The Full-Funnel Comeback: 159% Member Growth from a Boldly Rebalanced Media Mix

By shifting to full-funnel measurement and a 70/30 brand-to-performance split, a North American credit union turned a new fee-based product launch into outsized member growth.

Client: North American Credit Union

North American credit union member growth

Overview

A North American credit union launched a new fee-based chequing account bundled with a skill-development platform — a bold bet in a market where free chequing was the norm. Success required reaching people who see personal development and financial growth as connected goals, not just buying ad space.

The Problem

Last-touch attribution was masking what actually drove growth. Upper-funnel channels like TV and OOH were being dismissed as "awareness-only" — while some lower-funnel tactics consumed budget without generating real incremental lift. Competing against larger banks and digital-first challengers, the team lacked the data to make confident investment decisions.

The Insight

Full-funnel attribution reframed the entire channel picture. TV and OOH emerged as key drivers of account applications — not just awareness. Meanwhile, channels that looked efficient under last-touch proved far less so when true incrementality was measured. These insights didn't just change how performance was defined — they reshaped the campaign structure and media allocation entirely.

The Solution

The team adopted an "Educate, Engage, Encourage" framework aligned to distinct funnel stages:

  • Educate — introduced the product as a tool for financial growth through learning, via TV, radio, and digital audio

  • Engage — built credibility in high-context environments like Reddit, podcasts, and paid social, where ambition and self-improvement were already top of mind

  • Encourage — drove action through community-first and OOH placements, including local news takeovers

In parallel, the media mix shifted from performance-heavy to a 70% brand / 30% performance split — allocating dollars based on what was actually moving the needle.

Results

  • +159% net member growth

  • +30 pts fee-based account adoption, significantly boosting new revenue

  • -18% cost per account application

  • +6 pts brand love (3× the benchmark)

  • +68% year-over-year increase in marketing-attributed account applications

  • -21% media CPA

  • 49% of exposed audiences said they were motivated to explore the new product — nearly triple the unexposed group

  • 2X belief in the credit union's ability to improve future income