The Financial Brand

Forum 2024 breakout speakers and sessions are released! The Financial Brand Forum 2025 will feature dozens of how-to sessions taking a deep dive into a wide range of issues critical to your organization's growth strategy — from disruptive fintech innovations and digital marketing, to CX and generative AI. You'll learn innovative strategies, advanced techniques, and best practices from the brightest minds in banking. These sessions are packed with actionable insights guaranteed to build both your brand and your bottom line. (And keep an eye out — we have more breakout sessions to come!)

Surprisingly, Gen Z is emerging as a generation of super-savers, outpacing every other generation with 47% setting aside more than 20% of their monthly income. But here's what makes them fascinating: Despite being digital natives (99% use mobile banking apps), Gen Z's banking decisions aren't driven by flashy tech or even the highest returns. Their top factor? Good old-fashioned word of mouth from family and friends. "Over 60% of Gen Z admit to being confused by financial topics," YouGov reports. This vulnerability might explain why many still keep their savings in cash, missing out on today's 5% high-yield opportunities.

We couldn't have said it better ourselves.

The 8 Biggest Emerging Trends According to Women CMOs in Fintech Women CMOs are garnering representation in C-suite positions, jumping from 17% to 29% since 2015. At a time when 91% of financial services companies now have CMOs at the helm, far outpacing the Fortune 500 average, it's a telling statistic. Even more telling? A staggering 82% are increasing their marketing budgets in 2025, with not a single company planning cuts. "CMOs are now expected to impact more areas than ever, including brand, customer experience, and revenue functions, playing a crucial role in driving business growth," notes Jennifer Tramontana, President of The Fletcher Group. While 67% of CMOs have embraced AI to boost efficiency, trust remains the cornerstone of success. As one CMO put it: "Brand is what builds long-term trust, but if the product doesn't deliver, the brand can only take you so far."

Klarna, the global shopping and payments company, has a AI-powered customer service agent, and it now handles 2.3 million conversations monthly, slashing resolution times from 7 minutes to 2. The result? A projected $40 million boost to this year's profits. Even more shocking is that the company has cut marketing agency spend by 25% while creating MORE campaigns. What once took six weeks now takes seven days, with AI generating over 1,000 images in just three months. "Ask Procter & Gamble or Pepsi how much they've spent on storyboards," says CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski. His team can now sketch ideas within an hour instead of waiting weeks and spending $100,000 on traditional methods. The transformation runs deep — 86-93% of Klarna's communications, marketing, and legal teams now use AI daily. The impact? Revenue per employee has soared 73% in just one year.

Looking forward to connecting with many of you again in 2025 at The Financial Brand Forum!

Happening today at 11:45 a.m. EST: Leveraging AI to Enhance Customer Support and Employee Operations Join us for a discussion on how the use of conversational and generative AI is revolutionizing customer service and employee operations. Hear real examples of how First Financial Bank and Meriwest Credit Union leveraged prescriptive and generative AI-powered virtual assistants, to help ensure seamless customer support and equip their employees with instant access to critical internal documents and information during major events within their organizations.

We're excited for Eric's session!! Remember — Early Bird ends in just a couple days. Don't miss out: get your ticket today and save $700!

In a revealing conversation at The Clearing House Conference last week, JPMorgan Chase's Teresa Heitsenrether cuts through the AI hype with stark insights: Banking isn't waiting for AI – it's already here. "It's probably not a choice," Heitsenrether notes on AI adoption. With fraudsters wielding AI and efficiency gains of 25-40% on the horizon, standing still isn't an option. Yet Chase's approach is measured: 200,000 employees have AI access, but customer-facing GenAI? Not yet. It's about balancing innovation with trust — or as Heitsenrether puts it, avoiding "the proverbial thousand flowers blooming." Steve Cocheo attended the event himself, and has what you need to know:

Berkshire Bank's new platform, Berkshire One, isn't just another digital banking offering — it's rewriting the playbook with "insane perks" (yes, a bank actually said that) like cell phone insurance and streaming service reimbursements. "We wanted to build a brand with a persona that is bold and innovative, standing out with cutting-edge marketing that balances wit and professionalism," says Sumant Pustake, EVP at Berkshire Bank. The results? They're seeing 4x better relationship-deepening metrics compared to digital-only peers. But here's the real game-changer: they didn't outsource to a single fintech — they orchestrated a symphony of partnerships. "Think about it as a symphony. Symphony doesn't happen in isolation," notes Pustake. "You need to have people, partnerships, products, technology, data—all of that has to come together for this thing to work."