Transcription:
SimpliFi: From Conceptualization to Campaign Execution, EmpowerFi is Your Marketing Resource

Bill Klaproth:   When you've been searching for the right insight, advice and information on financial marketing, you know where to go. The Speakeasy, the exclusive source for financial marketing insights, with a shot of human starring Kelly Hellickson and Hillary Reed from EmpowerFI, strategy infused data driven marketing solutions for financial institutions nationwide. I'm your host Bill Klaproth, and on this episode, we talk with Jen Fenton, senior Graphic designer at EmpowerFI, on how to simplify your marketing needs. Jen, welcome to the speakeasy Podcast.

Thank you, I'm so excited to be on it, to be here with my team.

We are excited to have you here. Jen-Fen! Jen-Fen! Jen-Fen!

Hilary Reed: Jen-Fen!  

Bill Klaproth: Jen-Fen.

Hilary Reed: You need like a round of applause.

Jen Fenton: Yes.

Bill Klaproth: So, Jen, welcome again. So first off, tell us about your background and your role at EmpowerFi.

Jen Fenton: My background is that I have been doing design. I actually just did the calculations to make sure I had it right, because I can't believe that I've been a graphic designer now for 14 years.  I'm feeling a little bit old, but that also is wonderful, because it helps to reflect on the amount of experience that I've gained in that 14 years. I started out my design career working for a Madison, Wisconsin agency. I worked there for about five years and was awesome about working at the agency, it was a small group. So I really got my hands into all different facets of design. So print, web, signage. It really left me with a great foundation to continue my career into the financial marketing space for a couple of years. And then, before joining EmpowerFi, I also worked on an in-house product marketing design team.

I feel very honored to be the first employee to join the EmpowerFi team. I think what's special about that is that we've been able to kind of work through things together and really establish what our design team is going to look like, our role and how we want to improve marketing for credit unions and banks that we work with.

Hilary Reed: Yeah. Awesome. Jen is our first official employee and she's been with us for a couple years now. And it's really neat. Yeah. I

t's really neat being considered a startup at one point, maybe still. But working with our staff individually to determine what is most efficient in terms of design and project management and then getting it right. And when we get it right, then we're able to scale and do it again and multiply and duplicate it. And it's just been a really neat process having Jen have a lot of input in that. And Jen, what is your position with us now?

Jen Fenton: I am a senior graphic designer. I help with all projects and guide our other graphic designer on staff as well, along with some other folks that we work with. And I create anything from helping our clients with brand, developing logos and brand guides, which is something I'm really passionate about. And then also, a full multi-channel marketing campaign that extends for  direct mail, landing pages with pearls, email followups, and then digital graphics to go with that as well.

We also have a lot of other projects too, that come in, large banners, signage, things like that. I really enjoy being kind of on the conceptual side and really understanding our client's brand, and how we can amplify that, and extend it to include other elements to enhance it, to elevate their brand as we go. That's one of the things I love to do as often. I think the clients that we work with, they have a brand guide, but it's not very established. And so what's great about working with our group is that we can take that and something I like to do is to create that look and feel and modernize it perhaps if it hasn't been something that hasn't been touched in awhile. And that's where, I think, my skills really come into play.

Kelly Hellickson: Yeah. And I think that's a huge, huge point, Jen. I also think it's a huge advantage. And Jen and I worked together in previous life and just through the nature of the relationship between her and I, and then the ones that we've now developed at EmpowerFi with our clients, I think that that does raise a good point about brand and some of the challenges, that we see our folks come to us with in today's day and age, especially given the pandemic and the current climate, how that ties back to marketing. Jen, what do you feel are some of the biggest challenges for credit unions and banks today and related to what we've seen?

Jen Fenton: Yeah. I mean, I think the biggest challenges, right, that need to shift gears at a moment's notice. Nobody really knows what's around the corner right now. It was interesting to me kind of when the pandemic started, I think, we all kind of thought like, " Well, what's going to happen, right?"  Lucky for us, we work with the financial industry, so we knew it wasn't going away completely, right? It's an essential business.

Yeah. I definitely saw like kind of pause, but then felt like we got a lot of like,  "Whoa, what do we do now?" Right? We had this budget that for 2020, we still have funds to use. What's the direction we need to take it right now? And how can we still use these funds to do effective marketing? As we head into the end of the year and as we get into 2021, it's kind of like," Who are we now?" Given everything our organization has been through the past year, like, who are we? What are our beliefs now and who do we want to be moving forward? And I think that really talks about the brand story and what is their story now and where do you want to go from here?

I kind of think to what worked in 2020 and what didn't. Maybe there was a complete failure.   Maybe we should have been marketing for loans a little bit ahead of when we did or, with the interest rates, the way they are, that's something to consider moving forward, keep pushing, but maybe not pushing hard and maybe telling more of a story with that and a personal connection. But I think now is a time to take some risks and see how the marketing does.

 Hilary Reed: What a better time than now to help determine who you are and who you want to be. And a big thing for a lot of credit unions. They really don't know their true value proposition. And we've actually been finding that a lot of clients across the country now are examining it now more than ever, more than they have been in the past for sure.

Jen Fenton: Yeah. I was just thinking too like data can really help, as well, like with the changing climate. I think using Intellify data or artificial intelligence data, like that can really help target audiences you're going to go after. And with the changing climate, I think using tools like that can really help make design more effective.

Hilary Reed:   Yeah. I was actually going to ask you. How has it made it easier for you as a designer for the clients that you see using artificial intelligence and predictive modeling and things? How does that change your job as a designer?

Jen Fenton: Yeah. it's really helpful. I one of the hardest things about being a graphic designer is you're kind of in this middle ground. You have ideas on khow it should work. Maybe the marketing director you're working with might have an idea of how that goes. And what I really love about data is it's a concrete  evidence-based way of looking at design. Many of my fellow designers, friends, we want to know that what we're designing is effective. And I think when you're able to use data and know that can influence.

Does your audience like fishing for example? We had client of ours where it came back was an interest in fishing. And so we were able to add imagery onto the postcard for the direct mail piece that would resonate with whoever was receiving it. That just helped the engagement. And it's exciting for designers because, you know, our whole goal is communicate visually. And so when we have data to back that up and have that interaction, it kind of values what we do and that we know what we're designing is effective and we're adding something valuable to the organization we're working with.

Hilary Reed: That's so cool. Bill, how would you love to get a postcard in the mail that says, "Do you love Pearl Jam?"

Bill Klaproth: I would love that.

Hilary Reed: We were just talking about Pearl Jam.

I would love that. Bring it on.

I would buy anything that was on that card if they knew that I liked Pearl Jam.

Bill Klaproth: That would be really good targeting because you know exactly what I like. That would be well-received. So, Jen, let me ask you this, with marketing teams, having to adjust and shift on the fly in these uncertain times in rapidly changing news cycles that we live in, what suggestions do you have for marketing teams and how they can power through those types of challenges?

 Jen Fenton: I think the challenges are going to be with this need to pivot on directives from maybe the CEO or the C-suite or something. I mean, we've noticed that a little bit this year from talking with our clients that if your projects are getting overloaded as a team, like that's the perfect time to reach out and find an expert who can help you, and make sure those deadlines are met. When you're kind of wondering what to do and then all of a sudden it's like, "Oh no, we need to get this out the door now." Well, that's the perfect time to call on us to help you with your marketing and get those extensions to your small team that you can make those initiatives happen.

Hilary Reed: So I have my favorite question. I love asking this question. I ask it sometimes on our round table Zooms that we had. So what are some of favorite platforms and efficiency tools and things like that for working with credit unions across the country? Talk to us about some of the platforms and things that you think make your job in working with credit unions easier and more efficient.

Jen Fenton: Yes. Something that was new for me joining the EmpowerFi team because we're remote, is using a video platform for meetings. I know traditionally I had always been on the phone or in an office space, but felt like we were kind of on the forefront of transitioning to that and getting used to using Zoom, and then before that Google Hangouts. But being able see clients face to face, even you, even Kelly and Hilary. It's so awesome to see people's smiling faces. I like that personal connection of it.

And then our team, the platform that you and Kelly liked the most, and I think I've really grown to like, but it's Slack and Slack is a messaging app on steroids. I really like how that was described. It's really meant for teams and workplaces where you can use them across multiple devices and platforms. So, you know, if get a call from preschool that Miles peed his pants, and I need to go grab him quick, but I know that there's something I need to relay to a teammate before I go do that, oh, I can just jump on Slack on my computer. There's an app you can download or I can take my phone and right before I leave the driveway and put the garage door down, I can send April a message that says, "Oh, hey. Can you make sure that this happens, because I have to run out for something?"

So it's just really great. And we can use it for that business communication and the team communication for projects, but also it's really fun to be able to share, put our Halloween photos up or say, "This is what I did this weekend." And I think, now we're all disconnected and not, in the office together, it's such a great way to have that less work-related communication sometimes to really build the connection now. And Slack is a great way to do that. Yeah,

Kelly Hellickson: It is. And I think that's a great way to end our time with you is that once you say you feel that at EmpowerFi, we do have a connection, not only with each other, but also with our clients. And that's what makes us the most unique.

 Jen Fenton: Yeah. I love that each call starts out as that shared experiences, whether it be complaining about the pandemic and how hard it is or sharing pictures of Halloween costumes with each other. And that really brings the joy to what we do. It's just awesome to have that connection with our clients. I agree.

Hilary Reed: Yeah, I agree. Without these tools and the platforms, I feel like we wouldn't have the ability to relate to our clients like we do, and it's super unique and I wouldn't change it for the world.

Thank you, Jen-Fen for joining us today.

Kelly Hellickson: Thank you, Jen-Fen.

Bill Klaproth: Thanks, Jen. We appreciate it.

Jen Fenton: Thank you.

Bill Klaproth: And our calendar is open. Let's make the time right for our first meeting, send us an email today to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. EmpowerFi can help you achieve your lending, membership, acquisition goals and more with vibrant results-driven marketing campaigns. Get a hold of us today. This is the Speakeasy Financial Marketing podcast. Thanks for listening.