(-)Thank you all so much for joining us today
to learn more about the ABA Bank Marketing School.
My name is Lauren Schlenker
and I am with the American Bankers Association.
I am the program manager on the Bank Marketing School.
I do wanna start off by letting you all know
that we are going to be recording
today's information session
and we will be sending out a copy of the recording
after the call ends,
so just wanted to let you all know that upfront.
But again, thank you so much
for taking the time to be with us today,
we are really looking forward to providing you
with more information around BMS.
So ABA is committed to providing
top-notch professional development opportunities
for the banking industry
and the Bank Marketing School definitely delivers on that.
We'd like to say that our programs
are by bankers for bankers
and the Bank Marketing School was developed
by an amazing advisory board
that is comprised of your bank marketing peers
who understand the daily challenges
that you're going through
and what it takes to be successful in bank marketing.
So today you're gonna get to hear
from some of those advisory board members
who have been instrumental
in developing the 2025 content and school experience.
So today I just wanna give you all kind of an overview
of what we're going to be talking about today.
So we're gonna be go starting with a high level overview
of the 2025 bank market.
(-)Lauren, you're muted.
(-)Oh, sorry, can you all hear me?
(Participant 1)Yeah.
(-)Okay, perfect, so I'll start
at the beginning of this slide.
So I just want to give you all an overview
of everything that we're going to be talking about
during the information session today.
So we'll start off with a high level overview
of what the 2025 Bank Marketing School curriculum
and schedule looks like
and what the in-person experience is going to look like.
We'll talk about the benefits
of attending the Bank Marketing School
and then we'll discuss
the certified financial marketing professional
or a CFMP certification that ties into the school.
So this is going to be a high overview of the school
and I encourage you to ask any questions
that you have throughout in the chat.
We do have ABA staff monitoring the chat,
if you have any questions that you think of,
please feel free to put those in there
and we will address those as they come through.
But we are also going to leave a few minutes
at the end for questions.
So with that, I'd like to go ahead
and introduce our advisory board members
who are going to be speaking today.
So we have Liz Nagy,
who is our Advisory Board Chair this year.
She is the Vice President, Director of Sales and Marketing
and Digital Banking at the Honesdale National Bank.
We have Theresa Wendhausen, CFMP faculty member.
She teaches our PR and communications course
as well as is an advisory board member.
She's the Vice President,
Branding and Communications Manager
at First National Bank and Trust Company.
Tim Girard, CFMP, he is a 2024 graduate
and he is our Bank Marketing School
student representative this year.
He is the marketing research and analytics officer
at BayCoast Bank.
And then we have Mickey Belle Shields-Manley, CFMP.
She's a 2023 graduate and is on the advisory board as well
and she's the Assistant Vice President,
Director of Marketing at CF Bank.
And then on the ABA side today we have myself,
like I said, I oversee the Bank Marketing School
and then additionally our bank marketing conference.
We have my colleagues, John Capotosto,
who is our Vice President of Programs,
Mark Greenhaw, Senior Director of Marketing Strategy,
and then Mark DeBaugh and Gauri Sharma
who are on the certifications team.
So they'll be talking to you a little bit later on
more about the CFMP.
So with that, I would like to go ahead
and pass the floor over to Theresa Wendhausen
to kick things off.
(-)Awesome, thank you so much Lauren, hi everyone.
As Lauren said, I am Theresa Wendhausen
and I'm the Branding and Communications Manager
at First National Bank and Trust Company
out of Beloit, Wisconsin.
Not to be confused
with one of the other 260 other first nationals out there,
but I'm the one in Beloit, Wisconsin.
So I am a graduate of the ABA Bank Marketing school
as well as the Stonier Graduate School of Banking
and I now serve on the advisory board
for the marketing school and I teach the public relations
and communications course here.
So I'm incredibly passionate
about the difference that this program makes
for individuals and their banks.
One of the most valuable takeaways
from the Bank Marketing School is understanding
the direct impact of marketing on how a bank makes money.
You'll come away with a deep understanding
of banking fundamentals,
how products, services and customer experience
are really key to revenue.
And as a marketer, you are going to gain insights
into your role in this process, helping drive growth,
and contribute to your bank's profitability.
Through this week-long immersion into the curriculum,
you're going to learn from faculty
who bring real world experience in core areas
like marketing planning, sales strategy, compliance,
and even the latest in marketing AI,
and the ROI
on attending the ABA Bank Marketing School is substantial,
you're going to leave with a set of tangible skills
and best practices that you can start implementing
right away from strategies
for attracting and retaining customers
to frameworks for marketing campaigns and brand management.
Beyond the classroom,
one of the most invaluable aspects of the program,
and personally my favorite,
is the network of like-minded professionals
that you're going to gain.
This network becomes an extension of your team
and quite frankly for me,
they've become personal friends for many, many years,
I graduated from the school two decades ago
and it's amazing how frequently, as recently as today,
I was communicating with a couple of the people
I graduated with,
so this group of colleagues
that you are going to be meeting
will be from across the country and they're all facing
the same challenges and opportunities.
They're people now that you're gonna be able to rely on
for their ideas and support, well after graduation,
so for anyone considering the Bank Marketing School,
this investment in yourself,
and for managers out there
who are considering sending somebody
from your team to the school,
this is truly an extremely valuable experience.
You're going to return with new confidence,
practical knowledge, and a support system
that is invaluable in our fast changing industry.
So I encourage you to consider this investment
into your future and the future of your bank.
So with that, I'm gonna turn it over to my good friend Liz
and she's gonna run you through the schedule.
(-)Thanks so much, Theresa.
The itinerary for the school
I'm about to walk through with you
is a roadmap of opportunity.
I am a 2015 graduate of the Bank Marketing School
and immediately went on to pursue and earn my CFMP.
I'm continuously grateful
for the role it played in my career development
and I know this year's participants
are going to feel the same.
Every aspect of ABABMS is immersive, timely, and relevant
and as such, each year the curriculum has been refined
by our industry leading faculty and advisory board.
The courses have been built to ensure
that you are gaining the foundational concepts
that enable your ability to manage your role
and resources effectively, be an active contributor
to executive leadership and bank strategies
and most importantly, set you on a path
to facilitate and respond
to the continuously changing industry landscape.
Each of the courses is a building block,
enabling you to cement knowledge
and invigorate your interest in their application.
I encourage you to work with your bank
to ensure that you are truly out of office
and focus on being an active participant
in the school experience during class time.
I know this can be a very tall order,
but I assure that you will be focused on use cases
for your financial institution and your professional growth,
so it is time extremely well spent.
So to maximize your time and participation at BMS,
your experience will begin with a few digital primers.
A virtual orientation on April 14th
will get you acquainted with some of your classmates
and provide the all you need to know
in advance of your arrival in Atlanta.
Between orientation and arrival,
we will also ask for your participation
in three prerecorded courses.
This coursework establishes many of the concepts
that will serve as guideposts throughout the school
and set you on that true trajectory.
With that, I encourage you to treat those sessions
with the same attention that you would
our in-classroom experiences.
Trust me, these faculty members will have you engrossed
and ready for school.
On Saturday, April 26th, you'll be greeted
with a warm bank marketing welcome
at the Emory Conference Center and I truly mean that.
The afternoon provides an exceptional platform
for you to unwind
and build the extended network of industry colleagues
that Theresa referenced
and these individuals will truly become lifelong friends,
brainstormers, and confidants.
Your daily learning experience
will run the length of a full workday
as we aim to mark and make the most of our time together
and provide you with as many tangible takeaways as possible.
As you review this course schedule,
know that the focus areas and content were carefully curated
and crafted by subject matter experts,
CFMPs, and bank marketing peers.
The concepts were refined to make the subjects digestible
and most importantly actionable.
These aren't lectures,
a school built by bank marketers for bank marketers,
it is an interactive learning environment
with hands-on experience that thrives on ideation
and outcomes that will send you home
with career building confidence
that you'll be able to put into practice, day one.
Throughout the week, you'll engage
with the one and only
marketing planning guru, Lance Kessler.
Lance will establish the thread
that will carry throughout your courses
and provide you with the concepts that are driving forces,
helping you and your FIs shape marketing's outcomes
and organizational value.
This also sets the stage for coursework
that surrounds our fictional bank
for which you will learn to assess,
develop strategies, and transform
throughout your freshly polished marketing skillset.
These high level strategies
will be grounded with tangible approaches
for you to structure your marketing plan
and execute measurable performance growth.
Key concepts regarding data and analytics
and bank profitability are a stable of our school,
these classes give you the backbone
to understand your bank's balance sheet
and derive profit building campaigns,
based on data and metrics that are of greatest importance
to your executive leadership.
This will give you the confidence to map marketing plans
that have collective support internally.
Likewise, one of the hardest battles
a bank marketer may fight
is providing its true revenue generation capabilities.
Our ROI sessions exceptionally demonstrate
how to measure return on your marketing efforts
and elevate the methodologies used
to deliver on the metrics most important to your CEO
and what methodologies may those be?
Being able to understand and effectively communicate
with our key stakeholders
and that's a critical component of bank marketing,
whether you are a small community bank
or one of the big three.
Our faculty illustrate the opportunities and potential
that surrounds embracing marketing
to multicultural consumers,
yielding you and your bank insights
that will diversify your strategies
for customer relationship success.
Public relations and community relations
are a significant consideration
for banks of all shapes and sizes
and these courses provide insight
into structuring programs and playbooks
that will enable your bank to be proactive and nimble
in all fields of communication.
From donation management to crisis communications,
this course will ensure your mission and strategies echo
through all of your bank's actions.
Your bank's brand is also an asset,
we don't need to tell you that twice.
Our hot off the press new brand intelligence course
will eliminate how brand permeates all aspects
of the marketing function and your institutionals growth.
And as marketers, we know that brand voice translates
into our content strategies.
BMS will be providing strong frameworks
to guide creation and deployment of content
to satisfy your target audiences interests
and preferred channels.
And when it comes to content,
AI is certainly the elephant in the room.
We are proud to be in our second year
of offering marketing AI as part of our curriculum.
As the banking industry and marketing function
continues to evolve,
this course has been even further refined
to highlight the application of the technology
that manifests itself into operational efficiencies,
creative development, and customer experience.
On the flip side,
regulatory and risk management come with the territory
with bank marketing.
Believe me when I say you will be enthralled
as we guide you on how to assess and manage risk
and advocate for marketing strategies
that will keep your institution on the straight and narrow.
We want you to forge partnerships
with your compliance officers
rather than remain enemies of the state.
Creating these bridges and partnerships, not silos,
is a critical element of bank leadership.
The art of smarketing is brought to light
whilst encouraging marketing and sales teams
to work together to identify product offers,
target markets, and create results focused campaigns
using available data and ROI measurement.
These are the synergies that become game changing
for you and your institution.
The culmination of your learning experience
is a group presentation on Friday morning,
we strongly encourage you
to build your departure travel plans
for Friday afternoon or evening
to ensure you can showcase your learning
and gain other takeaways from your peers.
And as you can see, there is every reason
that ABABMS is the premier solution
for driving your marketing division,
your FI, and your career to new heights.
Year after year, students share
that the day they return to the office,
they are already putting key learnings into practice
and setting new goals and targets for their teams.
I cannot stress enough
that this isn't a singular experience,
Bank Marketing School and the network of resources
that comes with it are an evergreen toolbox
for growth and application.
This is a defining opportunity
that will pay dividends throughout your career.
If my testament isn't enough,
at this time, I am going to introduce to you two individuals
that I am grateful to now have as friends.
These former students and advisory board members,
Tim Girard and Mickey Belle Shields-Manley
are now lifelong friends
whom will share why attending BMS is an absolute must.
(-)Thank you Liz.
Hi everyone, my name's Tim Girard,
I'm the marketing research and analytics officer
here at BayCoast Bank in Swansea, Massachusetts.
Fortunate enough to attend the Bank Marketing School in 2024
with my colleague, Caitlin,
who's actually on this call today,
so it was a very unique experience for me,
I was with a colleague,
but I want you to all keep an open mind,
when you go to this school,
you want to network, network, network.
You want to enter with an open mind,
everyone in the room, from the faculty to the students,
lives and breathes bank marketing, just like you.
So feel like you're at home,
you have college friends that you stay in touch with,
these are folks
that you'll stay in touch with moving forward,
I mean, I just spoke with Mickey Belle this morning
and I feel like we talk every day.
But take advantage
of the free prerecorded sessions that Liz mentioned,
take the time to really dig into the material
presented before school begins,
because it's really just gonna set you up
for a really strong week while you're in Atlanta,
especially the case study.
And to that point, I'm always an early bird
and believe it or not,
Mickey Belle was the first person I met
when I walked into the Emory Conference Hotel.
And you'll get to meet her very soon
and see why, she's just a wealth of knowledge,
she blossoms the room, it's just an amazing experience.
So there's just great network opportunities from day one,
you get put into groups with a ice breaking session
at the beginning of school
where you're eventually gonna be working
on a big group project with these folks
and there's breakout sessions throughout the week
where you get put into different groups
and there's opportunities
to sit at different seats when you're in the classroom
and then I would encourage you
to also plan to sit with different people
when you're having lunch, when you're having breakfast,
take those times to just get to know each other,
understand each other's challenges,
see how you can support one another and everything,
from the school to the content to the instructors,
it's second to none.
From marketing planning to PR to multicultural banking,
data and analytics, profitability,
it just gives you tools
to be able to start thinking about things
you can bring back to your bank right away.
So for an example,
the multicultural session that David Femi presented
just really hit home for both myself and Caitlin
and we were just floored when we got back to work
and we actually presented his presentation
to our DEI committee
and then we'll be presenting that same presentation
to our CRA committee in Q1.
And it's been a little bit of a slower year,
but I've developed some ROI tracking material
for different campaigns we're doing
and a lot of the information I pulled
from Lance's marketing planning sessions
I'll be putting to use,
from segmentation, to modeling some customer behaviors,
with understanding attrition rates and things like that.
So I don't wanna steal too much thunder,
Mickey Belle's got a lot to share with you,
so I'm gonna hand this over to Mickey Belle
and I look forward to seeing all of you
in April in Atlanta, thank you.
(-)Thank you so much, Tim
and thank you to everybody here that's viewing today.
I want you all to know this is the first step
in changing the trajectory of your career.
Not too long ago, I had somebody from my bank
that was actually asking me some questions
and they asked me what I felt was the launch pad
for my career.
And besides the amazing leadership and the mentors
that I've had in different phases of my life,
Bank Marketing School was instantly front of mind.
Like Tim said, the network of peers you'll gain
in both the faculty advisory board and fellow students
is truly invaluable.
As Lauren said, "The curriculum is crafted
by bankers for bankers."
So there's no dry material, everything is very current,
everything is very on trend
and I think that's a super important thing to note,
because as bank marketers, I don't know about you,
I know there's teams of every shape and size,
but I'm a team of one
and I know there's many others just like me out there
and it's so nice to sit in a room
of 80 something other individuals and be able to talk shop
and truly be able to garner new information,
share information from your own experience,
and learn together, and just become best friends,
that's truly what you gain from it, like Theresa said.
I text my friends from Bank Marketing School daily,
like Tim said, a lot of times your college friends
are the ones that stick with you the longest,
but I would argue
the ones that you may make at Bank Marketing School
will also stand the test of time with you.
I think another thing that's super important to note
is the immediate takeaways that you have
from Bank Marketing School.
This is not a sales pitch school
to where you come back to your bank
and all of a sudden
you're trying to pitch $250,0000 product to your board.
That's not the way this is,
all of the things that you will learn
are immediate takeaway, actionable items
that you can come to the floor with
when you get back to your bank
and align it with your strategic plans
and truly make a difference in your bank's bottom line
and prove the worth of marketing.
I met with somebody not too long ago
who she was trying to prove
the worth of her marketing campaign
and she was asking about calculating ROI on campaigns
and how do you justify it?
And I think something that was so notable
from a direct quote from what she said was,
"I feel like they just think I'm a cost center."
And I think all of us probably sit here
and we're like, oh my gosh,
you're preaching to the choir when you say that.
But I think it's time for us as bank marketers to lean in
and understand that we're not a cost center,
we're a revenue generator.
And through this school you learn all of that and more
and so lastly,
before I hand the call over to my CEO Charlie Cross,
who I'm super excited is on the call with me today,
is just the ROI of a robust network.
I think Charlie can attest for this too,
as far as from what he's seen from me coming back,
but so often, we discount what a network truly is
and a network is people to lean on.
It's also people to say, "Hey, we are looking into X, Y, Z.
Have you also went through this?"
Jo-Anne Marcele who teaches the ROI course,
she has been amazing for me.
We recently adopted a product
that she already had at her bank
and her whole team has hopped on calls with my whole team
to be able to make sure that we take lift off
with this new product and the way that we should
and have the most success from it.
And so, I think it's important
if you are a c-suite member on this call today
or if you are a bank marketer on this call today,
don't discount the power of a powerful network
because truly that can pay just as many dividends
and keep you out of difficult situations
through leaning in, letting your inner extrovert out,
and truly just immersing yourself in this school.
So without further ado,
I'm gonna pass it over to my CEO Charlie Cross
and he is gonna give a perspective from the CEO himself,
but a c-suite member,
of why he sent me, why he finds value in it,
and why he thinks other c-suite members should also consider
the American Bankers Association Bank Marketing School.
Thank you.
(-)Hey, thank you Mickey.
Good afternoon to everybody.
First let me start by saying
you've got a dandy there in Miss Mickey
on your advisory board, we think the world of her here
and she's doing a wonderful job,
so a little prejudice of course,
but we like the heck out of her.
But I'm Charlie Cross, I'm the CEO here at CS Bank.
We're about just shy of a $600 million institution
in the northwest corner of Arkansas,
just about eight miles short of the Missouri line,
just to give you some geography.
When Mickey asked me to say a few words today,
I was tickled to do it.
She came back invigorated, to say the least,
and full of wonderful ideas
in breaking down paradigms and different things,
but let me just tell you a little bit, short, brief, reason
why we sent Mickey.
Obviously I don't have to tell
this group and this audience this,
that marketing is more complex and a more robust sandbox
than it probably has ever been,
back when I started banking,
the comment that Mickey made a minute ago
that it was considered a cost center was very true.
It was not valued as much, it took a back burner at the bank
and things like loan portfolios, investment portfolios,
and ALCOs and all the things that you hear about in banking
were more prevalent.
And I think marketing,
with the delivery channels and the digital offerings
and the competitive landscape that we have now
is so vital to our operation.
And so by sending Mickey, we found value in her,
not only learning about these different ways
that customers are finding you now,
and again, don't have to tell the group,
preaching to the choir,
but customers are finding your institution, our institution,
in a totally different manner than they ever have
and being able to be relevant
in that world through marketing is vital
and so we recognized that
and wanted to change some paradigms
about how we thought about marketing.
Mickey as you know, from getting to know Mickey,
is full of energy and so she was raring to go.
And when we sent her,
we knew she'd come back with some great ideas.
Now, Mickey also serves on our ALCO committee,
she's on our strategic planning committee,
I would encourage you,
those that are c-suite members out there
to get your marketing director or your marketing folks
not just involved in marketing aspects,
but have them at the table,
give them a voice at these different meetings
because it does make for a well-rounded bank associate.
And Mickey certainly does that here at our bank,
but the production that we've seen from Mickey
since she's been back,
bringing things to the table, as I said,
new ideas has been paramount
in how we've moved forward with some initiatives,
we just had our bank strategic planning meeting
the other day, last week, as a matter of fact,
Mickey was at that table
and she brought back some great ideas,
we talked about AI, which we'd never talked about AI before,
and how that might integrate into our company.
And so that was an interesting,
robust, conversation about that,
but she did come back
with a deeper industry knowledge, no doubt
and I think it's already been said here,
so this is somewhat redundant,
but I do believe that the networking you will get
at a conference like this, or school,
excuse me, is paramount.
I know schools I've been to over my 30 plus year career,
I've gotten more out of the contacts that I've gotten
and being able to pick up the phone and call a fellow banker
and bounce something, an idea or just an initiative off of
and talk through things
about what's going on in our industry
has been just absolutely valuable to me and my career
and I think Mickey has found that to be true,
it sounds like from the dialogue,
the back and forth today,
that all of you have found that to be true,
but I can assure you, just to kind of conclude here,
Mickey attending this school and what she came back with
and what she's been able to articulate
back from the content of the school
has been absolutely vital
to how we've moved forward in the marketing world.
So thanks for having me,
thanks for thinking of me
and Mickey, continue to do a good job, I know she will
and she's doing a great job for us
and I'm privileged to work with her every day.
Thanks so much.
(-)Okay, with that, without further ado,
it is with great honor that I introduce Gauri Sharma
and she is over all certifications
at the American Bankers Association
and she's gonna tell you a little bit about the CFMP.
(-)Wonderful, thank you so much, Mickey Belle
and thank you everyone, Theresa, Liz, Tim, Charlie,
for this wonderful introduction and tee up
to the school, to bank marketing,
to networking, and all of that.
We honestly could not do an iota of what we do
without our bankers,
who are our strongest advocates and our biggest assets.
And so, you have just demonstrated that
multiple times better than any piece of marketing
could ever have.
But I'm here to talk a little bit about the CFMP,
the Certified Financial Marketing Professional.
So you've heard about the value of the school
and how much you learn
and the network that you come back with
and the lifelong associates that you continue to learn from
and innovate with and grow with.
The CFMP really is the final,
I consider it the cherry on top really,
you come back armed with all this knowledge,
skills, and expertise in bank marketing,
taking the CFMP credential, passing that exam,
using these letters with your name,
really signals to everyone else
that you are an expert in bank marketing,
that you're an expert at what you know,
you're a certified expert,
certified by perhaps the most prestigious
banking organization in the country.
So the certification demonstrates your mastery
of all things marketing
and I'm not gonna read the slide itself.
We asked, to be able to take
the certified financial marketing exam,
we have to have met certain eligibility criteria.
You have to have some experience
as a bank marketing professional,
at least three years of experience,
or a bachelor's degree in a marketing related field
and then if you have at least three years of experience,
we ask that you complete the ABA Bank Marketing School,
we also have an optional CFMP online exam prep.
I say, "Optional," because while it's not mandatory,
I can't stress the importance of something like this,
which really helps you tie your knowledge together
and get focused on the exam.
We also have another option
where if you have at least six years of experience
as a bank marketer, you really don't need any training
because we feel that the job, the experience you've gotten
the on the job experiences you've had,
really will help you take the exam and pass it.
The exam itself, none of our certification exams
at the ABA are knowledge recall exams,
they're all situational questions.
These are all scenarios that you face every day in your job
and you are asked to choose, this situation has happened,
what's the first thing you should do
or what is the next step you should be taking.
So these are all very application based questions
and that's why we stress
on having at least some years of experience under your belt
so that you're able to successfully navigate this.
If we can go to the next slide, please, Lauren.
We also have the CFMP online exam prep,
I had mentioned it is an optional course,
but it is a very good study prep
and many people who take the CFMP exam after the school
also end up taking this.
We have a bundle option
where you can get all these three things together
because we feel that they flow together.
Again, not required,
but it is an online, interactive, gamified, exam prep
where it is asynchronous,
so you are led by an instructor
but you're not on all at the same time.
There is a very active chat that goes on,
so you can put comments and questions
and it's a monitored chat,
but it is something, it's an online course
that you have access to for up to a year.
Most people are in the course for a month and a half
to three months, usually,
that's the amount of time they spend on the course
before they take the exam.
Not only does it offer you a customized study plan
to prepare for the exam, it also has two practice exams.
The practice exams are modeled exactly on the CFMP exam,
the questions on the practice exam
are written by the same folks
who write the CFMP exam questions.
So they're trained to write questions a certain way,
so we hope that they're able
to simulate the real thing for you.
And again, it's a gamified system
so you have different kinds of study techniques, et cetera,
that help you navigate it.
I strongly encourage you,
especially for those people who have six years or more
who don't really need any training per se,
I think the more experience you have
and if you're at a point in your career
considering taking the CFMP,
with greater experience, the one thing you may want to do
is just use this online exam tool
to help get into the right head space
to get ready for the exam.
So that's sort of the, broadly speaking, the CFMP
and the scope of all of that.
I will stay on the call,
I know that there's a couple more bits of information
that have to be presented,
but I'll be happy to take any questions
like all of the others on the phone.
So with that, I'm gonna turn it over to Lauren now
to share some nuts and bolts about the school
and about Emory Conference Center Hotel itself.
(-)Great, thank you so much Gauri
and thank you everyone who spoke.
You've all gotten to hear a really great overview
of the school and the curriculum
and then hear some testimonials
from our student rep, Tim and then Mickey Belle
and Charlie, really appreciate you all
speaking on your experience at the school.
So now I'd just like to run through a few key items
that are important for you all to know.
School registration deadline and hotel registration deadline
are going to be April 7th.
So the whole school will take place
at the Emory Conference Center Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia,
all of your classes, meals, events, sleeping rooms,
everything, is going to be
at the Emory Conference Center Hotel.
So you do wanna make sure
that you go ahead and get that hotel reservation made
before April 7th.
So if you're still trying to convince your manager
that you should attend the school,
you can always go ahead and make your hotel reservation
and then cancel it if you need to,
but then you can at least guarantee
that you have a sleeping room
at the Emory Conference Center Hotel.
So those deadlines are both going to be April 7th.
And then speaking of justification,
I'm also going to have my colleague Mark
drop in the chat a link to the justification kit,
which is on the ABA website
and that provides some more details and information
that you can include
as you make your ask to attend the school.
I also want to make a quick note
about our learning management system DOCEBO.
So DOCEBO is where you'll have access
to all of the pre-course work,
the videos that you're supposed to watch
ahead of the school,
you'll also be able to use it as sort of like a newsfeed
to be able to chat with fellow students
and it will also house any course materials
that you'll need access to.
And then, like I mentioned,
the Emory Conference Center Hotel, again,
that's where everything is going to take place,
we do also have two different receptions
that we do throughout the week,
so also at at Emory, they have a bowling alley,
so we do do a bowling and barbecue reception one night
and then later in the week we also do our karaoke night,
which is always super fun and a big hit
amongst the students,
so some other really great networking opportunities
that you'll get to have with your fellow students
and advisory board and faculty members.
So you may be asking yourself throughout this info session,
well who should attend Bank Marketing School?
Should I be attending Bank Marketing School?
So I'm here to answer that for you.
Bank marketing school is for any bank marketing professional
who has at least three years
of financial marketing experience.
So Bank Marketing School
is meant to be a foundational school,
but we do want you to come into it
with some banking knowledge
so that you're able to set yourself up for success
when you're at the school.
It's for any bank marketing professional
who wants to understand bank profitability
and how marketing can drive revenue,
if you're seeking a springboard
for career and leadership advancement,
if you're driven to learn marketing's role
in revenue generation,
product development, customer experience,
and you want to pitch the credibility
of marketing to the c-suite,
and if you have any interest
in becoming a certified financial marketing professional,
which Gauri just spoke on earlier.
I also wanted to give Liz and Theresa an opportunity,
if you all wanted to speak on this part
about who should attend the school and why,
why they should attend.
(-)So I'll jump in first I guess Theresa
and just say that truly,
I think as echoed by all of our colleagues
on the call today,
this is an opportunity for any bank marketer
that is interested in elevating themselves
in their organization
and really putting themselves on a trajectory for success
and their financial institution
on a trajectory for success.
So you're going to really walk away with concepts,
no matter how long you've been in the industry
or how long you've been in the marketing field,
that you can execute immediately and work collaboratively
with the other departments
in your financial institution to bring to life.
I think this is really an opportunity
for you to look at taking everything that's going on
in the industry, mapping it back to something
that is fundamental and core,
that you can replicate time and time again
and leverage as you come up with new strategies
and the market continues to evolve.
So for those of you that are interested
in pursuing the school,
I would say reach out to us, ask the questions,
share with us where you are in your career path
so we can share back with you
how the school might impact your current experience.
(-)And I couldn't agree with that more
and I'd also like to say
that I've talked with several students
who have been very successful
coming into the banking industry
with previous marketing experience,
I've also seen the flip side
where they've had a lot of banking experience,
but just new into the marketing world.
So no matter which path got you here,
I think it's a fantastic opportunity
to really hone your skills in bank marketing,
learn more about how you can impact
the profitability of your bank
and then also the network of peers you're going to make.
You can't know every single thing all the time,
but being able to reach out to those colleagues
across the country,
they're all going through the same difficulties
that we are at any given time,
so you've got that huge network there
supporting you all the way
and honestly, for those of you
who are more weathered in our careers,
I've been in the industry for two decades plus,
and I have talked with a lot of people
who have graduated from the school 10, 15 years ago.
We keep this curriculum very current,
so I wouldn't be surprised if we sometimes see people
who have come back to attend the school again
because we do keep it current,
we've got new curriculum adding all the time.
Last year we had a marketing AI course,
this year we're adding a new level of branding to it,
so there's lots of elements,
it is foundational, but we're also keeping it current,
so there's always something new to learn.
(-)Yeah, that's great, thank you Theresa and thank you Liz.
And like they said, if you're wondering
if this is for you or you have enough experience
or too much experience or whatever the case may be,
definitely reach out to Liz and Theresa
and they can definitely help
to make sure that this is the right thing for you.
And then lastly, I would just like to leave you all
with what we feel is the top five reasons
that we think that you should attend
the Bank Marketing School
or why you should send someone on your team.
So number one, the focus on profitability and ROI,
so you'll learn how to develop and execute
a strategic marketing plan that garners results,
you'll discover how to effectively calculate and communicate
return on investment on marketing campaigns,
two, these courses cover the latest in bank marketing,
including sessions like content marketing and management
and banking on multicultural consumers.
So again, like Liz and Theresa just said,
we're always keeping it current
and covering what's the latest.
Number three, gain leadership skills
so that you can help direct your bank's strategic direction
through integrated marketing and branding.
You'll also learn to demonstrate to your bank
how marketing plays an integral role
in the customer experience.
Number four, build your network,
there are plenty of opportunities
to engage with experts and peers,
including interactive classes in a group project
where students create a marketing plan,
you'll make lasting professional and personal connections.
And number five, develop your competencies.
Classes offer the most strategies
on topics like AI and brand intelligence,
so your marketing will never be dull and outdated,
but robust and innovative.
So with that, I wanted to provide you all
with my contact information is there at the top,
as well as those who spoke today,
so if you do have any additional questions after this call,
please feel free to reach out to myself
or any of our board members that spoke this afternoon.
If you wanna hear more
about their individual school experiences,
I know that they would be happy to share that with you
and kind of dive deeper into the school.
But as of now,
I'd just like to open up the floor for any Q&A,
if anyone has any questions at the moment,
you can either put it in the chat
or feel free to come off of mute and ask your questions.
(-)Lauren, I see that there's a question
about the size of the school, what is the size of the class?
(-)Yep, so the class normally ranges
from about 70 to 85 students.
(-)Yep and Emily, you said in your year
there were about a 100-ish,
so that can go up as much as that it.
(-)Can go up, yep.
And I think the one thing that we maybe failed to mention,
but when we look at that makeup
or the composition of like those 80 to students or more,
we see a wide variety
of financial institution sizes represented.
So you're going to get experiences with individuals
across the country and I know Theresa mentioned
that like we have friends, coast to coast,
that we rely on and kind of network with continuously.
So I think you're gonna find that the experience is shared
by the different financial institution sizes,
the diversity in the bank structures,
all of that contributes back to the curriculum,
so it really is just game changing
in terms of how you kind of look at different issues,
how people are leveraging different resources
and where you can level set
your expectations for application.
(-)And another thing to point out too,
a lot of banks, one man bands,
Mickey Belle talked about being the only marketing person
at our institution,
but we do have people who attend from bigger banks
and they might have
a very specialized focus within marketing,
so the beauty of the school
is you're learning a broad range of topics,
so you might specialize in one area
and not have a lot of exposure in another,
this kind of helps level set you
and think about it for your career development,
not just for the existing job that you've got,
but that job that you're gonna go for next.
Maybe you wanna be the marketing director
or the CMO at your company,
so you never know where your career path is gonna take you,
so kind of come in with an open mind
of you might have a very focused job right now,
but the potential to expand your horizons and your knowledge
is immense here.
(-)So there's a question about,
"Will the slides from today be shared," Lauren?
(-)Yes, yep, so we'll send out an email after the call,
either probably in the next 24 hours or so,
once we get the recording back
and we will share the recording
as well as just some additional information
for you all in that email.
(-)Hey Lauren, I'm seeing a question from Caitlyn
and she says, "Is there a benefit
for marketers coming from consultant banks, banker's banks,
with the content being primarily directed to retail banks?"
(-)I can take that, I would say, absolutely.
I think it kind of helps you frame up
how a banker's bank makes money regardless,
so as you're walking through
the profitability sessions and ROI,
it kind of helps you get a good handle on that.
There might be a few sessions
that you don't feel apply currently,
but again, as you're looking at your potential growth
in the financial services industry,
it would make you a more well-rounded banker.
(-)And I do know from this past year in Tim's class in 2024,
we did have a couple of students from banker's banks
as well as we even had some people that worked
at digital marketing agencies as well.
So I think there's something
to stand to benefit in every capacity,
if you're serving the financial industry space whatsoever.
(-)So Lauren Pat,
hey Lauren, I've been chatting with you on email!
Lauren Pat asked about if there's a study guide
and Mark Greenhaw mentioned
that, "The Marketing Financial Services Textbook,"
that is a great resource.
I know as you're studying for the CFMP,
there's a lot of great detail in there
that can help you kind of dig in and prepare yourself,
but I think it's a good tool
as you prepare to get ready for school as well,
so check that one out as well.
(-)And I'll just add
that that's a great tool to reference, post CFMP,
you can keep referring back to that,
it's excellent if you can a copy of that.
(-)Absolutely.
Really, I think that the greater stress
would be not attending the school,
because I do feel like you are given so many resources
that equip you for all different types of scenarios,
from crisis communication to market,
trials and tribulations.
I mean, this really is going to be
a game changing experience for you
and your financial institutions.
So if you need any of us to speak with any decision makers
at your institution, would be more than happy to do so
to help prove your case to join us in Atlanta.
(-)We have one more question,
there's one more there from Tori
asking if we have any young mothers.
Somebody's got a five month old, that's awesome!
Yeah, actually, when I attended many years ago,
my children were babies.
I actually ended up skipping a year
because I had a brand new baby,
so it's hard to leave them at home, but once you're there
you're gonna be so immersed in it.
But there again too,
we've got people on the other side of the career spectrum,
so we've got lots of young people
just getting into the careers
and others that are wanting to learn more and dig in,
so I think, we've seen the gamut of all of it.
Congratulations on your five month old.
(-)You'll see many of us sitting out in the hallways,
in between classes are at the end, FaceTiming,
so we're all there and it's one big support group.
So working moms, we are there as one continuous network
and we've got your back.
(-)Great, all right,
any other questions that I missed in the chat
or any other questions that anyone has?
(-)I think you got everything so far.
(-)Okay, awesome, well, thank you all so much
for attending today.
We really appreciate you all taking the time
to be on with us and learn a little bit more
about the Bank Marketing School.
And again, if you have any additional questions
that come up, please feel free to reach out to any of us.
Registration is open on ABA.com,
so if after this call
you're like, I'm ready to go and register,
then you can go ahead and do that.
And again, thank you for being on
and we hope to see you at school in April!
