Intro: You're listening to Talking Sense with Heritage. We're your hosts, Cierra and Sami. ​

Sami Etienne (Host 1): Hi everyone. My name is Sami and I'm the Director of Marketing here at Heritage Federal Credit Union.

Cierra Ziliak (Host 2): And my name is Cierra and I'm the Marketing Strategy Manager.

Host 1: So last year we started a podcast and we did it a little bit differently that we're doing now. We had a host that was external and we would just invite different Heritage employees on to talk about different things.

So we have a library, I would say, of several podcasts built up all the way from buying a home, financial literacy, AG lending, talking about a rebrand that we went through. But now, we've actually decided to bring it in house and we're going to be your host.

Host 2: That's right.

Host 1: Yeah, so we've got a vision of what we want to do for this year. So starting off 2025 strong, Cierra, do you want to talk about like some of the ideas that we have?

Host 2: Yeah, absolutely. So we're definitely gonna really lean into the financial education and wellness. We think we have a lot of really great information with our employees here that we can bring to the community and us being employees here, we kind of have a unique understanding compared to a host who is external. So we're excited to kind of bring that to the podcast.

Host 1: And being in marketing, I think hopefully we can put a little bit of a creative spin on this and make it entertaining for you guys.

Host 2: Definitely.

Host 1: We also have our, I guess we can call her our producer, Shelby, who is in here with us during all of our podcasts, making sure that everything's set up correctly. She's getting them scheduled for us, helping us pick out topics and get guests for the podcast. So we're really excited to see what ideas she has for us.

Host 2: And we did do one podcast with this style, with our NIL girls and we feel like that went really well. So that kind of inspired us to take this a step further.

Host 1: Yeah, we have some NIL athletes that we've partnered with, who are from UE and our last podcast, if you haven't listened to it already, it's called Gen Z Banking. We didn't have our fancy little studio and our fancy mics, so bear with us on the quality of it. Hopefully we sound a lot better now, but, it was a lot of fun and it really kind of got us thinking that I think we could do this.

Host 2: Yeah, absolutely. And I'm really excited to see what this turns into and who we can get to come and talk to us from our community.

Host 1: So if you're listening to this and you want to be on our podcast,

Host 2: Please reach out. Reach out.

Host 1: We're taking applications for guests. We're hoping to get some non profit partners, who are banking with us and talk about our non profit checking account. We're really involved in the community. I think that's something that Heritage is really proud of is our community involvement and specifically with our nonprofits now, since we've launched, our new nonprofit checking and it's been really successful. So we would love to have one of them come on and speak to the product and how Heritage has partnered with them and just hear about their mission.

So, if you haven't listened to our podcast before, one podcast that would be one to definitely go back and listen to other than the Gen Z banking is the Credit Union vs. Banks podcast. That was done by one of our relationship bankers and he really dives into detail about the difference between a credit union and a bank. Which, I mean, did you know before working at a credit union the difference?

Host 2: No, I had no idea that credit unions were not for profit. I did not realize that all of the funds that are in a credit union are there because of its members. So every dollar that is generated goes back into the credit union, and it's really, there for the community and the community members that are part of Heritage.

Host 1: Yeah, I had no idea either. Previously, I had a checking account at a local bank. Yeah. And then I thought, once I started working here, I obviously switched to Heritage. But I thought, why am I banking at a bank? I'm not getting any dividend payments for my checking account, and, it's just a place to put your money.

But with Heritage, I feel like it's completely different. And I feel like that's how credit unions are. Like, it really makes you feel like there's a benefit to banking with them.

Host 2: And it ties back into giving back to the community, like with our nonprofit checking. And we do a lot of sponsorships and donations with local nonprofits, so it feels like when you're banking with someone who's giving back to the community, it feels better than just putting your money into a bank.

Host 1: Right. No, I totally agree. And I think that Heritage does a really wonderful job at giving back to the community and giving back to its members.

Host 2: Yeah, absolutely.

Heritage's mission is to improve lives and simplify banking and that is kind of what we wanted to do for our listeners with this podcast and with us being local to our community and having this unique understanding of Heritage and all of our people. That's kind of what we wanted to do with the financial literacy and bringing that education to our community.

Host 1: Yeah, and I feel like a podcast is such an easy way for listeners to consume knowledge. Because if anybody's like me, I mean, know you are that I listen to a podcast on my way to work or when I'm getting ready in the morning.

It's so much easier than reading and I really do feel strongly that podcasts, you know, they've taken off within the past couple of years. Like they've gotten wildly popular and I think they're just going to continue because, and I've said this before, but with the creation of AI and like Chat GPT and all that, like blogs and articles and stuff are just going to be a thing of the past because that can be created in seconds by AI.

But a podcast is real life people talking about, real life things, and you've got live guests in with you.

Host 2: And their unique perspectives and.

Host 1: Yes, yes. Like, it just feels more genuine, and I hope that as a listener you relate to that, and as you're listening to our future podcasts, or even our past ones, that it resonates with you, and you're consuming the knowledge, and a simplified way. And that's that's what we're trying to do is improve your life and simplify your banking.

Host 2: Right. Exactly.

Host 1: So, since this is our first podcast that I would say that we're doing in the studio together, we're all in right now. Maybe we should talk a little bit like about ourselves, I guess. Okay. So, Cierra, How long have you been with Heritage?

Host 2: I have been here three years, right at three years, but I did actually start quite a bit before that for an internship with marketing and I also worked as a teller, which gave me a really unique understanding of banking especially as like a young college student, I had very little knowledge of banking and that really brought a lot of perspective to me working at a credit union.

So, I left, the city of Evansville and came back, and that's whenever I started on the marketing department and working on Sami's team.

Host 1: I know what you do, but for our listeners, I feel like marketing, a lot of people think that marketing is just posting on social or, putting a billboard up, but there's so much behind the scenes and don't get like really far in the details for our listeners but, but like super high level, like, because what you do is so fascinating. I would love for you to share.

Host 2: Oh, that's so sweet. Well, it's campaign management, but it's beyond that. So there's a lot of pieces that go into whenever we run a campaign or a special. And for our listeners who don't know anything about marketing, a campaign is basically just a special.

So one that we run is home equity loans, we run a special on those. So we have a lot of different pieces and it's kind of coordinating that all together and making sure that the train stays on the tracks and all of the pieces are there.

Host 1: Yeah, and there's so many different channels that marketing utilizes.

Host 2: Absolutely.

Host 1: And Cierra does a wonderful job at making sure that we get this information to you in a variety of ways. So, email, social media, website.

Host 2: Paid avenues.

Host 1: Yep, paid avenues through our digital banking app. So all of that is not just automatically done. It has to be organized and scheduled and then taken down and then we have to track all of that. So it is a lot of work that goes behind it and she does a really good job and my team does a really good job.

Host 2: We have a wonderful team at Heritage. A lot of that is thanks to Sami. Having a good boss helps a lot and makes you want to be able to do your job and do it well. So we're very lucky to have a good team that works together well.

Host 1: Well, thank you. Yes, I do. I love our team here. I feel like we all work really well together. I hope that you guys feel that you have the creative freedom to do a lot of things. And that's one thing that I do love about here to just that we get to express our creativeness. Especially when it comes to marketing, like we can try new things and we can use bright colors and use images that stand out and catch your eye. And I don't know if the public, I, hope that they are noticing a big shift, especially since our rebrand.

Host 2: Rebrand. Rebrand is a big one.

Host 1: Yes. If you haven't listened to that podcast, I actually did that one, talked about our rebrand and that was a big undertaking, but it was a lot of fun and I'm so glad that we did it. And I'm so glad that it's over.

Host 2: Yeah. Me too.

Host 1: So yeah, that's a little bit about Heritage and the marketing team and what's in store for 2025.

Host 2: 2025, yeah.

Host 1: Yeah, so, we are gonna have a really good time this year. We've got some big, exciting things coming. We'll have some good guests.

Host 2: Absolutely.

Host 1: We'll do, probably around two podcasts a month. We'll try to get some filming done in there, too.

Host 2: And let us know if you're a listener, what you want to hear. If there are topics or things you're curious about, it can be simple, it can be broad. Let us know what you're interested in.

Host 1: Yeah, just comment on social media. We'll definitely get these podcasts posted. They're also on Apple music, Spotify, wherever you get your podcast. They'll be on there too. So just make sure and subscribe and stay tuned.

Host 2: Yes. Thank you.

Host 1: Thank you.

Disclaimer: Loans may be subject to credit review and approval, and property insurance may be required. Membership restrictions may apply. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Heritage Federal Credit Union.