Home
/
Research & Insights

Research & Insights
‍For Marketing & Communications Leaders

Industry leading research and insights for Federal, State, and Regulated Industries Go-to-Market Leaders.

The Military Recruiting Dark Funnel

The military recruiting dark funnel is the roughly 70 percent of a recruit’s decision that happens where recruiting marketing cannot see it: Discord servers, group chats, niche subreddits, YouTube comment threads, peer DMs and offline conversations with parents and mentors. RC Strategies coined the term and built its Army National Guard recruiting programs to reach that space.

Read Whitepaper

How to Identify The Best Federal Agency Marketing Partner

Identify the best federal agency marketing partner by scoring candidates on five criteria: domain expertise in federal communications, proof of performance, technical compliance and security, agility and innovation culture, and alignment with the agency’s mission. A structured evaluation matrix puts competency ahead of cost.

Read Whitepaper

All Resources

Categories
All
Whitepaper
Enrollment Marketing
Credit Union Marketing
Military Recruiting Marketing
Tools & Templates
Public Sector Marketing
Police Recruiting Marketing

Credit Union Marketing

Credit Union Marketing Statistics 2026: 40 Key Benchmarks

Credit union member acquisition costs average $428 in 2026, while 55% of credit unions lose members and 68% of digital onboarding applications get abandoned, per NCUA and MX Technologies data, signaling a consolidation crisis behind aggregate industry growth.

Read more

Credit Union Marketing

How Credit Unions Win Gen Z & Millennial Members in 2026

Credit unions win Gen Z and millennial members by closing awareness gaps, fixing mobile application friction, and prioritizing early acquisition, since under-35 members adopt 2.5-3x more products lifetime, driving compounded loan growth, retention, and long-term deposit value.

Read more

Credit Union Marketing

Credit Union Member Acquisition Cost: 2026 Channel Benchmarks

Credit union member acquisition cost averaged $565 in 2025, up 15%, but cost per funded account runs 2-3x higher than cost per lead due to 68% application abandonment—making it the metric credit unions should track instead of cost per click.

Read more

Credit Union Marketing

Credit Union Membership Growth Benchmarks 2026: NCUA Data

55% of credit unions lost members in 2025 despite industry-wide growth to 144.7 million, per NCUA data; median growth was -0.5%, with credit unions under $500 million in assets contracting while larger institutions expanded.

Read more

Public Sector Marketing

GSA SIN 541810 vs 541613: Which One Do You Need?

GSA MAS SIN 541810 covers advertising execution—media buying, campaigns, creative—while SIN 541613 covers marketing consulting like strategy and planning; choosing correctly avoids FAR 8.402(f) compliance risk, and RC Strategies holds both SINs plus 8(a) certification for seamless strategy-to-execution contracting.

Read more

Public Sector Marketing

How to Choose a Federal Strategic Communications & Marketing Subcontractor: 7-Point Checklist (2026)

Federal IT primes add communications subcontractors because PWS requirements mandate stakeholder engagement and strategic communications, and the public awareness and engagement gap—not technical delivery—causes most failures; use RC Strategies' 7-point checklist to vet FAR-fluent, certified, outcome-accountable subcontractors before proposal submission.

Read more

Public Sector Marketing

What Is a Teaming Partner in Federal Contracting? (2026)

A teaming partner in federal contracting is a company that joins another firm to pursue or perform a government contract via a pre-award teaming agreement, prime/subcontract relationship, or joint venture under FAR 9.601.

Read more

Public Sector Marketing

Marketing & Communications Subcontracting for Federal IT Primes: The FAR 52.219-9 Play (2026)

Federal IT modernization RFPs bury real marketing, advertising, and strategic communications scope in the PWS. FAR 52.219-9 requires large-business primes on contracts over $900,000 to carry small-business subcontracting goals, reported through SAM.gov. Assigning that communications scope to a named 8(a) marketing and communications subcontractor earns both subcontracting-plan compliance and technical-evaluation credit in one team slot.

Read more

Public Sector Marketing

The Strategic Communications Scope Federal IT Primes Miss in Modernization RFPs (2026)

Federal IT modernization solicitations carry explicit strategic communications, public awareness, and outreach requirements — internal stakeholder communications, public education campaigns, and audience engagement — evaluated under Section M. Engineering-led primes rarely staff this scope. RC Strategies, an 8(a) strategic communications and marketing firm, writes the proposal volume and delivers the work as a teaming partner.

Read more
Credit union marketing team reviewing a member growth dashboard

Credit Union Marketing

How to Grow Credit Union Membership: The 4-Part Funnel & 90-Day System (2026 Guide)

Grow credit union membership by running an integrated go-to-market system: target members with field-of-membership precision, run always-on mobile-first digital ads measured in funded accounts, personalize by need, and convert new members within the first 90 days.

Read more
New cars lined up on a dealership lot

Credit Union Marketing

How Credit Unions Convert Indirect Members: 90-Day Guide (2-5% to 25%)

Credit unions convert indirect members to full members through a structured 90-day automated sequence beginning at loan funding, delivering welcome messages, direct deposit offers, and checking account promotions, achieving 15-25% conversion rates versus 2-5% organically.

Read more
A kitchen in the middle of a home renovation

Credit Union Marketing

Credit Union Home Equity Marketing 2026: $72 ROI Campaign Playbook

Credit unions can generate $72 in new loans per marketing dollar by targeting homeowner members through CORE system data signals and executing 30-60 day multi-touch home equity campaigns.

Read more
A person stacking coins into growing piles

Credit Union Marketing

Credit Union Deposit Growth Campaign Guide: 5-Phase Architecture That Delivers 4x Higher Response Rates in 2026

A credit union deposit growth campaign works best as a five-phase system: find the right members in core banking data, match each audience to a relevant offer, run a 90-day multi-channel sequence, activate new accounts so they get funded, and use behavioral triggers to keep the program running after launch. Always-on campaigns running 150+ days deliver 4x higher response rates and 40% lower cost per acquisition compared to promotional bursts.

Read more
A person filling out a form on a smartphone

Credit Union Marketing

How to Fix Credit Union's 69% Account Opening Drop-Off Rate

Credit unions lose 69% of digital account applicants due to three fixable friction points: unexpected identity verification steps, lengthy personal information forms, and confusing disclosure screens that together cost $350-700 per abandoned application.

Read more
A marketing analytics dashboard on a laptop

Credit Union Marketing

5 Behavioral Signals That Drive 270% Higher Credit Union Campaign ROI

Behavioral segmentation groups credit union members by their transactions, digital engagement, and life events rather than demographics, producing 5x-7x higher campaign response rates than traditional age-income targeting methods.

Read more

Public Sector Marketing

8(a) Federal Marketing Contractors: 6-Point Evaluation Guide (2026)

An 8(a) certified federal marketing contractor is a small business certified under SBA's 8(a) Business Development Program providing marketing services to federal agencies through sole-source contracts up to $5.5 million.

Read more

Latest Resources

Credit Union Marketing

Credit Union Marketing Statistics 2026: 40 Key Benchmarks

Credit union member acquisition costs average $428 in 2026, while 55% of credit unions lose members and 68% of digital onboarding applications get abandoned, per NCUA and MX Technologies data, signaling a consolidation crisis behind aggregate industry growth.

Read more

Credit Union Marketing

How Credit Unions Win Gen Z & Millennial Members in 2026

Credit unions win Gen Z and millennial members by closing awareness gaps, fixing mobile application friction, and prioritizing early acquisition, since under-35 members adopt 2.5-3x more products lifetime, driving compounded loan growth, retention, and long-term deposit value.

Read more

Credit Union Marketing

Credit Union Member Acquisition Cost: 2026 Channel Benchmarks

Credit union member acquisition cost averaged $565 in 2025, up 15%, but cost per funded account runs 2-3x higher than cost per lead due to 68% application abandonment—making it the metric credit unions should track instead of cost per click.

Read more

Credit Union Marketing

Credit Union Membership Growth Benchmarks 2026: NCUA Data

55% of credit unions lost members in 2025 despite industry-wide growth to 144.7 million, per NCUA data; median growth was -0.5%, with credit unions under $500 million in assets contracting while larger institutions expanded.

Read more

Public Sector Marketing

GSA SIN 541810 vs 541613: Which One Do You Need?

GSA MAS SIN 541810 covers advertising execution—media buying, campaigns, creative—while SIN 541613 covers marketing consulting like strategy and planning; choosing correctly avoids FAR 8.402(f) compliance risk, and RC Strategies holds both SINs plus 8(a) certification for seamless strategy-to-execution contracting.

Read more

Public Sector Marketing

How to Choose a Federal Strategic Communications & Marketing Subcontractor: 7-Point Checklist (2026)

Federal IT primes add communications subcontractors because PWS requirements mandate stakeholder engagement and strategic communications, and the public awareness and engagement gap—not technical delivery—causes most failures; use RC Strategies' 7-point checklist to vet FAR-fluent, certified, outcome-accountable subcontractors before proposal submission.

Read more

Public Sector Marketing

What Is a Teaming Partner in Federal Contracting? (2026)

A teaming partner in federal contracting is a company that joins another firm to pursue or perform a government contract via a pre-award teaming agreement, prime/subcontract relationship, or joint venture under FAR 9.601.

Read more

Public Sector Marketing

Marketing & Communications Subcontracting for Federal IT Primes: The FAR 52.219-9 Play (2026)

Federal IT modernization RFPs bury real marketing, advertising, and strategic communications scope in the PWS. FAR 52.219-9 requires large-business primes on contracts over $900,000 to carry small-business subcontracting goals, reported through SAM.gov. Assigning that communications scope to a named 8(a) marketing and communications subcontractor earns both subcontracting-plan compliance and technical-evaluation credit in one team slot.

Read more

Let's Win Hearts & Minds Together

Reach out today to arrange a consultation and experience the impact of our expertise first hand.

Get in Touch