NEFMA 2026 Fall Conference

Join us as NEFMA President Kerri Madnick officially opens the conference and welcomes attendees. Kerri will share opening remarks and set the stage for the days ahead.

For decades, the credit union industry has earned the trust of its members and built its reputation by delivering on a clear and consistent promise of transparency, integrity, personalized service and an unwavering commitment to the communities it serves. These values have long distinguished credit unions from other financial institutions, strengthening their brands, attracting new members, and establishing lasting loyalty among existing ones. They remain the foundation of the credit union movement because they continue to resonate with consumers and because credit unions consistently deliver on that promise.

Today, we must also fully understand and adapt to members’ expectations and needs by embracing innovation, technology, creativity, and a willingness to take calculated risks, all while preserving the people-first philosophy that defines the credit union experience. The challenge for today's credit union leaders is determining how to advance digital transformation to meet members’ expectations without sacrificing the personal relationships and trust that members deserve. These are not competing priorities; they must exist together.

Credit unions across the country are investing in thoughtful, member-centered digital transformation initiatives designed to improve both service delivery and the overall member experience. For me and my organization, this work has become a strategic priority, not simply to remain competitive but to better serve our members while staying true to our mission and values.

At its core, the Clutch initiative was designed to create a faster, more seamless experience for BrightBridge members. Members can now complete an online deposit account or loan application in three minutes or less, reducing friction and helping lower application abandonment. The improved digital experience has already increased completed deposit and loan applications and significantly increased engagement across checking accounts, certificates of deposit, high yield savings accounts and consumer lending products.

The platform has also been a major driver of our organic growth strategy, which I can share to illustrate the benefits of building a digital platform. Results include:

• Online application conversion rates increased from 18% to 45%, which is a 150% improvement that has directly contributed to new member growth.

• Digital deposit applications reached 39% of total applications, exceeding the organization's 30% target.

• Average deposit funding amounts increased from $352 to $2,022, demonstrating stronger member engagement and higher-value relationships.

• Applications requiring manual fraud review declined from 100% to 23%, significantly improving efficiency for the BrightBridge team while maintaining strong risk controls.

• Auto loan decision workflows were reduced from 272 steps to 83, a 69% reduction in process complexity.

Teams can now devote greater attention to complex lending decisions and more personal member service.

Today’s bank marketers face a difficult challenge: driving core deposit growth, defending market share against aggressive regional and digital competitors, and deploying cutting-edge tech...all while traditional boards and C-suites ask, "But what is the actual ROI?"
This session breaks down The Modern CMO Playbook, offering a practical blueprint to bridge the gap between creative brand-building and bottom-line performance. The presentation explores how New England’s community banks can leverage data-driven personalization, align internal cultures, and use smart marketing attribution to prove that marketing is a powerful revenue center, not an expense. Designed specifically for the challenges of the regional financial landscape, this session provides the tools needed to gain a seat at the strategic table, command bigger budgets, and drive measurable balance-sheet growth.

No bank or credit union wants to be accused of redlining. Beyond the serious compliance implications, redlining can damage your institution’s reputation and weaken community trust. Every member of your community deserves equitable access to credit, and your institution should be part of the solution, not the problem.
In this session, Charles LeFevre, marketing and compliance expert and Kadince’s Director of Compliance, will share how to identify redlining risk and create an action plan to address it quickly. You’ll explore inclusive marketing strategies that reach the whole community, identify outreach opportunities that mitigate risk, and ensure that your institution is aligned with fair lending expectations—before redlining becomes an issue.
Whether your institution has already faced redlining scrutiny, this session will give you the tools you need to protect your institution’s reputation, build trust, and stay ahead of regulatory risk.

Live Q&A

Rate pressure isn't going away. Neither is the competition for deposits. So what's actually working right now?
This session reviews seven deposit campaigns that community banks are running today, with real results to show for it. We break down what made each one work: the data behind the targeting, the offer structure, the channel mix, and the outcomes achieved. These are not case studies from 2019 or generic best practices assembled from surveys. These are current campaigns with current results, and the specific decisions that drove them. If deposit growth and higher campaign ROI are board priorities, and you want to see what peers are doing beyond matching the rate down the street, this is where to start.

Chime spends over half a billion in marketing a year learning what works in digital financial marketing. Credit Unions and Community Banks do not need to copy them, but they should absolutely learn from them.
We've analyzed over 300 ads from Chime’s paid social campaigns his year, uncovering the patterns behind how they simplify messaging, build trust, and move consumers toward action. We're back again to re-look at this data now that we're at the end of the year!
In this live diagnostic-style presentation, Dean will break down Chime’s current advertising strategy and explore what credit unions and community banks should learn from it before budget season.
This is a practical breakdown of what fin-tech brands are doing differently and where financial marketing strategies are falling behind.
We’ll walk through:

• How Chime structures its messaging system
• Why simpler positioning is outperforming cluttered campaigns
• How modern financial brands shape demand before consumers search
• The role of paid social in building consideration
• What credit unions and community banks should pressure-test in their own marketing

You’ll leave with practical insights your team can apply immediately to improve:

• Marketing clarity
• Funnel alignment
• Positioning
• Demand generation strategy

We sell the same products as every other institution. Same checking, same rates, roughly the same everything. So, we compete on the products, the way we always have. But, our ideal customers or members do not choose us because of a rate sheet. Let's face it: banking products aren't interesting or all that different from one another. They choose based on how we make them feel. Safe. Understood. Like someone's paying attention.
We've known that as marketers, but we haven't been able to act on it at scale. That has changed. The language your customers use in survey comments, service calls, and reviews can now be turned into something you can actually use in a fraction of the time. The feeling became data.
I'll be straight about what this takes. Depending on your infrastructure and staffing, it's not a quick project, and I'll tell you honestly where the bar is. But that's exactly why it matters. The institutions that learn to hear what their customers feel, and not just what they bought, will know their people better than the megabanks ever could, because closeness was always the community banking advantage. This session is the case for why that's where the next decade is won, what it really takes to get there, and how to start making the argument inside your own walls.
I've spent nearly two decades on both sides of this, the data and the marketing. I'll show you what's now possible, what it costs, and why it's worth it.

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