over the allotted 15 minutes.

“I’ve got to stop shaking,” said Krystle Reilly, a 24-year-old MBA student from Damariscotta, after her group finished.

Liliya Fisher, 26 and originally from Russia, said the day’s exercise was good for developing problem-solving skills. Stefan Porst, 25, of Germany said he enjoyed meeting and speaking to a CEO.

And the CEO himself, John Reed, said he learned a few things about advertising online.

“We’ve got to be more cool than we are now,” Reed said.