What Banks and Credit Unions Can Learn from The Financial Brand’s New Digital Advertising Playbook

(And How Wheeler Digital Is Already Ahead of the Game)

The Financial Brand just dropped a must-read article breaking down how digital advertising is evolving for banks and credit unions. If you're in the financial marketing world, it's basically your new playbook. But here's the thing: while many agencies are just now catching up, at Wheeler Digital, we’ve been running these plays for a while.

Let’s walk through a few of the key takeaways from the article, and show you how we’re already putting them to work for banks and credit unions just like yours.

1. OTT and TikTok Are No Longer Optional

Banks and credit unions are finally embracing platforms like Hulu, Roku, and yes, even TikTok, to reach customers where they actually spend time.

📺 What we’re doing: We helped a small community bank stand out in a crowded market with OTT ads that ran on Hulu and other streaming services. The focus? Real people. Local connections. Real results.

🎵 TikTok, too? You bet. We launched a TikTok campaign for a multi-location credit union aimed at Gen Z. Their teen-focused checking and savings accounts needed a modern message, and TikTok delivered.

2. AI Is Changing the Game, But It’s Not a Solo Act

AI isn’t just for targeting anymore. It's making real-time decisions on which ads to show, when, and to whom.

🤖 How we do it: At Wheeler, we bake AI into nearly every campaign, whether it’s for ad placements, targeting, or budget allocation. But we don’t just “set it and forget it.” Our local team manually checks and optimizes campaigns multiple times a week. That combo of smart automation and human insight makes a big difference.

3. Stop Tracking Clicks. Start Measuring Real Growth.

Clicks and impressions are easy to measure, but they don’t tell the whole story. Smart financial marketers are now focused on deposit growth, member retention, and actual conversions.

📈 Our approach: We work with our clients to define custom conversion goals that align with your growth priorities. Want to know how many people walked into a branch after seeing your ad? We can track that. Prefer to measure completed loan applications or inbound calls? Done.

We're not here to show off pretty dashboards. We’re here to show impact.

4. You Don’t Need to Be Everywhere. You Need to Be Smart.

Gone are the days of “you have to be on Google” or “everyone needs to be doing YouTube.” The truth? It depends. Your audience and your goals should shape your strategy, not industry hype.

🎯 What we believe: At Wheeler, we reject the one-size-fits-all approach. We start with your goals, budget, and target audience, then recommend the right platforms. Sometimes that’s Facebook. Sometimes it’s OTT. Sometimes it’s a mix of channels you’ve never tried.

Bottom line: being everywhere is expensive. Being strategic is effective.

5. Your First-Party Data Is a Gold Mine (When Used Right)

More banks are starting to realize the potential of their own customer data—not just for retention, but for growth.

💡 Real-world example: We helped one of our credit union partners use first-party data to run targeted upsell campaigns. Members with an auto loan, but no checking or savings, were served custom ads that brought them deeper into the ecosystem. Result? A big boost in cross-product adoption and member loyalty.

Ready to Run the Playbook (the Right Way)?

This article confirms what we’ve known for a while: smart digital advertising is about strategy, personalization, and results.

If you’re ready to stop wasting ad spend on one-size-fits-all marketing and start seeing real results that tie back to your growth goals, let’s talk. Whether you're a community bank, regional credit union, or somewhere in between, we’d love to help you build campaigns that actually work.

👉 Contact Wheeler Digital today! 540-767-2256 or email Fredy Wright at [email protected] 🔗 https://thefinancialbrand.com/news/bank-marketing/inside-bankings-new-digital-advertising-playbook-187271

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