Sick & Tired: Using Brand Experience & Storytelling to Cure America’s Financial Shame

Authored By Jake Engel

Published in CUToday in August 2024

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Brands have power.

Take Spotify or Netflix. These brands challenged how music and movies were delivered, challenging the long-held idea that selling physical CDs and DVDs was the most efficient and effective way to deliver media. In fact, they not only challenged the idea – they succeeded in putting their rivals to rest and redefining the category.

Or Peloton. The global fitness sensation that took the challenging parts of going to the gym – the drive time, planning exercises, and looking presentable in case you run into your gym crush – out of the equation. The company went on to put effective and motivating fitness in millions of consumers' living rooms. 

Brands are disrupting industries every day right in front of our eyes. The disruption doesn’t happen quickly. Or easily. But when the most successful brands see a real problem to solve, an opportunity that’s more complex than making minor product adjustments, they have the power to redefine how consumers interact with not only their brand, but with the problem they are tackling.

A Problem to Solve

And when it comes to the financial services industry, there’s certainly some problems for us to solve.

Americans are financially sick. Nearly half of the country admits to losing sleep over money regularly. Depression, anxiety, and stress levels continue to rise. 

In 1776, when the first bank was founded, the industry began with an idea – a vision – of providing Americans with safety, security, and confidence around their finances. But in an industry that’s all-too-often centered around products over people, the banking system is doing just the opposite for many of our customers and members. Many of the large institutions are creating programs that encourage overspending, failing to educate and inspire financial health, and charging astronomical rates to our most vulnerable friends and neighbors. 

And that’s just not right.

Time to Say Enough

It’s time for the financial services industry to say enough. To be sick and tired of Americans being financially sick and tired. And to finally do something about it. The reality is, banks and credit unions across the country have the power to help.

But what if there’s more to the solution than simply creating new products, eliminating fees, or lowering rates? What if the answer lies in that exact word – story.

Many of the brands that are disrupting their industries aren’t completely turning their products and services on their head. But they are positioning their approach to the industry in a new and different way that helps their customers feel more comfortable and confident. They are telling their story through a welcoming, inclusive framework that allows consumers who are nervous – and sometimes scared – to interact without fear or anxiety. 

One Theory to Consider

Take the rise of Orangetheory, for example. The personalized, heart-rate based classes led by motivating, upbeat coaches inspire nearly one million members every day across the globe. Their members show up ready to work and the coach guides them every step of the way – timing their intervals, cheering on every step and rep, and learning about their lives and goals. This brand takes the confusion, stress, and pressure out of fitness and meets humans at the level where they are. 

Why can’t banks and credit unions show up the same way for those we serve? (Hint: We can.) When our consumers walk into a location, call the contact center, or visit the website, they want to be coached, guided, and celebrated. In life, we ask for advice daily. Think doctors, dentists, pharmacists, teachers, realtors, hair stylists, designers, therapists, and even friends. 

The Unfortunate Answer

But why is it that people go to experts in their life to ask for advice and coaching for nearly everything – except money? Unfortunately, the answer is all-too-often shame. So, how do we solve that? We need to tell better stories.

Americans are living scary, challenging, and confusing financial lives behind closed doors. In fact, when asked privately by researchers at Nonfiction, 37% of Americans admitted they have gone to sleep hungry because they didn’t have enough money for food. 5% have eaten food from the garbage. 

And another 12% have stolen something due to financial constraints. 

Do we really expect that someone trapped in a life of financial shame and uncertainty is going to proactively show up to their financial institution and ask for coaching and direction? Probably not.

We Have the Resources

We have the employees, the resources, and the knowledge to help these people. But are members and customers hearing and experiencing that in every interaction? In ways where they feel comfortable asking for advice? And in ways that they see us as not predators, but their biggest financial coaches and cheerleaders? If not, there’s never been a better time to switch the storyline and put them at the center.

Five Things to Consider

Here’s five ways things to consider when refreshing your brand, experience, and story in a way that resonates with today’s sick and tired American:

Start Every Interaction Intentionally

Do the greetings that your employees use feel transactional or human-focused? For instance, swap transactional language like “How are you?” or “What can I do for you today?” with “What’s new?," “How’s life?,” or even “How are you feeling?” to open the door to conversation. When those we’re serving feel the opportunity to share what’s new, exciting, or even scary in their lives, they often will. These insights can help your team coach them, monitor their progress, and build a relationship leading to lifelong loyalty. Just by asking the right question. 

Find Ways to Track and Celebrate Milestones

Progress means something different to everyone. Take Orangetheory and Peloton for example – these two brands deliver post-workout metrics to members daily. For some, seeing the calories burnt adds fuel to their fire. For others, it’s the average speed on the treadmill. And for some, it’s simply being able to show a workout summary to friends or family that recognizes they showed up.

Encourage your team to dig deep into what motivates each member personally. Maybe for one person, their personal banker needs to check in monthly on their savings goal. For another, it’s your employee setting a calendar reminder to email them on the day of their new home closing that they shared in conversation. Delivering individual experiences isn’t easy – but it’s effective. 

Explore Motivational, Aspirational Messaging.

While many banks and credit unions lead their brand and advertising messages with product and rate, consider adding life and wellness focused language to your vocabulary. What’s the benefit that members will experience? Try infusing inspiring words like inspiring, confidence, momentum, next, more, life, well, and healthy. While sharing about a 5% APY Certificate Special sounds appealing to a financial services executive, “a healthier, happier relationship with your money” might capture and inspire another audience. 

Align with Leaders Outside of the Industry

It’s easy to consider your competition the next financial institution down the street. But what if you re-imagined a financial institution’s role in society as an organization working to improve your audience’s holistic well-being? Explore leaders like Whole Foods, which is working to redefine healthy eating lifestyles; Lululemon which tells the story of movement in everyday life, and WeightWatchers, which is refining their message to focus on goal-oriented language. 

Deliver a Cross-Channel Branded Experience Think about ordering pizza. For some, ordering online is a no-brainer. For others, they call the store directly. And for others, it might be a dine-in kind of night. 

Every one of these consumers deserves to have a positive experience. And one that feels similar when they choose to interact with you in another way in the future. Do members visit your branch locations and see beautiful, modern lobbies, then call the contact center and hear drab funeral home music? Do they work directly with a banker to apply for their auto loan and have a quick, seamless experience, then receive confusing system-generated follow-up emails? 

It’s easy to focus on one issue – “we’re going to improve the digital experience,” or “let’s train our contact center to be friendlier” – but it’s important to look for alignment in experience across the board. Because, in real life, people choose to interact in different ways at different times. 

A Unique Position

As an industry, we’re uniquely positioned to be a cure – or at least a portion of the solution – to America’s financial sickness. And oftentimes, asking the right question, delivering the right message, or being consistent with brand experience is enough for members to begin to feel comfortable to open up about their struggles and wins with us. And that’s the moment when we can do something to help.

It’s time for credit unions to show up as places that people can feel comfortable coming proactively for advice and direction. For coaching and mentoring. Places that help create lives of financial health and well-being. And a place where they can put their guard down, be vulnerable, and walk away with newfound motivation to chase down what’s next. 

Jake Engel is AVP of brand communications & strategy at Financial Center Credit Union, Indianapolis, and oversees corporate communications, PR, and brand experience. With nearly a decade of brand management experience, Engel has spent his career working to reframe credit unions as proactive wellness providers. A lifelong Hoosier, Engel resides in downtown Indianapolis and serves on the Board of Directors of Home Repairs for Good and coaches for Orangetheory Fitness.

Brand New You: 3 Tips for Refreshing Your Credit Union Brand with a Human Touch

Authored By Jake Engel

Published in The Credit Union Times in August 2024

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What do a tornado, your living room, and Siri have in common?

More than you might think. They are all subjects of anthropomorphism – a concept where consumers apply human-like traits and emotions to non-human entities.

News reporters might call a tornado “strong” or “powerful,” just like guests call your living room “welcoming” or “friendly.” Siri, Apple's virtual assistant, is often described as “helpful” or “cheeky.” This phenomenon of attributing human characteristics to non-human entities is deeply ingrained in our culture and plays a major role in how we interact with the world – and with brands – around us.

With millions of brands in today’s marketplace, our culture has led us to develop emotional, meaningful connections with the brands that we know and love. We may choose Whole Foods over Walmart because it’s “healthy” and “ethical.” Or Google over Bing because it’s “experienced” and “proven.”

Humans love to interact with brands that feel familiar, reliable, and trustworthy. And that’s why the concept of rebranding or refreshing your brand becomes particularly delicate – especially in the world of financial services.

Changing your name, brand voice, or visual identity can be jarring for your credit union’s members, leading to questions about your credibility, security, and stability. But, when built carefully, a refreshed brand can also lead to a more consistent, positive experience for members long-term.

Here’s three tips for refreshing your brand with both strategy and creativity:

Tip 1: Start with Self-Awareness

Looking in the mirror isn’t always fun.

But, when taking off on a brand exploration journey, it must start with honest conversation. Sure, all credit unions would love to be pioneers in technology. Or have the nation’s highest deposit rates. But, is that really you? Or just what you’d love to be?

It’s easy to focus the re-imagined brand messaging that you’re creating on what you think you’re good at, what you aspire to be in the future, or what you’re actively improving. Instead, embrace the story of who you truly are.

For example, Financial Center, an Indianapolis-based credit union, just completed a yearlong brand refresh project, re-entering the market with a new look, sound, and feel that reflects the vibrant experiences members have daily. While the initial internal conversation began with brand concepts that involved innovative technology or nationwide shared branching access, we ended in a much more authentic place. The brand now showcases our inclusive banking practices, our focus on financial health and well-being, and our team of financial coaches for all of life’s milestones.

As you begin your process, try asking questions like:

• What are we really good at?

• How do our members talk about us at their dining room table?

• What do we do differently than other financial institutions?

• What real-life problems are we solving for our members?

• What brands outside the financial services industry do we align with?

Asking the right questions at the beginning of the process will lead to a more authentic brand voice and visual identity in the future.

Tip 2: Set the Competition to the Side

In a nation with nearly 20,000 banks and credit unions for consumers to choose from, there isn’t a shortage of options for who to trust with your finances.

While the natural tendency of many marketing leaders is to spend time digging into the websites and advertising of local or national competitors – or even mystery shopping their branches – many different insights come from studying brands outside the industry.

With Financial Center’s brand refresh, once our main brand messaging points were established, the Marketing team began a deep dive into exploring companies that consumers admire across the country that operate with similar brand promises.

Take Home Depot, who provides an educational and approachable model within their retail stores, for example. In research, the credit union learned that the home repair superstore often hires retired tradespeople to staff their locations so their customers have not only someone to physically point them in the right direction, but someone to give them tangible direction on their DIY projects.

Or Peloton, who advertises with motivational, uplifting messaging in their campaigns – inspiring action and movement in every ad. The Financial Center team wrote a bold manifesto for the brand in a similar style to Peloton, centered around the idea that each morning is a new financial start. Every day could be the one where you can wake up, decide you want your financial life to be different, and use your credit union as a resource to get you there.

As you define your own brand messages and differentiators, consider exploring outside industry leaders to learn about:

• Their brand tone and word choice

• Their retail store experiences

• Their customer engagement strategies

• Their hiring practices

• Their loyalty programs

• Their social responsibility practices

Then, go have real-life experiences with these brands. Walk into their stores. Call them. Listen to their hold music. Read more than the homepage of their website. And learn how you can model your credit union’s next chapter after their successes in a completely different industry.

Tip 3: Pull Back the Curtain Carefully

Imagine if your neighbor, someone you see daily, suddenly stepped outside tomorrow looking completely different – new hair, new clothes, a different car, and talking in a completely different tone. It might make you question if you even knew them at all. And that’s how your members, employees, and the community can feel if your brand completely shifts overnight.

When your new brand is ready to hit the market, remember:

You’ve personally known your new brand much longer than others. When working on a branding refresh project, you and your team have spent days, weeks, and likely sleepless nights perfecting every word and image. But, that’s happened behind the scenes. While you got plenty of time to get to know the brand during its creation, others didn’t. Don’t underestimate the power of repetition and consistency in the weeks and months following your rollout – keeping brand messages prominent in retail locations, on your website, in email campaigns, and on social media channels.

You interact with the brand daily, others may not. For some, checking their account balances is a weekly (or monthly) task. So, continue to drip brand messaging and creative over time to hit these slower-paced audiences when they choose to interact.

Members’ experiences must align with your brand messages. Telling a flashy story from a marketing angle is easy. But living out the brand is much more difficult, especially re-training employees to ask new questions, use new language, and follow new formats. Spend time in the field after the rollout, mentoring member-facing staff on how to deliver branded experiences that align with your key messages. People talk about their experiences, not your ads.

So, is it time to reimagine your credit union’s brand? It just might be! Sharing your story in a new and different way is one of the most powerful ways to attract and retain members.

As you refresh your brand, never forget that it's seen as a person – a reliable, familiar presence that your members deeply trust and admire. And that matters.

Jake Engel, AVP of Brand Communications & Strategy at Financial Center, oversees corporate communications, PR, and brand strategy for this leading Indianapolis, Indiana-based credit union. He recently led a recreation of the credit union’s brand voice and is currently implementing strategies to continue aligning corporate messaging with brand experience across the company. With nearly a decade of brand management experience, Engel has spent his career working to reframe credit unions as proactive wellness providers through creative direction, storytelling, and building culture.

How Tough Consumer Problems Spur Powerful Banking Brands

Authored By Jake Engel

Published in The Financial Brand in July 2024

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Banks and credit unions want their brands to have power.

So, what can they learn from major companies — Netflix, Apple, Whole Foods — to craft brands that resonate with their consumers? (Hint: The answer isn’t enormous agency budgets.)

Powerful brands solve powerful problems.

Financial Center, a nearly $1 billion credit union serving the greater Indianapolis area, recently completed a year-long brand refresh project. Led primarily by the internal Marketing & Creative Team, the project set out to reposition the credit union as a friendly, approachable wellness provider focused on giving members healthier, more vibrant financial lives.

Here’s how that strategy evolved from studying major consumer brands outside of banking, how we settled on financial wellness, and how we now plan to bring power to our brand through member experience.

Finding Direction in Observing Major Brands

Major brands deliver messaging and experiences that speak to their audience’s pain points.

Take Spotify or Netflix. These brands changed how music and movies were delivered, challenging the long-held idea that selling physical CDs and DVDs was the most efficient and effective way to deliver media. In fact, they not only challenged the idea — they succeeded in putting their rivals to rest and redefining the category.

The global fitness sensation Peloton eliminated the challenges of going to the gym — the drive time, planning exercises, and looking presentable in case you run into your gym crush — and went on to put effective and motivating fitness in millions of consumers’ living rooms.

Applying that to us, our brand became about helping members who are fatigued with difficult financial lives envision something more vibrant ahead. We wanted that story to shine through in our messaging and design, and even small touches like how we speak on the phone.

Brands obtain power by focusing on real problems. The brand becomes an experience fully aligned with that story. And when it comes to the financial services industry, there’s certainly problems that banks and credit unions can solve.

Americans are financially sick. Nearly half of the country admits to losing sleep over money regularly. Depression, anxiety, and stress levels continue to rise. Many of the large institutions are creating programs that encourage overspending, failing to educate and inspire financial health, and charging astronomical rates to our most vulnerable friends and neighbors.

And that’s just not right. We wanted to say, “Enough! We are sick and tired of Americans being financially sick and tired.” We want to do something about it. And that investment brings the brand down into the experience of members.

Our Brand in the Experience of Members

Many of the brands disrupting their industries aren’t turning their products and services on their heads. But they are positioning their approach to the industry in a new and different way that helps their customers feel more comfortable and confident. They tell their story through a welcoming, inclusive framework that allows consumers who are nervous—and sometimes scared—to interact without fear or anxiety.

Take the rise of Orangetheory, for example. The personalized, heart-rate-based classes led by motivating, upbeat coaches inspire nearly one million members every day across the globe. Their members show up ready to work, and the coach guides them every step of the way — timing their intervals, cheering on every step and rep, and learning about their lives and goals. This brand takes the confusion, stress, and pressure out of fitness and meets humans at the level where they are.

Why can’t banks and credit unions show up the same way for those we serve? We absolutely can. When our consumers walk into a location, call the contact center, or visit the website, they want to be coached, guided and celebrated. In life, we ask for advice daily. Think doctors, dentists, pharmacists, teachers, realtors, hair stylists, designers, therapists, and even friends.

But why do people go to experts in their lives to ask for advice and coaching for nearly everything — except money? Unfortunately, the answer is often shame, or a belief that nothing can be done. This is where the rubber meets the road on delivering a brand through members’ experience.

Delivering Brand as an Experience

Americans live scary, challenging, and confusing financial lives behind closed doors. When asked privately by researchers at Nonfiction, 37% of Americans admitted they have gone to sleep hungry because they didn’t have enough money for food. 5% have eaten food from the garbage. And another 12% have stolen something due to financial constraints.

Do we expect that someone trapped in a life of financial shame and uncertainty will proactively show up to their financial institution and ask for coaching and direction? Probably not.

We have the employees, the resources, and the knowledge to help these people. But are members and customers hearing and experiencing that in every interaction? In ways where they feel comfortable asking for advice? And in ways that they see us as financial cheerleaders? If not, there’s never been a better time to switch the storyline and put them at the center.

We’ve worked to deliver our brand as an experience rather than only as art and a tagline in five ways:

Start every interaction intentionally. Do the greetings that your employees use feel transactional or human-focused? For instance, swap transactional language like “How are you?” or “What can I do for you today?” with “What’s new?” or “How’s life?” or even “How are you feeling?” to open the door to conversation. When those we’re serving feel the opportunity to share what’s new, exciting, or even scary in their lives, they often will. These insights can help your team coach them, monitor their progress, and build a relationship leading to lifelong loyalty. Just by how we ask the question.

Find ways to track and celebrate milestones. Progress means something different to everyone. Take Orangetheory and Peloton as examples. They deliver post-workout metrics to members daily. For some, seeing the calories burnt adds fuel to their fire. For others, it’s the average speed on the treadmill. For some, it’s simply being able to show a workout summary to friends or family. Encourage your team to dig deep into what motivates each member or customer personally. Maybe for one person, their personal banker needs to check in monthly on their savings goal. For another, it’s your employee setting a calendar reminder to email them on the day of their new home closing that they shared in conversation. Delivering individual experiences isn’t easy — but it’s effective.

Explore motivational, aspirational messaging. While many banks and credit unions lead their brand and advertising messages with product and rate, consider adding life and wellness-focused language to your vocabulary. What’s the benefit that members will experience? Try infusing words like inspiring, confidence, momentum, next, more, life, well, and healthy. While sharing about a 5% APY Certificate Special sounds appealing to a financial services executive, “a healthier, happier relationship with your money” might capture and inspire another audience.

Align with leaders outside of the industry. It’s easy to consider your competition the next financial institution down the street. But what if you re-imagined a financial institution’s role in society as an organization working to improve your audience’s holistic well-being? Explore leaders like Whole Foods that works to redefine healthy eating lifestyles, Lululemon who tells the story of movement in everyday life, and WeightWatchers who is refining their message to focus on goal-oriented language.

Deliver a cross-channel branded experience. Think about ordering pizza. For some, ordering online is a no-brainer. For others, they call the store directly. And for others, it might be a dine-in kind of night. Every one of these consumers deserves to have a positive experience. And one that feels similar when they choose to interact with you in another way in the future.

Do members visit your branch locations and see beautiful, modern lobbies, then call the contact center and hear drab funeral home music? Do they work directly with a banker to apply for their auto loan and have a quick, seamless experience, then receive confusing system-generated follow-up emails?

It’s easy to focus on one issue — “We’re going to improve the digital experience” or “Let’s train our contact center to be friendlier” — but it’s important to look for alignment in experience across the board. In real life, people choose to interact in different ways at different times.

What’s Your Institution’s Branding Opportunity?

If you want to do more than make your brand look nice and truly want it to be powerful, what’s the challenge your story centers on?

Financial Center is uniquely positioned to cure — at least a portion of — America’s financial sickness. Your institution can start in a similar place: Ask the right questions, deliver the right message, and be consistent with brand experience. Customers or members will begin to feel comfortable opening up about their struggles and successes with you.

That’s the moment when your brand becomes real to them. It’s become a powerful brand because it has addressed a powerful problem.

Jake Engel, AVP of Brand Communications & Strategy at Financial Center, oversees corporate communications, PR and brand experience for this leading Indianapolis, Indiana-based credit union. He recently led a recreation of the credit union’s brand voice and experience. With nearly a decade of brand management experience, Engel has spent his career working to reframe credit unions as proactive wellness providers through creative direction, storytelling, and culture.

How Two Credit Unions Empowered Employees to be Market Ambassadors

Authored By Jake Engel

Published in The Financial Brand in November 2024

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Banking marketing leaders often walk a tightrope with brand management. It can be hard to discern where to be firm and where to be flexible. Yet, in a regulated industry where trust determines if consumers and business interact with you, brands must show a unified face or risk losing their power and credibility.

Over-policing every detail, though, can lead to frustration, limit genuine communication from staff, and stifle creativity. So, where can your brand can be flexible — and where can’t it?

Here’s my experience in establishing clear guardrails for visuals, voice, social content, and consumer interactions in ways that encourage compliance while still allowing employees the opportunity to let their personalities shine through.

How Elements Makes Brand Messages Human

At Elements Financial, a $2.3 billion Indiana-based credit union, the marketing team rolled out “Brand Central” in 2021 — a hub where employees can access ready-to-post graphics and suggested copy for their personal social media channels. The team made a strategic move to empower member-facing “brand advocates” like mortgage loan originators, financial advisors, and even the recruitment team to build their online professional presence.

Employees were trained to ensure they understand the boundaries of how branded content can be used. This training also focused on why the organizationps investment in a consistent brand would payoff for each individual. The change offered clear benefits for them to connect with current and prospective members, to grow professionally, and to support the Elements mission.

One frequent user, Senior Mortgage Loan Originator Justin Montour, shared with me that “content creation is one of the most time-consuming parts of my social media strategy. Not having to start from scratch gives me a great jump-start. Plus, knowing I have the flexibility to still be myself, within the established company guidelines, gives me peace of mind that my audience won’t think I’m being disingenuous.”

The shift from only allowing marketing-posted content to allowing employees to find their own voice — within clear guidelines — has resulted in hundreds of social posts and thousands of impressions, plus brought a sense of authenticity to the brand. The same amount of paid awareness and engagement would have required a spend many times greater than the organization’s allotted marketing budget.

“It used to be that we would encourage employees only to share the company’s social posts rather than creating their own,” VP of Marketing Michelle Payne said. “Now, with a branded and approved content library, our member-facing employees can craft their own posts, thereby appearing as a subject matter expert directly to their audience.”

Fighting Fraud with Brand at Financial Center

At Financial Center, an Indianapolis-based credit union focused on financial health and well-being, we introduced a refreshed brand voice and visuals earlier this year. As we trained staff on our new positioning and look, we additionally emphasized the brand’s role as an important fraud prevention tool.

Fighting fraud might seem a distant issue from brand enforcement, but let me put it this way: How can your members tell when they may have received a malicious message?

“Having a strong brand style and tone that is consistent across an organization can help identify fraudsters should they attempt to impersonate the organization,” Mackenzie Kepley, AVP of Compliance at Financial Center, says. “Oftentimes, having this recognizable brand will make what would have been muted or minor red flags in spam communications much more prevalent and glaring.”

The focus on brand identity being a fraud prevention tool has since become one of the Marketing team’s most effective ways to enforce brand standards across the organization. Our team recommends:

Partnering with compliance for training: Work closely with compliance and risk teams to deliver brand training. Teaching employees how critical brand standards are from both the marketing and risk management perspectives elevates the importance of these guardrails and helps enforce standards in the future.

Auditing email signatures and fonts: While these are often part of brand standards, enforcement can become lax over time. A pre-planned annual audit keeps these channels in check.

Sharing phishing examples: Regularly show real phishing attempts internally to highlight how fraudsters try to mimic brands — yours or others. It’s a clear way to reinforce why brand uniformity matters in every communication, both internal and external.

Teaching brand language: While visual cues can help employees or consumers spot fraud attempts quickly, language matters too. Branded language that sounds familiar, such as consistent email sign-offs, boosts message credibility.

Through both brand and fraud training, our employees at Financial Center have begun to quickly spot and report messages that feel ‘off brand’ for further review before clicking links or responding. When employees understand the dual role of brand as both a marketing tool and a shield against fraud, they’re far more likely to embrace their role as brand advocates.

Balancing Being Firm and Flexible

When leaders set clear guidelines proactively and enforce them repeatedly, this allows teams to understand how to activate the brand in a compliant way. Here’s how we remain firm and flexible:

Visual Look and Feel — Firm

Logos, colors, and fonts should remain consistent across channels to grow brand recognition. This includes email signatures, printed materials, templates, co-branding, and official documents. While there can be flexibility in creative delivery, consider setting overall style guidance. “For instance, receiving communication from ‘Disney’ that does not look magical is going to be very obvious that it’s fraud,” Kepley shares.

Voice and Tone — Flexible, with firmness around sensitive topics

Leaders should teach brand language and encourage staff to be consistent in their communications, yet provide the flexibility to personalize messages within guidelines. Marketing leaders can consider giving talking (or typing) points rather than strict scripting when asking your team to communicate on behalf of the brand. Clearly defining topics that are off-limits in brand communications — such as political or religious statements — should be outlined, too.

Social Media Content — Flexible, with boundaries

If you’re planning to allow your staff to speak on your behalf on personal channels, create a central hub for visual and copy assets paired with training and a regular review of mentions on social media. Refresh the assets regularly to ensure they don’t get stale and stay relevant. Updating creative additionally helps prevent the temptation for employees to create their own graphics. Consider regularly meeting with member-facing teams who use the content to understand their wants and needs for the future.

Fraud Prevention Elements — Firm

Ensure employees understand the approved channels for messaging and use them for their intended purposes. Especially when messages are critical, don’t surprise colleagues or consumers via a channel they aren’t used to receiving it on. Additionally, partner with your compliance team to internally share real phishing attempts that illustrate the importance of brand standards.

Consumer Interactions — Flexible, with a focus on core values

Allow employees to adjust their tone and language based on consumers’ needs, using the brand’s core values as a guide. Encourage tailored responses, yet use simple language that makes complex financial topics accessible to all. It’s important to consistently audit these experiences and provide coaching and feedback to teams. As Payne explains, “We monitor how the brand is used at all times at Elements. Professionalism, accuracy, and compliance are three brand standards that are set in stone.”

As marketing leaders, when we empower our teams to bring our brands to life in ways that feel real and relatable, we build trust both internally and with consumers. Finding this complex balance may not be easy, but it certainly is the key to building unforgettable brands.

Jake Engel, AVP of Brand Communications & Strategy at Financial Center, oversees corporate communications, PR, and brand experience for this leading Indianapolis, Indiana-based credit union. He recently led a recreation of the credit union’s brand voice and experience. With nearly a decade of brand management experience, Engel has spent his career working to reframe credit unions as proactive wellness providers through creative direction, storytelling, and culture.