2025 Tekkie Award Winner for Revenue Growth: Extra Credit Union

By W.B. King

Realizing that traditional marketing channels were yielding diminishing returns, Extra Credit Union decided to find more efficient ways to reach members “at the right moment with relevant offers,” explained VP of Marketing Ruthann Varosi. This led to a partnership with DeepTarget that was so successful it won the 2025 Finopotamus Tekkie Award for Revenue Growth.

“I was completely taken by surprise and was shocked. We were nominated by the William Mills Agency and DeepTarget and we're incredibly proud and humbled by this honor,” Varosi told Finopotamus.

“One of the primary pain points our deposits campaign encountered was the intense competition in our area. Every financial institution requires shares/deposits to function effectively and Extra Credit Union prides itself on being available to our membership and the community,” Varosi explained. “Our lending philosophy focuses on the individual member's story rather than simply relying on a credit score, so being able to fund our loans is crucial to our mission. The CD campaign we launched not only assisted our members with funding loans, it allowed us to provide them with great rates on deposits as well.”

Power of Partnerships

The noted CD campaign was executed in 2024 with the assistance of the Huntsville, Ala.-based fintech, DeepTarget. “At Extra Credit Union, we firmly believe in the power of partnerships and the working relationships we have curated with DeepTarget and Jack Henry give us the ability to fulfill our mission on a daily basis,” she noted. “Our campaigns via DeepTarget give us a unique opportunity to reach a specific target market, which is vital when you're launching a promotion such as the CD campaign.”

The $317 million Warren, Mich.-based Extra Credit Union, which supports more than 19,000 members and 100 employees, realized a 7.666% click-through rate, which significantly outperforms industry averages, Varosi said. Additionally, the digital campaign directly resulted in 1,092 new CD account openings between March and December 2024.

“These new accounts brought in over $12.7 million in fresh deposits, substantially expanding Extra Credit Union’s lending capacity and interest revenue potential,” she continued. “This success story exemplifies how the right technology, combined with strategic implementation, can drive measurable revenue growth even for mid-sized credit unions.”

Varosi further explained that the CD program is the most engaged members have become with a technology initiative from the credit union in recent years.

“Our online banking users love the DeepTarget ads and information they receive when they log in and we have seen a strong performance with click-thru rates and applications,” she told Finopotamus. “We are all about innovation at Extra Credit Union and our strategic plan for the next 18-24 months shows our commitment to bringing the very best to our members.”

To ensure revenue growth remains on the uptick, she said the credit union is working on additional innovations, including website and artificial intelligence (AI) developments and a more robust auto-approval process. “We are excited to bring the latest in technology to our members and our community and look forward to our amazing future,” Varosi concluded.