In the News

ZAG VP of Marketing Michelle Brown explores how financial marketers need to understand the impact that social and economic trends will have on 2021 marketing plans.

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ZAG Senior Digital Strategist Patrick Trayes weighs in on changes that financial marketers can expect as a result of recent policy changes at Google.

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Every financial institution website should stand out in some way. How would you describe your site and does it match what consumers feel when they show up on the site? The five questions below will give you a head start on your web refresh plans for the year ahead. Read this ZAG Interactive article on The Financial Brand.

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ZAG won the Best Credit Union Website WebAward award for our Andrews Federal Credit Union redesign, and two Outstanding Bank Website WebAwards for the Ameris Bank and First American Bank websites. See why we're celebrating!

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Like 'em or hate 'em, marketers can't ignore consumer reviews in the digital age. You may even want to encourage them as a part of your customer acquisition strategy. Managing reviews does require continuous commitment, including weeding out fake reviews and responding appropriately to positive and negative reviews, but doing so can offer valuable opportunities to support consumer needs. Read this ZAG Interactive article on The Financial Brand.

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The need to have your website effectively support multiple goals has never been more important. Realistic budgeting for a website update or redesign must start with identifying the most important components to ensure this vital channel can readily adapt to changes in technology, strategy and consumer expectations. Read this ZAG-authored article on The Financial Brand.

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The coronavirus pandemic has advanced a new era in banking. The only way financial institutions can succeed is through continued digital innovation, adapting to new types of competitors, a renewed focus on community, redefining risk-management and managing a remote workforce. Read this ZAG Interactive article on The Financial Brand.

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For consumers, ease of use of your institution's website can be a make or break experience. A UX fundamental that too often is overlooked is site navigation. Read this ZAG-authored article in The Financial Brand, including specific suggestions for making your site navigation approach one that other financial institutions will want to copy.

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From saturated, hyper-competitive markets to increased focus on the digital space, there’s no question social media marketing is a must for banks and credit unions. But when the rules are constantly changing, how do you develop a strategy with staying power? Read this ZAG-authored article in The Financial Brand.

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Operating during a global health crisis requires bank and credit union marketers to focus on immediate requirements, jettison inappropriate plans and tactics, and double down on support for customers and communities.

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There is significant untapped potential in this core digital marketing channel. By collecting contact information for targeted communications, bank and credit union marketers can transform a feeble website into a powerhouse that supports their business goals, improves the consumer journey and enhances overall brand impression.

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Most financial institution marketers understand the potential power of video in consumer marketing, but they struggle with making it fit their strategy, budget and skill set. In this ZAG Interactive- authored article, read valuable tips to help bridge that gap and keep your costs manageable.

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The Andrews Federal Credit Union website has been recognized as a Kentico Site of the Month for November 2019.

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ZAG won two 2019 Best of Industry WebAwards. Berkshire Bank received Best Bank Website, and University Credit Union received Best Credit Union Website.

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The MECU website has been recognized as a Kentico Site of the Month for August 2019.

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The Berkshire Bank website has been recognized as a Kentico Site of the Month for May 2019.

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Combining a rebrand with a website redesign can produce much greater impact when modernizing a bank or credit union's brand. As the "always-on" face of the institution, the website provides the quickest and widest-reaching impact for the launch. It also permits an iterative, pre-launch creative process.

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Everyone agrees, a digital strategy is essential for any bank or credit union in the current competitive mix. But it's a big leap from knowing that and having such a strategy. Read this ZAG Interactive article written for the Financial Brand to explore eight steps will help accelerate your institution's digital transformation.

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Most banks and credit unions unfortunately view financial literacy content as a "nice-to-have" but unessential component to their marketing strategy. Read this ZAG Interactive article written for the Financial Brand to understand why you can earn the right to sell your products by offering visitors something of value first - ongoing financial education.

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The Whitefish Credit Union website has been recognized as a Kentico Site of the Month for March 2019.

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The Frontwave Credit Union website has been recognized as a Kentico Site of the Month for January 2019.

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Banking providers should be leveraging Facebook more strategically to build their brand, improve communication, and generate more leads. The good news? A huge staff and big budget aren't required. You can reap the benefits without straining resources. Here's how.

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With new technologies, you can minimize consumer confusion by designing systems around those who are the least tech-savvy. Then, instead of technology being intimidating or irritating, you'll have world-class solutions that please everyone — from Millennials to Boomers.

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The University Credit Union website has been recognized as a Kentico Site of the Month for December 2018.

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Financial marketers fixate on rates in their product promotions. Too much focus on rate, or any one factor, can stifle a campaign's results. An integrated strategy can create awareness, understanding, and, ultimately, more conversions.

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Most websites in retail banking are lagging behind other industries by at least five years. The experience is often clunky, and the design is typically dated. The Financial Brand talked to experts from five web design firms in the banking industry, including ZAG Interactive, who offered their advice to banks and credit unions looking to close the gap and take their online experience to the next level. Read full story

The Coastal Credit Union website was recognized as the Best Credit Union website - the top honor in its category - in the 2018 WebAwards.

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Many financial institutions look and sound alike. This presents unique challenges to financial marketers looking to differentiate their brand from others. Fortunately, there are ways that banks and credit unions can enhance their overall website to deliver a more valuable experience, highlight product benefits, communicate competitive differences, and support business goals.

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Life often feels like it's moving at warp speed, and the world is getting more and more complicated. That's why people constantly seek greater simplicity in every aspect of their lives, including banking. Read this Financial Brand article, written by Michelle Brown, to learn how to bring simplicity bank to financial services marketing.

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To beat megabanks, smaller institutions must craft a compelling story about their competitive advantages in digital channels.

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Michelle Brown and Dawn Melesko will be speaking at the CUNA Marketing & Business Development Certification school preconference session in Las Vegas on October 15 about "Best Practices for Making Your Website a Digital Branch."

Learn more and register

ZAG Interactive has won 3 WebAwards in the Financial Services categories: Best Credit Union Website (Black Hills FCU), Credit Union Standard of Excellence (Ardent Credit Union) and Bank Standard of Excellence (Investors Bank).

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Promotional campaigns are a key component of a financial institution's website strategy. But it's not enough to simply push checking accounts and home loans on a home page banner and expect results.

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The Investors Bank website has been recognized as a Kentico Site of the Month for May 2017.

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The website for any banking provider is critical – from how it’s designed to the way it’s developed. It represents your brand, defines UX expectations, generates traffic, drives conversions, and yields invaluable marketing data. But your entire sales funnel can fall apart if your site isn’t up to par.

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Many banks’ and credit unions’ approach to blogging aims to keep readers generally informed about what’s happening at their institution — contests, product promotions, shred day events, shareholder meetings, new branch openings, etc. However, the most engaging blogs deliver more value through insightful content that helps consumers solve their financial problems.

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ZAG Interactive will be presenting at the #BankSocial Media Conference in Miami on April 5, leading a session called "Components of a Successful Financial Institution Website".

This ZAG Interactive article on The Financial Brand offers 17 ideas, tips, tricks and techniques that banks and credit unions can use to improve their digital presence.

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The Adventure Credit Union website has been recognized as a Sitefinity Site of the Quarter for Q3 2016.

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Do you know what people are saying about your institution’s brand on social networks? Here's why you must establish a social media listening post inside your organization.

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From building brand awareness to targeting specific consumer segments with product promotions, social media can help financial institutions achieve a wide range of business goals.

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ZAG’s clients include financial institutions with billions of dollars in assets and strict hosting and support requirements, which Rackspace is uniquely positioned to fulfill. And the peace of mind that comes from Rackspace’s 24/7/365 support is invaluable when ZAG discusses hosting options with clients. In some cases, ZAG attracts clients interested solely in the hosting capabilities offered through its connection with Rackspace.

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Many financial marketers wistfully admire how megabanks and big credit unions manage their digital channels — from their corporate website and social media to email and online advertising. These large institutions have the luxury of gigantic budgets, ample staff and numerous supporting agencies, all helping them become the digital “belles of the ball.”Meanwhile, thousands of other financial institutions struggle. How can they compete without the same deep pockets and resources? If your institution has champagne marketing dreams but is faced with the reality of a domestic beer budget, don’t get discouraged about all the things you can’t do. Instead plan for what you can do that may be just as awesome. Here are some ideas.
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Retail financial institutions don’t just offer checking accounts and mortgage loans, they provide consumers with solutions that support their goals and lifestyles through every stage of life — from opening their first account to getting ready for retirement. But rather than focusing solely on the traditional “product push,” financial institutions should think about marketing in terms of life stages and solutions.

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What good is a user-friendly, intuitive, informative, banking website if people can’t easily find it? As the virtual yellow pages of the internet, a good chunk of financial consumers will be looking for a new bank or credit union using a search engine. Even when your domain name is easily remembered, many people will still use a search engine to find a financial institution’s site.

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The right Google AdWords strategy can have a huge impact on your marketing ROI. But managed poorly, it can quickly turn into a gigantic sinkhole that drains your budget dry. Here's how to get the most from your SEM campaigns.

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ZAG's expertise in website ADA compliance is highlighted in this Hartford Business Journal article.

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Every pixel on your website is either helping you build your brand or it isn't. Here's how can your site can be used to support your brand's promise.

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Mobile is the predominant channel for social media. However, most social media marketing strategies are designed with a mobile-last mindset. This creates a poor customer experience and diminishes results. To lift your institution’s social media results, you need to think mobile-first, and optimize your marketing strategies for mobile while gathering results that demonstrate ROI.

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Your website is the single most important channel — for acquisition, sales, branding, communications, customer service, education and more. Unlike other channels, it must work 24/7 supporting a number of different goals and for a variety of different audiences, yet it must also be flexible enough to continually adapt to changes in your strategy, technology, and user needs/expectations.

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ZAG Interactive will be doing a "live on stage" makeover of the the Michigan State University Federal Credit Union (MSUFCU) website at the 2016 Financial Brand Forum. This popular conference geared towards bank and credit union marketing, advertising, branding and retail executives will have over 1,000 attendees from May 16-18 in Las Vegas. ZAG has been hard at work for the last months preparing for the website makeover, and is excited to discuss the project challenges, explain the behind-the-scenes process, and share designs with MSUFCU marketing personnel and the audience. Planning on attending the Financial Brand 2016 conference? Let's plan to meet up at our booth (#211) or schedule a meeting ahead of time.

The Savings Institute Bank and Trust website, redesigned by ZAG in 2015, is one of three finalists in the Ban king category. The site’s modern design, robust functionality and seamless third-party integrations make it a winner in our client’s eye. Please vote for this site before March 9.

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What you don't know about new ADA regulations governing website accessibility for people with visual disabilities could embroil your financial institution in a costly lawsuit. Here's what financial marketers need to do now — before the April 2016 deadline.

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ZAG Interactive was recently featured in the Hartford Courant. Read this article about ZAG's ADA compliance services and our overall culture.

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