MAC Webinars
Up Next
Beyond the Press Release: Seven Powerful PR Plays for Credit Unions
Tuesday, December 1, 2026
11AM PT/2PM ET
Press releases are a great foundation, but the credit unions that earn the most trust and visibility build on it with variety. This session explores seven non-traditional or often overlooked PR tactics that help credit unions earn credibility, boost discoverability and connect with both current and prospective members. From thought leadership and speaking opportunities to sponsorship amplification and award nominations, attendees will learn how to turn what they’re already doing into compelling stories that get journalists’ attention. Participants will leave with practical ideas they can put into action right away, a clearer sense of where to start and a plan for building a steady earned media presence all year long.
Presenters:
Filomena Fanelli
CEO/President, Impact PR & Communications
Filomena Fanelli is the founder of Impact PR & Communications, an award-winning agency specializing in financial services, nonprofit, real estate and hospitality clients. She began her career more than 28 years ago at Rubenstein Associates, where she became the youngest vice president and worked on major financial and real estate accounts, including Commerce Bank. Today, she leads a team that works with banks and credit unions across the country, helping them secure speaking engagements, land leadership articles and earn standout media coverage. The agency has been recognized by the Marketing Association of Credit Unions, the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), Credit Union Times and PR Daily as one of its Top Agencies of 2026.
Alli Long
Associate Vice President, Impact PR & Communications
Alli Long is an associate vice president at Impact PR & Communications, where she leads strategic campaigns for the agency’s banking and finance, professional services and nonprofit clients. As part of the agency’s senior leadership team, she also plays a key role in managing complex crisis accounts. Throughout her career, Alli has served on the communications teams of large corporations including a national accounting firm and two pharmaceutical giants. Further building upon her passion for storytelling and writing, she earned her Master of Arts and Master of Fine Arts – MFA from Monmouth University and served as an adjunct professor in the English department, teaching advanced creative writing to undergraduates.
You Missed the Breakout. Don't Miss the Encore. Best of MAC Scottsdale 2026
Tuesday, November 17, 2026
11AM PT/2PM ET
You can’t be in three breakout sessions at once. Now you don’t have to be.
We’re bringing three standout sessions from the 2026 MAC Conference in Scottsdale back for a special encore webinar. Whether you were at the conference and had to make the impossible choice between sessions, or couldn’t join us in Scottsdale, this is your chance to catch the ideas, inspiration, and practical strategies you missed.
This encore brings together three very different perspectives on how credit union marketers can create meaningful growth and engagement:
-
10 Digital Campaigns to Drive CU Growth with Lindsay Cielinski and Erin Macasek. Go behind the scenes of real, launched digital campaigns spanning push notifications, CTV, radio, affiliate marketing, and more. See the creative, hear what worked and what fell short, and take away ideas for driving awareness, acquisition, and product adoption.
-
Going Bananas for Engagement: How One Credit Union Turned Youth Marketing into a Community Experience with John Lanza and Bryce Verlinden. Discover how Community Choice Credit Union transformed youth marketing into memorable community experiences through mascots, local partnerships, social engagement, and experiential marketing. Learn how playful ideas can support serious goals like deposit growth, new accounts, and stronger relationships with families, even without a massive budget.
-
From Breakpoints to Breakthroughs: Building Brands that Inspire with Karen McGaughey. Get ready to get behind the scenes of a Credit Union’s brand journey. Explore how you can move beyond challenges and create brands that inspire connection and action with practical insights, build internal brand champions, and create meaningly relevance with growth audiences.
It’s three breakout sessions, one webinar, and a second chance to bring some of the best ideas from Scottsdale back to your credit union.
Branding with Purpose: Using Research and Local Insight to Make Smarter Marketing Investments
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
11AM PT/2PM ET
This panel explores how credit unions use research and local market insight to guide rebrand decisions and marketing spend. Featuring Rivel Banking Research, Capital Performance Group, and two credit unions in active rebrands, the discussion will focus on how data informs brand strategy, launch decisions, and local activations, such as community and sports sponsorships, to drive awareness and impact.
Key discussion points include:
-
Rebrands grounded in research reduce risk and increase confidence
-
Local market insight shapes smarter messaging, channels, and partnerships
-
Data turns sponsorships into strategic brand accelerators- not just logos
-
Informed teams make clearer decisions on where to invest (and where not to)
-
To guide future and ongoing spends
Presenters:
Corey Wrinn
Managing Director, Rivel
Corey oversees all sales, marketing, research, and operational functions within Rivel Banking Research, which conducts primary research on banking consumers and brand opportunities across the US.
Ultimately, the research analysis informs clients on their market position against competitors, identifies areas for growth and strategy, and monitors their overall impact on their customers and community.
Ally Akins
Principal and Co-Lead of Sales and Marketing, Capital Performance Group, LLC
Ally advises financial services organizations on growth strategy, marketing effectiveness, and revenue optimization.
She works closely with senior leadership teams to design and implement strategies that drive measurable business outcomes.
Jennifer Carson
Vice President of Marketing & Communications, Wellby Financial
Jennifer leads an award-winning team and shapes strategies that advance growth, build brand equity, and strengthen market positioning.
She brings an enterprise perspective to marketing and communications, connecting business ambition with consumer insight and a clear understanding of what earns trust and drives action.
Frank Kerner
AVP of Marketing, Pelican Credit Union
Frank leads brand strategy and integrated marketing initiatives that support the credit union's continued growth and member experience.
Throughout his career at Pelican, Frank has helped shape the organization's marketing evolution through brand development, digital marketing, data-driven strategy and content development, including its recent brand refresh.
The Consumer Confidence Curve: Understanding How AI is Shaping Trust and Decision-Making in Marketing
Tuesday, August 25, 2026
11AM PT/2PM ET
Artificial Intelligence is reshaping how credit unions operate and how members think, learn, and decide about their financial lives. Yet while institutions pour resources into AI-driven efficiency and personalization, the member mindset isn’t evolving at the same pace. This disconnect is now influencing trust, loyalty, and long-term growth potential. In this exclusive session, new data gathered from thousands of consumers and small businesses nationwide, will reveal how people perceive, understand, and respond to AI in their everyday banking interactions. You’ll see where curiosity turns into confidence, and where confusion creates risk for your brand. By connecting these findings to real marketing and leadership decisions, participants will leave with data-driven direction to strengthen brand perception, deepen loyalty, and align their AI narrative with what customers value today.
Presenters:
Emily Riecke
Consultant, Rivel
Emily partners with bank and credit union leaders to help them make smarter, data-driven decisions by utilizing Rivel's market-level benchmark data and custom research, including focus groups, to uncover what truly drives consumer behavior. Her goal is to equip financial institutions with actionable insights that strengthen their brand, attract the right customers, and improve retention.
Before Rivel, she was a senior account executive at Gartner, where she strategically partnered with financial services leaders to solve key technology and business challenges. She is a graduate of Louisiana State University with a background in management and entrepreneurship and is currently pursuing her MBA with a specialization in marketing.
Building a Smarter Credit Union Website: How the Right Tools & Techniques Turn Your Website into a Member Magnet
Tuesday, June 9, 2026
11AM PT/2PM ET
Turn your website into a high-performing, data-driven growth engine. In our webinar, Building a Smarter Credit Union Website, we’ll break down how to simplify rate management, capture and nurture leads, improve SEO and AI visibility, personalize member experiences, and better connect marketing with sales so you can attract, engage, and convert more members.
Presenters:
Claire Fallon
Senior Partner Development Manager, Hubspot
Clare Fallon is a Senior Partner Development Manager at HubSpot, where she helps HubSpot Solutions Partners (like FI GROW) build stronger, more meaningful connections with their customers. Originally from the Jersey Shore, Clare brings an energetic, approachable style to her work and is passionate about helping Partners grow better with HubSpot. She’s excited to share practical insights and connect with you during today’s session.
Meredith Olmstead
Chief Executive Officer, FI GROW Solutions
Meredith is the CEO of FI GROW Solutions, a digital marketing and sales coaching agency that helps banks and credit unions grow smarter — not just bigger. With a nationwide team and client base, she works to help financial institutions strengthen their digital strategy and empower their teams to grow with confidence.
Under Meredith’s leadership, the team has developed a proven framework that drives measurable, guaranteed growth. She blends strategy with teaching, helping clients build the in-house skills needed to sustain long-term digital success.
A former educator turned entrepreneur, Meredith brings clarity, energy, and a little humor to every engagement. Collaborating with her team and clients is what makes her actually love Mondays — and yes, she swears that balance between life and work is possible, and she’s living proof
Kristin Mock
Inbound Marketing Strategist, FI GROW Solutions
Kristin Mock is a data-driven problem solver with a well-balanced eye for the creative side of things. She has over 10 years of marketing experience with six of them being in the financial industry focused on community bank marketing strategies.
With her highly organized nature, Kristin thrives on structuring plans and strategies to meet and exceed goals. She believes in the power of the written word and embraces change with open arms because you can’t get anywhere without moving forward.
The Science of Branding: Tapping the Hidden Forces Behind Consumer Decisions
Tuesday, May 12, 2026
11AM PT/2PM ET
What makes some financial brands so much more effective than others? It’s not about rates, fees, and product features. It comes down to how the brain is wired to process, sort, and filter what matters — emotionally, not logically. In a world with endless options and shrinking attention spans, understanding the science of choice is a strategic advantage that marketers of all levels must master.
In this creative learning session, we’ll break down the science behind creativity and persuasion — and how top brands use powerful emotional levers to shape behavior, influence decisions, and earn trust. You’ll learn a framework with simple techniques for making your branding and marketing initiatives more effective, more fun, and more rewarding.
We'll cover:
-
The behavioral science and decision-making principles that the best brands use to influence choice
-
How to win hearts — and wallet share — by leveraging insights into consumer psychology
-
Three deceptively simple questions that will make all of your branding and marketing initiatives more effective
-
The most common creative traps that kill good ideas — and how to avoid them
-
Tips and techniques to sustain your team’s creativity, keep ideas fresh, and prevent burnout
Presenter:
Josh Streufert
Chief Creative Officer, Strum Agency
Josh Streufert is the Chief Creative Officer at Strum, where he and his team use creativity, behavioral science, and strategic storytelling to help credit unions matter more in the moments that shape consumer choice. With his deep experience in credit union branding, Josh is known for turning complex insights into simple, memorable ideas that spark connection, build trust, and drive growth.
Reaching Members Beyond Digital: Video Strategies for Credit Unions
Tuesday, April 21, 2026
11AM PT/2PM ET
In today’s crowded media landscape, cutting through the noise requires more than traditional digital tactics. This webinar explores how credit unions can use video more strategically—reaching members in the right moments, with the right message, and in the right context. Learn how to integrate video across your broader content strategy, align messaging with not just where audiences are but why they’re there, and leverage smarter audience targeting to boost relevance and performance. We’ll also dive into the power of situational alignment and contextual precision—because when your message shows up in the right environment, it builds trust. And trust drives action.
Presenter:
PETER SCHOFIELD
VP Sales & Brand Partnerships at Atmosphere TV
Peter is an experienced media and marketing professional with 30 years of expertise in business development, strategic planning, and advertising innovation. He is a brand strategist, passionate about an industry immersed in creativity. and emerging technology. Peter currently serves as Vice President of Regional Ad Sales at Atmosphere TV. He plays a pivotal role in forging strategic partnerships, developing new revenue streams, and driving the company’s growth trajectory.
MAC 2026 Scottsdale, Arizona: Your Roadmap to a Transformative Credit Union Marketing Experience
Tuesday, April 7, 2026
11AM PT/2PM ET
The Marketing Association of Credit Unions (MAC) is gearing up for our premier event of the year—the 2026 MAC Conference in Scottsdale, Arizona. Scheduled from September 15 – 17, 2026, at the JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn Resort & Spa, this conference promises to be a pivotal gathering for credit union marketing professionals.
In this exclusive webinar, join Jared Young with the MAC Board where we will provide a comprehensive preview of the conference, highlighting key sessions, networking opportunities, and the vibrant atmosphere that awaits attendees. Whether you’re a seasoned marketing leader or new to the credit union sector, this session will equip you with the insights needed to make the case to your leadership that MAC 2026 is not to be missed.
Key Takeaways:
-
Conference Highlights: Discover the standout sessions, workshops, and keynote speakers that will shape this year’s conference.
-
Networking Opportunities: Learn about the various events designed to foster connections among industry peers, including the welcome activity and awards dinner.
-
Venue Insights: Get acquainted with the JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn Resort & Spa, the conference’s stunning venue, and the amenities it offers.
-
Registration Information: Understand the registration process, pricing tiers, and the benefits of early bird registration.
-
Travel Planning Tips: Receive guidance on travel arrangements, accommodations, and making the most of your time in Scottsdale.