Ascend Federal Credit Union Wins CUNA Diamond Award for Innovative Marketing Campaign

Jamie Gilliam, Lisa Hayes, Gabby Jackson, Nick Quaife, Haylee Eaton, Alisa Kessler, Colby Wilson

Credit union trade group recognizes Ascend’s excellence in encouraging new and potential members to improve financial skills 

March 24, 2022 – Ascend Federal Credit Union, the largest federal credit union in Middle Tennessee, announced today that it has won a coveted Diamond Award from the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) Marketing & Business Development Council. Ascend won the top award in the “Cutting Edge” category for its innovative “Annual Spotify Membership Giveaway” marketing campaign that celebrated Financial Literacy Month in April 2021.

CUNA’s Diamond Awards highlight excellence in marketing and business development in the credit union industry. Ascend competed against the country’s largest credit unions (assets of more than $1 billion).

“Ascend has long championed the importance of helping our members become better stewards of their money and achieve their financial goals in life,” said Leslie Copeland, chief strategy officer for Ascend. “This award is testament to the creativity of our team to make managing money fun and encourage members to use our free resources so they may be able to improve their financial health.”

As part of the financial literacy campaign, Ascend added a special section to its online financial education center to help members and non-members improve their money management skills. Resources included free interactive learning tools including tutorials, videos and quizzes that provide expert guidance on building a budget, buying a home, understanding credit scores and reports, and much more. The new module also contained four sections: Healthy Financial Habits, Creating a Budget, Family Conversations about Money and Taxes: the Basics.

To raise awareness about the free resources, Ascend created and implemented a marketing campaign that focused on social media platforms (specifically Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn). The credit union improved engagement by encouraging participants to register and complete an Everfi financial literacy module playlist for a chance to win a paid premium subscription to Spotify, the world’s most popular audio streaming service. The number of users logging on to the credit union’s financial resources increased 1,400% to 4,021 during the one-month promotion.

“Diamond Awards are the gold standard of achievement in credit union marketing and business development,” said Marella Nardotti, chair, Diamond Awards, and VP of marketing, NextMark Credit Union. “Inventiveness in effectively achieving and exceeding objectives is what these awards honor.”

CUNA’s Marketing & Business Development Council celebrated the 2022 Diamond Awards by announcing winners in 35 categories at its annual conference in Los Angeles, California, on March 11. Judges reviewed 1,195 entries during this year’s competition.

Click here for a full list of this year’s award winners.

About Ascend Federal Credit Union

With more than 240,000 members and more than $3.7 billion in assets, Ascend Federal Credit Union is the largest credit union in Middle Tennessee and one of the largest federally chartered credit unions in the United States. Based in Tullahoma, Tenn., the member-owned financial institution offers banking, loan, retirement and investment services from its 27 branches, more than 55,000 free ATMs worldwide, online banking portal and mobile app. The credit union’s mission is to serve by offering financial literacy education and giving back to its community in a variety of ways. Ascend is federally insured by the National Credit Union Administration. For more information, visit ascend.org.

Photo credits: Ascend Federal Credit Union