27 HќќѠіђџȱ юћјђџ юћѢюџѦ 2014 fers steps on how to plan a visit, sample invitations, a video on ensuring a successful visit and more. ǻ ȱ ¢ǰȱȱȱȱ Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, said at the ABA Conven- ȱȱȱȱ¢ȱ ȱĜȱȱ Nebraska’s Gothenburg State Bank at the invitation of the bank’s CEO, Ĵȱ ǰȱ Ȃȱȱ past chairman, had proved very ȱȱȱȂȱěǯǼ 6. Additional resources. Banks looking for more information can ęȱȱȱȱȱǰȱȱ Ȭ ȱ ȱǰȱȱ- duction to the industry for new employees and more. ȱ ¢ȱȱěȱȱȱ other take action topics, which will rotate monthly or sooner. Amplify chooses the topics based on ABA programs occurring in particular months. Topics have included credit union taxation and last October’s Get Smart About Credit program. “This is a very live website,” says O’Keefe. “It will be constantly updated as issues develop.” Amplify also has a “current issues” tab with talking points that break down some of the more complex issues facing banks. “These are not easy subjects. You’ve got to make ȱęǰȄȱ¢ȱ ȱ ¢ǰȱ president and CEO of $611 millionassets Kish Bank, Belleville, Pa., and co-chair of ABA’s Banker Advocacy ȱ ȱ Ĵǯȱȃ Ȃȱ got to tie them to stories of what’s happening in the communities where banks and bankers are doing what they do.” Building a Fan Base The goal of Amplify and all these resources is to be a centralized hub that bankers can use to get the word out on what they are doing and what issues they are facing, and to help shed some positive light on the industry. “Our goal is to both elevate the industry image and to create almost a fan base of people who can speak to the positive nature of banking and what an important role banks have in our nation’s economy,” says Erin Scheithe, vice-president, political advocacy and grassroots at ABA. This “fan base” is made up of third-party validators who have ȱȱĚȱȱȱ¢Ȃȱ perception — the press, customers, shareholders, legislators, etc. “This is all about helping folks to get a Ĵȱȱȱ ȱȱ industry does on a daily basis,” says Ballentine. “It’s important that customers know it, it’s important ȱȱĜȱ ȱǰȱȂȱ important that reporters and others know it as well, so you’re not faced with headlines that indicate you’re not doing something when there are so many good things that you are doing.” ȱ ȱěȱȱȱȱ considered a public relations campaign, but rather a way to amplify how banks speak about what they are already doing. “Bankers have always been reluctant to toot their own horn,” says Hayes. “You ȱȱęȱȱȱ¢ȱ ȱ you can tell the story of what bank employees are doing in their communities and how banks are supporting that.” To collect feedback and get Amplify started, the ABA last June set up a beta program in eight pilot states (Colorado, Maine, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Oregon, Virginia and Vermont) and among members of its grassroots Ĵǯȱ ȱǰȱȱȱ 2,000 bankers have signed up as users. The site is open to both ABA members and nonmembers, but it is gated to keep it contained to bankers. Users must sign up to access it. ABA is aiming to have 5,000 users signed up by March 24, when it ȱȱ ȱ ȱ Summit. To register for Amplify, available to both members and nonmembers of the ABA, visit www. DPSOLI\EDQNHUV FRP.To send feedback or suggestions about Amplify, email DPSOLI\#DED FRP. Excerpted with permission from $%$ %DQNLQJ -RXUQDO copyright 2013 by the American Bankers Association. The Amplify program has a wide variety of resources that bankers, both members and nonmembers of the American Bankers Association, can tap. To build awareness of the program and to encourage bankers to use the resources, ABA has set up a challenge called Get Amped! The country was split into two teams—east and west of the ȱ ȯȱȱ ȱ tasked with earning as many points as possible through actions on Amplify. Each action has a point value (e.g., a tweet sent to ȱȱ ȱęȱǼǰȱ and the team with the highest total when the challenge ends on Feb. 28 will be named the winner ȱȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ Summit in March. Max Cook, leader of the west team and president of the Missouri Bankers Association, recog- £ȱȱȱȱĴȱ the program ramped up, but also emphasizes the need to continue that interest beyond this challenge. “If we get people signed up and just let it sit there, it will die,” he says. “It’s incumbent upon the MBA and all the associations, including ABA, to continually promote Amplify.” $UH <RX 5HDG\ IRU D &KDOOHQJH"
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