LINDEN, N.J. — For one day, members and nonmembers played leap frog in a big way at E53 Federal Credit Union.
The $65 million credit union ran a promotion on Feb. 29 that featured a certificate of deposit with an unheard of 29% annual percentage yield. Tagged to leap year–the calendar correction that occurs every four years–the marketing campaign created local buzz and brought in new members and credit card users.
The one-day promotion was limited to one four-month CD tracked through each member's unique Social Security number. A minimum and maximum deposit of $500 was required to open, and the offer was available on a first come, first serve basis for the first 300 members requesting the 29% Leap Year CD. To qualify for this special rate, a member also needed to apply for an E53 Visa credit card that day or bring a coworker or family member to open a new account that day.
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After one day, 86 CDs were opened, which brought in $43,000 in deposits, said Bill Michenfelder, business development manager at E53 FCU. Thirty-nine new members joined the credit union, and 52 Visa applications were processed.
"The motivation was simple," Michenfelder said. "To create interest and excitement, generate new members and generate credit card accounts."
The one-day promotion totals for new members and credit card applications exceeded what is normally generated for a whole month, Michenfelder said.
"We wanted to grab our members' attention while increasing the number of new members as well as our credit card portfolio," said Michael Greenwood, president/CEO of E53 FCU. "We hit a home run on all counts."
E53 FCU has offered a litany of promotions over the past few months. In February, the credit union offered free movie tickets to members who took out a personal loan, auto loan or Visa credit card.
With its Easy Money Sweepstakes, those who signed up for online bill payment and paid their first three bills by March 31 received $5 and were automatically eligible to win $100,000 each time they paid a bill online. In March, the credit union also added 25 basis points to its individual retirement account CD rates.
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