How a Tulsa Credit Union Boosted Checking Account Applications in Just Weeks

A regional credit union based in Oklahoma approached Leadline Marketing with a clear outcome: increase awareness and drive signups for a new checking account designed for individuals early in their financial journeys.

Building on prior success in lowering the average age of its membership, the credit union now sought to deepen its community presence in the Tulsa region by positioning itself as a welcoming, trusted financial guide.

The primary performance target was simple: generate at least 50 new checking account applications.

Strategic Approach

To achieve this outcome, Leadline recommended a multi-channel digital marketing campaign, built to emotionally and practically resonate with the target audience.

1. Ad Campaigns With Accessible Messaging and Visual Clarity

We launched a series of paid media ads across key channels, centered around clear, compelling messaging and intuitive calls to action.

Our creative strategy included:

• Conversational language that broke down complex financial terms.
  
• Direct value propositions, such as:
  
  • “Start your path to financial freedom.”
    
  • “Open your checking account and start your money journey today.”
    
• Bright, friendly graphics and a youthful color palette reinforce an approachable, modern brand image.

These ads clearly articulated the account’s benefits, such as mobile banking, low fees, and local community support, while building brand affinity that resonated with consumers in Tulsa.

2. Influencer Partnerships to Build Local Trust

To extend reach and build trust, we launched an influencer marketing campaign with popular Tulsa-based content creators.

Key goals of this initiative:

• Humanize the brand with trusted, relatable faces from the community.
  
• Create authentic lifestyle content that subtly integrates financial education and account benefits.
  
• Drive engagement through localized storytelling, aligning the credit union with Tulsa’s community values.
  

By empowering influencers to act as storytellers (not spokespeople), we enabled a more organic, peer-to-peer connection with the audience.

3. Retargeting to Shorten the Customer Journey

Finally, we implemented a retargeting campaign aimed at re-engaging potential customers who had previously visited the credit union’s website or engaged with ads but had not yet converted.

This strategy helped us:

• Stay top-of-mind during the consideration phase.

Accelerate decision-making by reminding users of key checking account benefits at high-conversion moments.

Results

In a short time after the campaign launch, the initiative surpassed its original goal, generating a significant increase in new checking account applications—a clear sign of message-market fit and channel effectiveness.The campaign continues to drive consistent application volume even with a reduced budget after the initial period, helping the credit union solidify its presence as a trusted, community-focused financial institution for the next generation of account holders.

Why This Strategy Works for Community Banking

For credit unions and community banks in Oklahoma and beyond, this campaign provides a proven blueprint:

• Leverage clear messaging and localized trust-building.
  
• Position the checking account as part of a broader financial journey, not just a transactional product.
  
• Tap into modern marketing channels that meet consumers where they are—online and in their communities.
  

If you’re looking to grow account signups and engage potential members, this scalable, repeatable multi-channel approach delivers measurable outcomes.