Thursday, December 12, 2024

Clear communication

By Jeremy Cowen
Vice President/Communications Editor

A quick visit to “OBA.com” or punching in “Oklahoma Bankers” in the iTunes or Google Play app stores will instantly let you know “what’s new?” with OBA communications.

Your Oklahoma Bankers Association communications department has been hard at work keeping the Association at the forefront of communications technology by unveiling a completely redesigned OBA.com website and a new OBA app for events and messaging purposes.

These twin technological achievements were launched within weeks of each other during the last month, and we hope our bankers have looked them over.

The new OBA.com was unveiled in mid-February. While the cosmetic changes to the site are readily apparent as soon as you visit, a couple of behind-the-scenes changes will hopefully make our bankers’ lives a lot easier.

For starters, we’ve winnowed down the site from well more than 100-plus pages to fewer than 60. This alone should make navigation and finding specific areas much simpler.

Most importantly, we’ve also added a login for bankers to update their profiles in our database. Each banker at an OBA-member bank can create their own login and password using their business email address. The login will also double as their credentials to enter protected areas of the site, such as Legal Briefs, Fraud Prevention and Government Relations. They can then use the login and password to register for OBA events online or to purchase items online.

Additionally, bankers can also access their own personal area in our database and update information there, if they’d like.

There’s obviously still a few kinks to work out over the coming days, so we appreciate your patience. But let us know if you have any questions or just your opinion on the new site! If you have any problems logging into the new site, drop a line to Sheila Wyatt at the OBA (sheila@oba.com).

In late February, a new app for iPhone and Android-based phones was made available from the OBA for its upcoming major events, such as senior management conference, convention and OBA schools.

With this app, event attendees don’t have to stress about carrying around unwieldy pocket programs – just rely on your cell phone and this app to get where you need to go! It includes a map of the event location, times of all sessions, lists of sponsors and exhibitors and any additional materials that might need to be downloaded, such as handouts and PowerPoint slides.

Additionally, there is a comments section for each conference where attendees can easily post a question or receive up-to-date information about the conference they are attending.

This app will replace the need to continually download a new app for each OBA conference or event – we will simply update this app, when needed, with new information.

Additionally, the app includes push notifications to allow us to contact our bankers in case of breaking news or if urgent action is needed involving their industry. We understand what might be the initial worry from our busy bankers of being “harassed” by such push notifications, but we assure you we won’t be bothering you unless it’s absolutely pertinent to your industry and your job. So we hope you will choose to “opt in” for push notifications when downloading the app.

If you have any questions about either the website or app, please contact Jeremy Cowen (jeremy@oba.com) at the OBA.