A record 548 entries, four MACQUEE finalists and more than 100 winning organizations at the Marketing Association of Credit Unions‘ annual conference
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Credit union marketing teams from across the country collected hardware this month at the 2026 MAC Awards. Winners were announced and trophies presented in Scottsdale on September 17, 2026, capping the Marketing Association of Credit Unions conference, which ran September 15–17.
It was the biggest MAC Awards yet. Credit unions submitted 548 entries, up from the previous record of 458 in 2025, and the ceremony was the best-attended in MAC’s history.
How the awards work
MAC has recognized credit union marketing since 1986, and its top honor is the Best in Show MACQUEE award. This year’s entries had to cover work completed in 2025. Judges from inside and outside the credit union industry score each entry on creativity, planning and, where required, results. Entries must clear a minimum score to earn an award, and if nothing meets the bar in a category, no award is given.
The competition is open to credit unions, leagues and CUSOs, and agencies can submit on behalf of credit union clients. Awards are split by asset size, so smaller community credit unions aren’t competing head-to-head with the industry’s largest institutions.
The MACQUEE finalists: small budgets, big results
Four campaigns made it to the final round for the MACQUEE, and each finalist pitched its work live at the conference. One attendee, Buyapowa marketing director Peter Cunningham, noted that what the finalists had in common was agility and modest budgets rather than big spending.
Fibre Federal Credit Union tackled a problem most credit unions share: everyone has great member reviews, so leaning on them in ads doesn’t stand out. Fibre’s answer was to have its longtime radio voice read review excerpts from an armchair with a dry, deadpan delivery. The campaign cost about $25,000 to produce plus roughly $10,000 in media, and it beat its goals by 400%.
Members 1st Credit Union (Michigan) took a decidedly low-tech approach. After recognizing that many of its own employees were under financial strain, the credit union launched an education and coaching program that got 98.6% of staff certified as Credit Union Financial Counselors. It then extended the effort to members through coaching sessions, app and social media content, and lending libraries.
PenAir Federal Credit Union started from an honest premise: nobody wakes up thinking about their credit union, and members don’t care much that PenAir is 90 years old. So instead of marketing its longevity, PenAir reframed time around members’ own milestones, such as the birth of a child or buying a first car. The humorous, member-first ads delivered 2.7% membership growth.
Signet Federal Credit Union in Western Kentucky ran “Start the Kindness,” inviting members and the public to write 500 encouraging notes to breast cancer patients. The effort later expanded to women’s shelters, food banks and animal shelters. None of the notes carried Signet branding, and the campaign still brought in 452 new members, a significant number for a credit union of about 20,000 members. Signet also collected five MAC Awards on the night.
Spotlight: SRP Federal Credit Union
SRP Federal Credit Union, based in North Augusta, S.C., took home Gold in Public Relations in the over-$2 billion asset tier. The award recognized the credit union’s work telling its story through its members, its ambassadors and the communities it serves. Chief Development Officer Shana Reid, AVP of Marketing and Communications Allyson Teevan and Marketing and Communications Manager Josh Rhoden accepted the trophy.
It’s SRP’s second national marketing honor this year, following three Diamond Awards from America’s Credit Unions in March. SRP serves more than 200,000 members across 10 counties in Georgia and South Carolina.
Spotlight: Website makeovers in Montana and Seattle
Two website redesigns earned hardware in the Website Transformation category, both built with credit union web agency PixelSpoke.
Montana Credit Union, which has served Montanans since 1940, won Silver in the $500 million and under tier. Its new site focuses on a better member experience and on positioning the credit union as a trusted local guide.
Seattle Credit Union, which is approaching its 100th year, won Bronze in the $1 billion-plus tier. Its redesign emphasized accessibility, simpler navigation and telling the credit union’s story in a way that honors its history.
Spotlight: Credit Union of Georgia
Credit Union of Georgia’s marketing department earned four awards for marketing excellence. Vice President of Marketing Michelle Dobbins represented the credit union at the ceremony. Dobbins joined the credit union in 2024 to lead its omni-channel marketing strategy.
The team’s winning streak predates the MAC ceremony. In March 2025, it was named Category’s Best for Internal Recognition/Incentive Campaign in the Diamond Awards for “Mission Possible 2: Destination Corelation.” The Acworth-based credit union has served Northwest Georgia since 1960.
2026 MAC Award–winning credit unions
The full list of winning organizations, per MAC:
4Front Credit Union, A+ Federal Credit Union, Abound Credit Union, Affidian Credit Union, Aggieland Credit Union, Allegiance Credit Union, Alternatives Federal Credit Union, American 1 Credit Union, American Heritage Credit Union, AmFirst, Ancorum Credit Union, Apple Federal Credit Union, Baton Rouge Telco FCU, BCU, Beginnings Credit Union, Campus Federal Credit Union, Canyon View Credit Union, Capital Credit Union, Carolina Trust Federal Credit Union, Clearview Federal Credit Union, Community Choice Credit Union, Consumers Credit Union, Copper State Credit Union, Corda Credit Union, Credit Union 1, Credit Union of Georgia, Credit Union West, CSE Federal Credit Union, Deseret First Credit Union, Desert Financial Credit Union, Discovery Federal Credit Union, Dow Credit Union, EdFed, EFCU Financial, Empeople Credit Union, Family Savings Credit Union, Farmers Insurance Group Federal Credit Union, FedEx Employees Credit Association, Fibre Federal Credit Union, Firefighters Community Credit Union, First Harvest Credit Union, FirstLight Federal Credit Union, Foothill Credit Union, Fox Communities Credit Union, Fueling Fun In the Community, GTE Financial, Great Lakes Credit Union, Greater Texas Credit Union, Hoosier Hills Credit Union, Katahdin Federal Credit Union, LAFCU, Listerhill Credit Union, Lookout Credit Union, Loyalty Credit Union, Maine Family Federal Credit Union, Members First Credit Union, Members Plus Credit Union, Meritus Credit Union, Michigan State University Federal Credit Union, Mirastar Federal Credit Union, Mission Fed Credit Union, Montana Credit Union, Mountain America Credit Union, Municipal Credit Union, Neighbors Federal Credit Union, NIH Federal Credit Union, Northern Credit Union, Notre Dame Federal Credit Union, NuMark Credit Union, Nymeo Federal Credit Union, One Nevada, Oregonians Credit Union, ORNL Federal Credit Union, Park Community Credit Union, Patelco Credit Union, Pelican Credit Union, PenAir Credit Union, P1FCU, Publix Employees Federal Credit Union, Redwood Credit Union, Rio Grande Credit Union, Royal Credit Union, SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union, SeaComm, Seattle Credit Union, Signet Federal Credit Union, Simplicity Credit Union, South Carolina Federal Credit Union, SRP Federal Credit Union, State Department Federal Credit Union, Technology Credit Union, Texas Trust Credit Union, TopLine Financial Credit Union, Tower Federal Credit Union, Treadwell Credit Union, TruNorthern Federal Credit Union, TruStone Financial Credit Union, USC Credit Union, UT Federal Credit Union, Voyage Federal Credit Union, Westerra Credit Union, Western Sun Federal Credit Union, Western Vista Credit Union, Whitefish Credit Union, Wildfire Credit Union and Y-12 Credit Union.
Looking ahead
The 2026 program is closed, and MAC plans to release details on the 2027 MAC Awards in January. Category-by-category results and placements are available in MAC’s online awards gallery.
