WASHINGTON- Credit unions' use of e-mails to send marketing messages grew strongly in the past year, as did the number of credit unions collecting the electronic addresses in the first place. That's the conclusion from results of an online survey sent by Callahan & Associates in November to executives at 1,300 credit unions with assets of more than $50 million. Seventy percent of credit unions responding said they regularly collect the address and 45% actively market to those addresses, both up 19% from last year, according to the study report, titled "Credit Union Online Services: Strategies for Using the Internet to Enhance Member Services." "More credit unions are using electronic channels to communicate with members for both marketing and account-specific purposes," Callahan Executive Vice President Jay Johnson said. The report also included the observations of more than 30 credit union technology leaders and selected survey respondents who participated in follow-up telephone and e-mail interviews, as well as case studies from credit unions using e-mail marketing strategies.