The Basics.
Client: Citizens Equity First Credit Union (CEFCU)
Industry: Banking
Project: Driving new member growth among Gen Z in the Illinois State University, University of Illinois, and San Jose State University areas.
Objective.
Now with 400,000+ members, CEFCU was established in 1937, is member-owned, and is firmly rooted in its communities in Illinois and California. We were tasked with building on our past campaign successes and expanding CEFCU’s Gen Z membership within these university areas.
Challenges.
Competition
Banking is already low on the priorities list for Gen Z. Spendy fintech competitors like Venmo and Ally meant CEFCU needed to meaningfully engage with this age group and make clear the value of a credit union.
Targeting
Fair lending laws like the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act prohibit age targeting. We had to find effective ways to reach CEFCU’s Gen Z audience without wasting dollars.
Strategic Approach.
Performance learnings from previous campaigns indicated that financial education messaging was both effective and provided a valuable tie-in with CEFCU’s University partnerships, including stadium naming rights.
We created the “University of CEFCU” to get more value from those sports partnerships, foster a sense of community and support among students, and leverage digital media. All to help Gen Z address their specific financial concerns like budgeting, saving, and achieving financial independence.
Precision Execution
The University of CEFCU came to life in three ways:
- Creating additional reach for CEFCU’s college sports partnerships. This included high-impact digital units on ESPN+, TV, and YouTube spots around pro and college sports content, and in-stadium scoreboard QR codes that led to fun CEFCU-branded mobile games.
- Educational and community-building media, like OOH placements (bus wraps/kings, transit ads, bar/restaurant ads, and car-topper ads), paid search focusing on financial education keywords, and CTV and audio/podcast campaigns on Spotify that geo-targeted campus areas.
- Gen Z-focused digital media like YouTube, TikTok, and Snapchat providing educational and relatable content (paid and influencer), Twitch streaming ads and in-game ads from Anzu, and premium OTT placements on Hulu, Tubi, and Discovery Networks focusing on content appealing to Gen Z. Seasonal messaging aligned with key life stages like graduation and back to school.
Impact.
Beyond media metrics such as an increase in paid search clicks by 63% YoY, a 39% increase in influencer clicks, and a +10 lift in Net Favorability YoY, the University of CEFCU campaign led to the following business achievements:
- New members: Met and exceeded CEFCU’s goal by 31%
- Net new members: This takes into account the gross of new members and closed accounts. We exceeded CEFCU’s goal with an increase of 143% over the previous year.
- Young Adult Net New Members: This is CEFCU’s key metric. We nearly doubled their goal of 1,000 new members between 18-29, delivering 1,789 YA new members (79% over goal).
Client Reactions.
The University of CEFCU media plan took one of the pillars in CEFCU’s mission — improving members’ financial well-being — and leveraged that to drive growth in our markets. It recognized that everyone has room to grow as it relates to financial literacy, especially those in one of our key audiences, young adults; and through education, CEFCU could position itself as a trustworthy guide to managing your finances. The media plan included a variety of tactics that would introduce CEFCU, and invite viewers to engage and learn more. It is without question that this media plan contributed to CEFCU’s success this year, including:
- A record $55 million Extraordinary Dividend returned to members.
- Outstanding Consumer Loan growth, with almost $1.7 billion loaned to members through vehicle Loans, Home Equity Loans, Credit Cards, and Student Loans.
- And, growing CEFCU membership to over 400,000 member/owners.
—Megan Wineland, CEFCU Marketing Manager