Cook, who spent 15 years working inside community banks in Michigan before joining the WSI network in 2007, was also recognized with two WMA web awards for website projects completed for ChoiceOne Bank and Spring Valley Bank and Trust, along with the Mentor Award and the Growth Stars Award. He also received the Waves of Innovation Award for founding his agency's accessibility committee, an early effort focused on ADA compliance for bank websites that grew to include some of the first AI initiatives Cook brought to the network.
The People's Choice Award recognizes the AI partnership between WSI Digital and Forward Bank. Forward Bank leadership first heard Cook speak at a Wisconsin bankers event, then reached out about AI roughly a year later. The partnership, now in its second year, has included on-site staff training, recurring meetings, and joint appearances at the Graduate School of Banking and the Financial Brand Forum in Las Vegas.
“We are essentially a part of their organization as their AI department,” said Cook. “When an employee has an idea or a thought, we set up a time, we have a discussion, we brainstorm, we kick the tires, we figure out ways that it could work. There have been a number of people who have taken the reins inside of the organization and become AI experts really in their own right.”
Cook has been part of the WSI network for 19 years. He serves on its Franchise Advisory Council, which advises network leadership on strategy across WSI's global agencies, and holds Top Gun status, awarded annually to the network's top-performing consultants. In 2024, he was named the network's Agency of the Year and IFA Franchisee of the Year.
“Six awards in one year, after nineteen years in this network, is not common,” said Valerie Brown-Dufour, President of WSI. “He earned them the way he always has: by showing up for fellow agency owners and the banking clients he works with.”
About WSI Digital
WSI Digital helps community banks build trust and visibility with customers searching online and with AI systems answering questions on their behalf. Founded by Eric Cook, a 15-year community banking veteran turned digital strategist, the agency works with banks across the country building custom bank websites, SEO, and digital advertising. Cook also leads The LinkedBanker, a platform helping individual bankers build their own professional visibility, and CommunityBanking.ai, a resource for practical AI adoption in community banking.
About WSI
Founded in 1995 and headquartered in Toronto, Canada, WSI is a leading global network of digital marketing and AI consultants: a community of agencies, each rooted in its local market and backed by knowledge shared across the network. For more than 30 years, WSI has been a strategy-first partner to businesses through every major shift in digital, from search to AI. Tagline: Embrace Digital. Stay Human.