LAS VEGAS-One Nevada Credit Union's latest auto loan promotion has resulted in 500 loan refinances in 50 days, all of which were from former non-members who had their loans with other lenders.
Greg Barnes, SVP of marketing for the $682-million CU, said ONCU has run a number of auto loan refi promotions over the last two years for existing members, but for this non-member promotion it worked with Experian on generating pre-approvals.
"We looked at profiles to find auto loans elsewhere that were performing, and the person needed to have a certain credit score," he explained. "We also looked at the length of the loan and what was left on the balance. This allowed us to make an estimated payment based on what we thought the rate would be if they brought their loan to us."
One Nevada sent direct mail to the targeted individuals, plus it supplemented its efforts with "some" mass media-billboards, radio spots and print ads in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
"The main marketing program was through direct mail," Barnes said. "Our cost to acquire each new loan, including all the marketing, was approximately $115."
The promotion helped the CU book more than $8 million in auto loans, and it saved the new members more than $1.2 million a year in combined monthly loan payments.
Barnes said the $8 million in new loans represented a 42% annualized growth rate for this year. Year over year, March 2011 to March 2012, the growth rate was 29%.
Vincent Vitale from Las Vegas was the lucky 500th member who refinanced his auto loan with the credit union. He received a $500 promotional credit off his transferred auto loan balance.
