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Fintel Connect and Cornerstone Advisors

Cornerstone Advisors Report

The Marketing ROI Gap in Banking

Download the report to learn:
  • Which marketing channel delivers the most impact—but is the most under-leveraged?
  • Why you may be giving budget to the wrong marketing channels
  • Why getting attribution, measurement, and outcome-based accountability is critical
  • The 3 things needed to make marketing a growth strategy
"This is the first time that bank and credit union executives have a scorecard on marketing ROI. The report underlines systemic issues with transparency while highlighting channels that have real impact."

— Ron Shevlin, Chief Research Officer and Senior Contributor at Forbes

Find out how your marketing strategy compares to other large financial institutions
%

of senior marketing executives said their core or CRM system limits their ability to measure marketing’s ROI

%

of credit unions and 54% of banks invest in 6 or more marketing channels

#

affiliate/partner marketing is ranked second overall for effectiveness of all channels evaluated

%

of credit unions expect their 2026 marketing budget to be more than 10% higher than last year

Why This Matters to Executives at Large Financial Institutions

The Marketing ROI Gap in Banking: How Financial Institutions Spend, Measure, and (Struggle to) Prove Marketing's Value — An Industry Report by Cornerstone Advisors and Fintel Connect

Marketing leaders are under pressure to prove ROI, yet many institutions still can’t clearly measure what is working. This report shows how banks and credit unions are budgeting, measuring performance, and where the data falls short.

  1. Affiliate marketing remains underused. Only about a third of institutions use affiliate or partner marketing, yet 1 in 5 call it their most under leveraged channel.
  2. Marketing dollars are going to the wrong place: Paid search gets the largest share of budget, yet email is most often cited as the strongest ROI channel.
  3. The budget process is still backward-looking. Nearly 6 in 10 institutions set their marketing budget by adjusting last year’s number.
  4. Measurement is still a structural problem. Nearly 6 in 10 say their core or CRM limits ROI measurement, and not one institution surveyed said it could reliably attribute results across all outcomes measured. 

126 senior executives at U.S. banks and credit unions were surveyed. 48% of respondents were from banks and 52% were from credit unions.

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2026 Industry Report

U.S. Executive Insights: Financial Marketing ROI & Channel Effectiveness

Secure early access to Fintel Connect in conjunction with Cornerstone Advisors' inaugural national report with peer insights on marketing channel effectiveness in financial services.

Uncover exclusive insights on how executive teams at credit unions, national and enterprise banks allocate marketing budgets, evaluate marketing channel performance, and define what drives ROI in financial services in 2026.

Industry-backed insight into the marketing channels driving ROI

Exclusive Report

See where marketing spend generates returns in financial services

Get First Access

Who Is This Report For?

  • C-suite executives at credit unions, and community, regional, and national banks
  • Senior marketing leaders driving strategy, budget allocation, and growth initiatives
  • Teams managing channel performance and evaluating how partner/affiliate marketing can scale within their marketing mix

Report Collaboration

  • Cornerstone Advisors: For over 20 years, Cornerstone has advised banks and credit unions nationwide, helping them improve profitability, efficiency, and marketing performance. Cornerstone leads the research, survey design, and production of the final report.
  • Fintel Connect: A leading provider of affiliate marketing services, Fintel Connect brings industry expertise, client case studies, and data insights to complement the research. Together, Cornerstone and Fintel Connect ensure the report reflects real-world experience and rigorous analysis.

Why You Need Early Access

  • See which channels consistently drive acquisition, cross-sell, and brand growth.
  • Benchmark your strategy against peers across credit unions, community, regional, super-regional, and national banks — making your annual plan board-ready and defensible.
  • Discover which tactics truly deliver efficiency and measurable results.
  • Gain actionable insights to prioritize spend, optimize ROI, and confidently justify decisions to your board.

Check Out Our Latest Releases While You Wait

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Report

Competing for Visibility in the Age of AI

This report reveals how to position your brand to be discovered, cited, and trusted with actionable strategies to ensure your financial institution shows up where it matters the most: when customers are ready to engage and convert.

This guide provides exclusive insights into AI-driven visibility trends, helping you:

  • Benchmark your brand’s visibility across AI-powered platforms to see how you compare to peers
  • Understand the role of affiliates and publishers in driving trust, citations, and discovery in LLM-generated results
  • Identify strategic levers to stay visible as consumer discovery shifts from traditional search to conversational AI
  • Implement actionable tactics to position your financial institution where customers are ready to engage and convert
Get the Report
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REPORT

2025 Financial Affiliate Marketing Report

We surveyed 100+ top affiliates and publishers in financial services to uncover industry predictions, priorities, challenges, and opportunities shaping the year ahead.

This includes:

  • Business and consumer priorities in the US vs Canada
  • Top growth areas for different products
  • Most popular new marketing tactics
  • Biggest anticipated risks for financial marketers
  • How affiliates see themselves in the marketing value chain
Get the Report
2025 Cost-Per-Acquisition Benchmarking Guide for Financial Services: How to Drive Growth and Optimize Spend

GUIDE

2025 Cost-Per-Acquisition Benchmarking Guide for Financial Services: How to Drive Growth and Optimize Spend

See what factors influence CPAs and where marketplace rates are across financial products, channels, and payout models.

This guide provides exclusive insights into CPA trends, helping you:

  • Compare your acquisition costs against industry trends
  • Identify areas of opportunity to optimize spend across channels
  • Refine payout modeling to win deals with top affiliate partners
  • Adapt to market trends influencing acquisition costs in 2025
Get the Guide

Check Out Our Latest Releases While You Wait

LLM-Report-Tablet-Mockup-1

Report

Competing for Visibility in the Age of AI

This report reveals how to position your brand to be discovered, cited, and trusted with actionable strategies to ensure your financial institution shows up where it matters the most: when customers are ready to engage and convert.

This guide provides exclusive insights into AI-driven visibility trends, helping you:

  • Benchmark your brand’s visibility across AI-powered platforms to see how you compare to peers
  • Understand the role of affiliates and publishers in driving trust, citations, and discovery in LLM-generated results
  • Identify strategic levers to stay visible as consumer discovery shifts from traditional search to conversational AI
  • Implement actionable tactics to position your financial institution where customers are ready to engage and convert
Get the Report
2025-FIAM-Tablet-Mockup

REPORT

2025 Financial Affiliate Marketing Report

We surveyed 100+ top affiliates and publishers in financial services to uncover industry predictions, priorities, challenges, and opportunities shaping the year ahead.

This includes:

  • Business and consumer priorities in the US vs Canada
  • Top growth areas for different products
  • Most popular new marketing tactics
  • Biggest anticipated risks for financial marketers
  • How affiliates see themselves in the marketing value chain
Get the Report
2025 Cost-Per-Acquisition Benchmarking Guide for Financial Services: How to Drive Growth and Optimize Spend

GUIDE

2025 Cost-Per-Acquisition Benchmarking Guide for Financial Services: How to Drive Growth and Optimize Spend

See what factors influence CPAs and where marketplace rates are across financial products, channels, and payout models.

This guide provides exclusive insights into CPA trends, helping you:

  • Compare your acquisition costs against industry trends
  • Identify areas of opportunity to optimize spend across channels
  • Refine payout modeling to win deals with top affiliate partners
  • Adapt to market trends influencing acquisition costs in 2025
Get the Guide