All Diamond Award winners in this category are listed below.
Category’s Best winners—marked with a 💎—earned the highest score within their asset grouping.
Assets greater than $1 billion | Midland, MI
The Rates that Wow! campaign broke away from years of generic, vendor-driven credit card promotions with a bold, in-house creative concept that demanded attention. Digital advertising played a pivotal role, featuring eye-catching display ads, slow-motion reels of people and animals showing their best “wow” faces, and a dynamic landing page designed for engagement and conversion. These vibrant, playful visuals reinforced the campaign’s energetic theme and stood out in a traditionally conservative space.
Assets $250 million – $1 billion | Rutland, VT
The word loan has many connotations, and its usage in advertising can be limiting and restrictive. We chose not to prominently feature the word in our campaign and focused on the interplay of direct messaging and resonant imagery. We spoke to the audience in an empowering way while showing the kind of desirable destinations and outcomes personal loans make possible. We put the emphasis on purpose instead of product, presenting a strategic synergy of messaging and images that turned into an effective combination. In three months, this campaign generated $1,287,546 ($15,000 in META conversions and $1,267,546.49 in SEM conversions) and confirmed our presumption that applying for a loan is not just a financial decision. It’s also an emotional one. While potential applicants may be motivated by rates and terms, it is important not to discount their dreams and desires, which can be every bit as compelling.
Assets $250 million – $1 billion | Billings, MT
Everybody knows Mike. He's a third-generation Montana Rancher. We leveraged a trusted individual as our key differentiator, enabling us to cut through the crowded digital landscape and drive local relevance and rapid acceptance within the tightly knit agricultural community. Utilizing an authentic digital strategy proved effective, delivering strong results.
Assets $250 million – $1 billion | Baton Rouge, LA
“Your Home Can Buy That” is a digital Home Equity Loan or Line of Credit (HELOC) campaign aimed at driving application starts among younger homeowners in Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Shreveport. Running July 18 to November 30, it used bold motion, simple headlines and clear paths to apply across animated/static display, social, partner placements and QR‑enabled boards. All media pushed directly into the online application flow with conversion‑focused bidding. The campaign delivered 40,535 impressions, 2,934 clicks and a 7.40% CTR—roughly 14x typical finance and insurance benchmarks—plus 201 HELOC application actions at an efficient $16 per start. Key takeaway: modern, relatable creative paired with strong placements and a low‑friction experience drives performance. Campus Federal showed a local lender can win online by making equity feel relevant and easy to act on.
Assets $250 million – $1 billion | Detroit, MI
This campaign showed that people are looking for financial products that help their money work harder. Using digital ads allowed us to reach the right audience quickly and efficiently, track engagement, and optimize messaging in real time. The campaign successfully built awareness, drove interest, and positioned us as a credit union that helps members maximize their money.
Assets greater than $1 billion | Muscle Shoals, AL
Listerhill Credit Union’s Keystone Cards campaign exemplified how a focused, multi-channel digital strategy can drive measurable results. By expanding its long-standing partnership with the University of North Alabama to include Keystone Signature and Platinum credit cards, the campaign leveraged affinity branding and community connection to stand out in a crowded market. Creative consistency across digital ads, social media, video, and a mobile-optimized landing page ensured a seamless experience that highlighted both financial benefits and university support. This approach not only met but exceeded objectives, achieving 1,009 new cards—21% above the marketing goal and 52% over the base figure—while adding nearly $5 million in credit limits. Key takeaway: authentic partnerships paired with cohesive digital storytelling can outperform industry giants, proving that relevance and purpose resonate deeply with target audiences.
Assets greater than $1 billion | Tustin, CA
The “Baby Steps” campaign showed new parents how opening a Membership for their child can help them start building financial security early. We highlighted our high-yield share certificates with low minimum deposits so that they can start building savings for important expenses for their kids. To reach this defined audience, we used digital display ads driving traffic to a landing page and encouraging engagement. By aligning our benefits — secure, flexible savings — with parents’ goals for their children’s future, we positioned the Credit Union as a trusted partner in their family’s financial journey.
Assets greater than $1 billion | Edwardsville, IL
The More Car for Your Money Fall Auto Loan campaign demonstrates how strategic learning and creative refinement can transform digital performance. After identifying underperforming areas in the summer campaign, Scott Credit Union reimagined its messaging, strengthened funnel alignment, and optimized spend across Meta, SEM, and OTT. The result was a dramatically more efficient and more effective campaign. Meta CPA fell by more than 90%, SEM application starts increased 243%, and overall conversions matched summer volume at a fraction of the cost. The campaign reached more qualified borrowers, improved mid-funnel engagement, and delivered stronger lower-funnel performance.
In just five weeks, the campaign supported the funding of 629 auto loans totaling more than $20 million. The campaign proves that smarter execution, not higher spend, can drive meaningful loan volume and position SCU for continued success in auto lending.
Assets greater than $1 billion | North Charleston, SC
The objective of this five-week fraud prevention campaign was to educate members such that by campaign's end, they could articulate and apply preventative actions. We developed the THINK Method framework, which detailed five actionable fraud prevention steps where members were encouraged to demonstrate mastery of each step through weekly quizzes. To get attention, these lessons were taught by a fraud-fighting Boykin Spaniel (South Carolina’s beloved state dog). To incentivize participation, successful quiz completions unlocked weekly sweepstakes entries. Our 81.5% website quiz completion rate significantly outperformed the 65% industry benchmark for educational quizzes, demonstrating exceptional content design and member engagement. This metric validates that participants didn’t just start the learning journey—they completed it. The 6,945 members who updated passwords represent concrete behavioral change.
Assets less than $250 million | South Portland, ME
Our goal with this campaign was to increase auto loans while drawing attention to our 70th anniversary. The Maine 'Chickadee' License plate is a strong symbol of the state, and we wanted to capitalize on that spirit of Maine with our auto loan campaign. The campaign used the image of the plate with license plate-style spelling, creating ads featuring phrases like 'GR8 LOANS' and 'LOANS 4 U … FROM US'. We also had some ads which tied to a brand campaign we were running focusing on how 'sometimes things are more than just things', with 'IT'S NOT A CAR IT'S FREEDOM' spelled across plates, as well as our brand tagline 'WE MAKE UR GOALS R GOALS'. In addition to the ads, we had keychains made that used the plate image with our credit union name, which were given to every member getting a car loan during the promotional period.
