It was with a certain bravado that Scott Auen, spokesman for Marlborough-based Digital Federal Credit Union, said recently that DCU had increased its home loan product marketing budget by 50 percent this year.

And through the first half of 2011, DCU closed nearly twice as many refi loans as it did in the same period a year prior, according to data obtained from The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman.

To Auen, it’s a simple cause-and-effect relationship. Boost the marketing budget and customers respond. Success in the market comes down to who spends the bucks to get borrowers in the door.

Banks can be a little touchy about marketing strategy. In fact, several declined to comment for this story. But really, it’s not the witchcraft some might think it is, and talking openly about it doesn’t necessarily put a bank at a competitive disadvantage.

But doing nothing does. And Peter Harvey, president and CEO of Intellidyn, a bank marketing firm based in Hingham, said he worries that nothing is exactly what too many banks are doing.

“Banks are typically the slowest to reengage in marketing or to do anything out of the box,” Harvey said. “Certain banks and certain mortgage brokers are stepping up to the plate and starting to spend money on marketing.”

Stirring The Pot

Harvey said larger regional banks like Eastern Bank, People’s United Bank and Webster Bank “are starting to stir the pot.”

Home values that seem to have leveled off means banks have an opportunity to sell home equity loans. Interest rates at an all-time low means they could be selling purchase mortgages to first-time homebuyers.

A beefed up marketing budget aimed at selling mortgages is probably at least on the minds of many Massachusetts bankers, said Middlesex Savings Bank Senior Vice President and Director of Marketing Jim Briand.

“Every bank is looking for assets right now,” he said.

Before this year, virtually none of Middlesex Savings’ marketing budget went toward selling mortgage products. This year, the bank has dedicated between 15 and 20 percent of that budget to home loans, Briand said.

As a result, the number of home loan applications the bank has received from borrowers who live outside its traditional coverage area has increased about 6 or 7 percentage points, according to Briand. The overall number of customers coming into Middlesex Savings has also increased by about 6 percentage points, he said.

Briand said potential customers are hearing the Middlesex Savings name in places they haven’t before. The increased marketing budget includes “a larger commitment to a consistent radio commitment,” Briand said.

Last spring, the bank began advertising on a handful of area radio stations, from news stations to sports stations and music stations. That effort was augmented by a boost in the amount of pay-per-click web advertising the bank did.

Popping Into Heads

Strategies used by banks, from smaller local banks to large national players, run the gamut. Some rely on print advertising, some have taken to radio and television and others use targeted web banner ads.

The results aren’t instantaneous.

In fact, the number of home loans and refis Middlesex closed in the first half was flat with the same period a year ago, according to the bank.

Briand said marketing products that require a major financial commitment on the part of the buyer takes time and persistence.

“You really have to build long-term awareness, especially for mortgages,” he said. And refis are only slightly more spur of the moment. “You have to be the one that pops into their heads. You have to get the word out. We went heavy through the end of May and the mortgage message definitely broke through.”

Others haven’t gone heavy on the advertising, but have seen home lending increases just the same.

Peter Roveto, director of marketing at Brookline Bank, said the bank has put “an increased emphasis” and a “heightened focus” on marketing mortgage products. But that new emphasis amounted to little more than “tweaking the program a little bit,” he said.

“Historically, I don’t know that Brookline has never really, really pushed,” Roveto said. “It’s mostly branch-based and outreach for mortgage originators and referrals.”