Case Study: Alpena Alcona Area Credit Union achieves increased card usage and interchange revenue with Saylent turn‑key marketing

Turn-key Marketing Campaigns Drive Profits and Member Loyalty

Alpena Alcona Area Credit Union, a Michigan credit union serving 28,000+ members, faced the common challenge of boosting interchange revenue and member engagement by increasing card usage and preventing cardholder inactivity. With consumers facing many card options, Alpena needed a targeted, measurable way to drive transactions and keep cards “top of wallet.”

Alpena partnered with CO‑OP’s Revelation and Saylent’s turn‑key marketing services to identify optimal targets, deploy branded activation and usage campaigns, and provide detailed reporting. Activation campaigns produced an average of 2.24 transactions per targeted card, $93.88 in monthly spend and $0.95 in interchange from previously inactive cards; a Q1 2016 usage campaign drove a 68.5% lift in transactions (4.65→9.5), 98% higher spend ($106→$310) and an 83.3% increase in interchange ($1.38→$3.35) sustained over 12 months, delivering consistent ROI and stronger member loyalty.

Alpena Alcona Area Credit Union

Joshua Viegelahn

Operations Manager