Creative Direction | Email
Email Performance
For Associated Healthcare Credit Union’s Refer-a-Member promotion, the client initially requested an email featuring a headline and imagery of healthcare professionals to reflect their core membership base.
While this approach aligned with the credit union’s healthcare roots, I recognized an opportunity to broaden the campaign’s appeal. The goal of the promotion was to encourage members to refer coworkers, friends, and family, not exclusively healthcare providers. Many AHCU members work alongside a wide range of professionals, including receptionists, administrative staff, janitorial teams, therapists, and other support roles.
To support this broader audience, I proposed an alternative creative direction that shifted the focus from healthcare imagery to the value of the offer itself. The revised design emphasized the $100 referral incentive as the primary visual hook, using bold typography and simplified messaging to quickly communicate the benefit to both the referrer and the referred member.
This approach helped the message resonate with a wider range of potential referrals while creating a clearer, more conversion-focused hierarchy within the email.
Impact
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The campaign exceeded expected performance benchmarks and generated strong engagement among members, including:
An average of ~22 referrals per month
Increased member email inquiries about the referral program
New checking and savings accounts opened through referrals
Expansion of AHCU’s marketable member base for future promotions
This project demonstrates how thoughtful adjustments to messaging hierarchy and audience framing can help improve campaign engagement while supporting long-term membership growth.