Can you believe it’s almost the new year? That means it’s time to create a bold marketing plan to stand out from your competitors! Our team recently presented a webinar where we shared smart strategies, discussed the importance of timely marketing and gave examples of successful campaigns.
If you didn’t attend, you can watch the recorded webinar here. You can also request the planning resources we discussed in the webinar here. Read on to learn about the highlights of the webinar!
Past, Present and Future
2024, like many years, had challenges and advantages. While the economy wasn’t too bad, there were increased unemployment numbers and
interest rates, which made selling loans a lot harder. However, the advantage was that high interest rates on deposits made it easier to create attractive deposit campaigns.
Looking forward to 2025, the Fed dropping rates brings a lot of possible changes. The most obvious challenge is lower deposit rates. Without those high-yield rates, accountholders may be tempted to join a different financial institution. However, since interest rates for loans have also gone down, any mortgages, auto loans, high-rate credit cards or personal loans opened in the last couple of years are going to be looking for lower rates.
Planning the Menu
Project Manager Megan Baierl walked through “planning the menu” for your 2025 marketing calendar. When you're planning a menu for, say, a dinner party, you want to offer seasonal ingredients, and you want the meal to feel cohesive and memorable. The same applies to your marketing goals.
It’s easiest to remember broader topics – like accountholder recruitment, loan generation and deposit accounts – and curate them seasonally. For example, home equity loan campaigns usually run in the spring, because that’s when people are preparing for summer renovations. You can request our cheat sheet on what to market and when here.
Accountholder Recruitment
People pick banks and credit unions for all kinds of reasons – convenience, loan rates, deposit rates, no fees. But there’s one thing that can help lead to long-term commitment: your brand identity resonating with consumers. While the topic itself won’t change much seasonally, it's good to refresh the creative.
Copywriter Shelby Moyer gave advice for the creative. The core feeling of your brand awareness campaigns should be consistent and you can freshen it up with new copywriting and images that reinforce your branding. Capitalize on your history and dedication to your community through storytelling. If you watch the webinar, you can take a look at a couple of successful brand awareness campaigns.
Loan Generation
Loan generation is the most seasonal topic and benefits from capturing what’s happening right now. National Account Manager Liz Miles covered a great tool to reach prospects: SmartTrack. This program allows us to upload a list of your current accountholders and tell you exactly which ones are actively shopping for auto loans, mortgages, home equity loans, personal loans and credit cards – which gives you the opportunity to reach out and gain their business before a competitor does.
View our SmartTrack example from Members Exchange Federal Credit Union.
Deposit Accounts
Marketing deposit accounts is unique as the campaigns need to capture the excitement of what could be. Put the focus on the future – like someone growing their personal wealth or how life will get easier with the convenience and advancements of digital banking. Because deposit accounts are so focused on what is possible, there’s a lot of fun you can have creatively. Entice people with surrealism, bold fonts and colors or by using extra visual cues like charts or illustrations to showcase how much someone can grow their savings.
Check out the campaign we created for Citizens National Bank.
Well-Balanced Marketing Plan
To end our food analogies, remember the best type of marketing plan is a well-balanced one. Just like a great meal, split your efforts between providing education, general awareness, positive customer service experiences and promotions. This balanced approach will help you develop trust, which should lead to a long relationship. Want to view our recipes for success? Request our 2025 marketing guide!
Want to Learn More?
We covered a lot of hot topics during our webinar, including ways we can help you a create yearly or quarterly marketing plan. Get in touch with us at info@imageworksdirect.com if you’d like assistance with any upcoming projects or your 2025 planning. Because we work with financial institutions all over the country, we have a unique perspective on what works well.