Take automated emails, for example. Calcasieu Teachers & Employees Credit Union in Lake Charles, La., recently began sending birthday and anniversary emails to members. The process of sending the emails is automated, but the content and sentiment are generated by humans. Members noticed quickly. Within days of this new initiative launching, members in the branches thanked the staff for the well wishes. Something that simple stood out in their day and made them feel remembered. That’s the human element.

How to Humanize Your Marketing

How can you keep that human element in your marketing? Here are some tips:

Use employees and members in your marketing.
Tell stories.
Write like a person, not a robot (use emotion and empathy).
Personalize your marketing (as simple as dear in an email or putting their first name on a banner in online banking).
Avoid canned responses to email or social media posts.
Use messaging that communicates compassion and understanding.

AI is a powerful tool, but it’s just that – a tool. What makes marketing meaningful isn’t just how fast or smart it is – it’s how human it feels. As credit unions, we have a unique opportunity. We’re already known for relationships, trust and service. That reputation gives us a head start.
So yes, use AI to help write, build, track and automate. But you need to keep the heartbeat in your marketing. Make people feel something. Because at the end of the day, your members don’t want to be marketed to – they want to be understood (something a robot doesn’t do).

Mark Arnold is founder and president of On the Mark Strategies, a Dallas, Texas-based consulting firm specializing in branding and strategic planning for credit unions.

Instant Insights /

Keeping Marketing Human and Authentic in the Age of AI

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