Unitus Community Credit Union
The trust was already there. We built the engine around it.
Conversion & Marketing Technology
Measurement & Attribution
Media Planning & Buying
Paid Search
Paid Social
3.40%
Annualized Net Membership Growth, Against 2.5% Annual Goal
+27%
Estimated Branded-Search Demand, Month over Month
+37.5%
Branded Search Ad Impressions, Month over Month
73%
Brand Search Impression Share
+18%
Google Ads Clicks, Month over Month
−11.6%
Average Cost Per Click, Month over Month
4.0M+
Upper-Funnel Impressions Delivered (and Counting)
The trust was already there. We built the engine around it.
Unitus had a trusted regional brand. SnuggleMud built a paid media system to take it further, connecting search and Performance Max with social, CTV, audio, podcast and display. As the program expanded, estimated branded-search demand grew 27% month over month, while average cost per click fell 11.6%.
Challenge
Unitus already had something advertising cannot manufacture overnight: trust. An audit found that 86% of website traffic came through Direct and Organic Search, while Google Ads operated primarily as brand defense.
The opportunity was to reach beyond people already looking for Unitus. Prospective members were comparing checking accounts, mortgages, home equity and alternatives to traditional banks. The brand had earned its reputation. Paid media needed to carry it into more of those decisions.
Approach
SnuggleMud rebuilt search around brand protection, new-member interest and individual financial products, supported by Performance Max and tighter measurement. Social, streaming audio, connected television, video, podcast and display broadened the program. Each channel had a job: introduce Unitus, build consideration or capture active demand. The team continually refined search terms, geography, bidding and budgets, directing investment toward opportunity as performance emerged. One coordinated program, with decisions made across the whole system.
Outcome
More people were looking for Unitus, and the program was getting better at meeting them there. Estimated branded-search demand grew as media delivery expanded, while search impressions rose 31.5% on just 4.9% more search spend. New users reaching the membership page also increased 95.4% over its comparison period. Alongside annualized membership growth above the institution’s goal, the story is bigger than traffic: a trusted regional brand with a broader platform for growth.
+95.4%
New Users Reaching the Join Unitus Page, vs Preceding Period
16.92%
Google Ads Click-Through Rate, Third Reporting Period
+31.5%
Search Impressions Increase, on 4.9% More Search Spend
+192%
Google Ads Phone Calls, First Full Month vs Initial Launch Period
1,155
Intent-Button Actions, First Full Month After Launch
$5.98
Cost Per Intent-Button Action, First Full Month After Launch
The Work
3.40%
Annualized Net Membership Growth
4.0M+
Upper-Funnel Impressions Delivered
73%
Brand Search Impression Share
Search Rebuilt Around Brand Protection and Products
SnuggleMud rebuilt search around brand protection, new-member interest and individual financial products, supported by tighter measurement.
That structure helped brand search reach a 73% impression share while average cost per click fell 11.6% month over month.
Performance Max
Performance Max supported the rebuilt search program, giving Unitus another route to active demand alongside standard search.
Google Ads clicks rose 18% month over month as the combined program matured.
Social, Streaming Audio and Connected Television
Social, streaming audio and connected television broadened the program beyond people already looking for Unitus.
Each channel had a job: introduce Unitus or build consideration among prospective members comparing their options.
Video, Podcast and Display
Video, podcast and display extended reach further into the upper funnel, building on the same coordinated program.
That reach delivered more than 4.0M upper-funnel impressions and counting.
Continuous Optimization
The team continually refined search terms, geography, bidding and budgets, directing investment toward opportunity as performance emerged.
One coordinated program, with decisions made across the whole system rather than channel by channel.
We saw an opportunity to build on the strong trust Unitus already has with members and the community while connecting with people who were still deciding where to bank. The team’s thoughtful media strategy helped drive stronger brand demand and more efficient search performance, giving us confidence that we’re moving in the right direction and should continue building on that momentum.”
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Lori Fink – AVP, Marketing & Brand Development, Unitus Community Credit Union
