People Driven Credit Union, based in Southfield, has been named a 2026 Diamond Award winner by America’s Credit Unions Marketing, PR & Development Council, earning national recognition for a campaign about a complex technology rollout.
The award is the credit union industry’s top marketing honor. People Driven’s “Drive-Thru Smarter” campaign won in the Social Short-Form Video category, beating out entries from 181 organizations across 42 states.
When People Driven introduced Interactive Teller Machines across every branch, the credit union faced a challenge familiar to any organization modernizing its services: how do you get people to trust something new? The answer was Drive-Thru Smarter, a full-scale member education campaign built around one simple idea: show members exactly what to expect before they ever pull up to the screen.
The campaign extended across every channel members use: custom ITM wraps and branch signage, a dedicated webpage, targeted email and in-app messaging, hands-on staff training, and a short-form video series that gave members a real-time look at how the technology works before they arrived at a branch.
The star of the campaign was Vice President of Marketing Dave Sullivan’s own 23-window classic VW bus, imported from Brazil.
As a result of the campaign, lobby wait times shortened as quick transactions moved to the drive through. Members who initially had avoided the ITM lanes came back after watching the videos and knowing what to expect. Members with mobility challenges gained a more comfortable way to complete teller transactions without leaving their vehicles.
