NEFMA 2026 Fall Conference

Join us the morning after the NEFFIE Awards to hear from a selection of this year’s winners.
Following their recognition at the awards ceremony, our panelists will share the stories behind their winning work, the ideas and strategies that brought it to life, and lessons they’ve learned along the way.
It’s a chance to go beyond the award and hear directly from the people behind some of this year’s standout work in financial marketing.

The branch is experiencing a renaissance. Three out of four consumers say branch access is critical when choosing their primary bank, and Gen Z visits branches three times more frequently than Baby Boomers. As branches reassert their central role in starting and sustaining banking relationships, institutions must close the gap between marketing and branch investments.
As branch purpose shifts toward advisory consultation, the brand experience must turn every visit into greater value. Activating the branch with an intentional, best practice marketing strategy to amplify its ability to acquire new customers and cross-sell existing ones is the difference between good branch experience — and transformative performance.
This session will educate banking leaders how to:

• Evolve the branch from a transaction hub into a catalyst for acquisition and cross-sell
• Leverage the branch as a key stop of the customer journey
• Generate advertising and marketing campaigns that support growth of the retail channel
• Create effective branch marketing with right place, right message, right delivery
• Use zonal planning to choreograph the customer journey and optimize dwell time
• Optimize brand marketing opportunities to maximize communications effectiveness
• Establish a balance between print, fixture, and digital signage marketing opportunities
• Develop playlist strategies for cadence, frequency, and segmentation

As the M&A floodgates have opened, community banks in markets across the country are being acquired, almost always by larger banks, often headquartered far away. This has created a host of opportunities for community and regional banks unions to proactively reach out to the customers of these acquired institutions.
This session will provide tactical advice as to how best approach and appeal to these customers who are at best nervous and at worst downright unhappy about changing banks.

Live Q&A