Ep. 68: ABA Bank Marketing Conference 2022 Showcase

John Hanley, SVP and Senior Director of Marketing at Equity Bank, is serving as this year’s co-chairman of the ABA Bank Marketing Conference on September 11-13 in Denver, Colorado.

The goal of the Bank Marketing Conference is to help grow strong marketers across all fields of the financial services industry. The conference will showcase how the role of marketing fits into financial companies and how creativity, design, and branding are needed in the industry.

Marketers working in financial services know how hard it can be to establish yourself as a credible co-worker in a field where the creative process isn’t well-known. Knowing exactly what your bank or company is looking for in projects can be challenging too. John believes if marketers can “find the personality in your bankers, in your company, in your brand, and even in your customers,” they’ll be able to establish themselves in any company.

He encourages marketers to focus on how they can make themselves stand out, while also taking into account their clients’ needs. How can our product appeal to clients when financial products are so similar? Does our brand showcase all we have to offer to clients? Engaging with coworkers and bouncing ideas off one another is a way to ensure you’re on the right track. Once the curtain in front of the creative process is pulled back and your company is able to see all you do, John emphasizes the importance of taking leadership in your company.

John is excited for marketers to hear from some of the keynote speakers, who will cover subjects from NIL endorsements to using data to help pitch ideas. There will also be vendors who “you get to speak directly to them in a way that you may not at other conferences.” John encourages everyone who is interested to register for the conference and learn from fellow financial marketers.

Listen to this episode to hear more about how marketers can make their mark on the financial industry with Hunter and John.

More About John

John J. Hanley is Senior Vice President and Senior Director of Marketing and leads all marketing, advertising, communication, brand management, and public relations strategies for Equity Bank, a $5-billion regional community bank with 67 locations in Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Arkansas. John joined Equity Bank in 2012 in its offices in Kansas City. John is a recognized marketer, speaker and leader nationally in the banking industry, serving as Chair of the American Bankers Association marketing advisory board, and a board member of the ABA’s CFMP exam and Bank Marketing School.

John began his banking career as marketing manager for Kansas-based Sunflower Bank in 2004, and earned his Certified Financial Marketing Professional designation in 2014. John began his career as a newspaper writer and editor with The News-Times in Danbury, Connecticut. John is a graduate of Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, and attended the University of Iowa College of Law. John serves locally as Chair of the Board of the Lawrence, Kansas Humane Society and lives in Lawrence, Kansas with his wife, Judge Amy Hanley and three cats: Sophie, Todd and Wallace. He is a diehard Pearl Jam and Chicago Cubs fan.