Brand safety used to be a logistical problem. Blocklists, keyword filters, and placement rules ensured ads avoided controversy. But as brands shift from passive advertising to active content creation, they are no longer just buying space next to content—they are endorsing the people making it. Contracted creators are, by default, brand ambassadors, representing the brand in their values, actions, and rhetoric.
This shift has made the risks more personal. A creator’s misstep, whether an old tweet resurfacing or a problematic past collaboration, does not just damage their reputation; it implicates the brand behind them. Brand safety is no longer a moment-in-time concern but a timeline problem. Brands must now consider not only a creator’s present content but also their past actions, ensuring that yesterday’s controversy does not become tomorrow’s crisis.
The GARM (Global Alliance for Responsible Media) guidelines were meant to provide clarity on brand safety, yet they quickly revealed their limitations. Designed for the programmatic ad era, they relied on rigid, keyword-based exclusions that failed to distinguish between harmful content and valuable, brand-friendly storytelling. A flagged word like “alcohol” could remove both a reckless binge-drinking video and a fine-dining wine tutorial, ignoring nuance and stifling high-quality content.
More critically, GARM focused on content adjacency rather than creator integrity. That approach may have worked in an era of traditional digital advertising, but today, brands are not merely appearing next to content—they are embedding themselves within it. Brand safety now requires evaluating not just what is being said but who is saying it, across multiple posts, platforms, and languages. A creator’s past, present, and future all matter, and assessing that risk is now an ongoing obligation, not a one-time checkbox.
The internet never forgets. A comment that seemed harmless years ago can resurface as a brand-damaging controversy today. Unlike traditional ads, creator partnerships are a direct reflection of a brand’s values. A creator’s old collaborations, controversial opinions, or past affiliations do not just affect them; they affect the brands that fund them.
By the time an issue emerges, it is often too late to untangle the brand from the damage. This is why creator vetting cannot be a static process. Brand safety must be a living, breathing practice, one that accounts for the unpredictable nature of online discourse and the speed at which reputations can shift.
Avoidance is no longer a viable strategy. Brands must move beyond outdated tactics and adopt intelligent risk management.
First, evaluating a creator’s past is essential to understanding their character. A creator’s digital history tells a story—not just about their content but about who they are. Reviewing past themes, affiliations, and messaging ensures alignment before partnerships begin and helps brands avoid reputational risk.
Second, assessing the broader message matters more than focusing on individual flagged keywords. Context is everything. A single word or topic should not be judged in isolation. What matters is the creator’s tone, intent, and how audiences react. AI-powered tools can analyze themes, sentiment, and historical engagement to separate real risks from perceived ones.
Finally, monitoring content in real time is no longer optional. A creator might pass initial screening, but content evolves. Monitoring across platforms ensures brands can act quickly—whether that means pausing promotion, adjusting messaging, or reevaluating partnerships.
Brand safety is no longer about adjacency; it is about association. Today’s creators are spokespeople, not just media placements, and brands must be prepared to vet, track, and adjust in real time.
Brands that embrace evergreen brand safety—an adaptive, AI-driven, real-time approach—will be the ones who thrive. Those that fail to evolve risk reputational damage that can take years to repair. In the creator economy, brand reputations are slow to build and quick to unravel.
For regional banks, advertising is fraught with some of the most stringent rules in marketing. Laws such as the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) and Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) require specific disclosures in promotions for loans, credit cards, and other financial products. Adding to these legal mandates, platforms like Facebook and Google impose “Special Ad Categories” for financial services, restricting the use of advanced targeting tools like lookalike audiences or detailed demographic segmentation.
The impact is clear: compliance-heavy messaging disrupts engagement, creativity is stifled, and marketing costs rise as cost-per-click (CPC) and cost-per-lead (CPL) escalate. For many regional banks, this combination of constraints makes reaching their ideal customers a frustrating and costly endeavor.
Props offers a transformative way for regional banks to overcome these challenges through a unique combination of creator-driven storytelling, strategic paid media promotion, and robust compliance solutions. Instead of promoting financial products directly, Props shifts the focus to authentic, lifestyle-oriented stories that resonate with audiences and inspire them.
These stories are published on the bank’s website (or a special landing page) and, critically, promoted through the creators’ social media handles. Publishing lifestyle content through creators’ handles bypasses the restrictions of “Special Ad Categories,” drives more engagement and click-throughs, and unlocks advanced targeting options. This allows banks to connect with high-intent audiences more effectively while reducing costs.
For example, rather than running a traditional ad for a home equity line of credit (HELOC), Props might collaborate with a creator to share a story about how homeowners can fund renovations—building trust and engagement without triggering compliance-heavy disclosures.
One of Props’ greatest advantages lies in its ability to sidestep disclosure requirements by avoiding direct product claims. Instead of advertisements laden with legal disclaimers, Props content centers on engaging narratives that educate and inspire. These stories provide value to audiences without overwhelming them, creating a cleaner, more effective path to engagement.
A creator might share how they used home equity to remodel their kitchen, illustrating a real-life application of financial tools while staying free from the burdens of compliance-heavy messaging. This approach not only eliminates the need for complex disclosures but also keeps content relatable and audience-focused, fostering trust and credibility.
Audiences are more likely to trust people over brands, and Props ensures this trust by selecting creators based on their expertise and storytelling ability, not their follower count. Creators are chosen for their ability to craft genuine, relatable narratives that resonate with specific audience segments.
Whether it’s a business owner sharing entrepreneurial insights or a parent discussing family finances, Props focuses on the quality of the story rather than the creator’s popularity. By publishing these stories directly on the client’s website, Props ensures that the bank owns the engagement and benefits from first-party data collection. Paid media promotion guarantees that these stories reach the most relevant audience with precision and scale.
Brand safety is paramount for financial institutions. Strict regulatory standards and a heightened need to maintain trust often prevent banks from collaborating with creators. Recognizing these challenges, Props developed Ollie—a proprietary AI-driven brand safety tool that ensures campaigns remain compliant, transparent, and aligned with institutional values.
Ollie reviews years of creator content history, continuously monitors posts in real-time, and flags potential risks using advanced AI. Its capabilities include detecting if a financial offer is being made or if financial advice is being given—two critical triggers that can complicate compliance for creators in regulated industries. By categorizing flagged content as low, medium, or high risk, Ollie empowers banks to avoid pitfalls while enabling creators to craft compelling yet compliant narratives.
This innovative approach ensures banks can confidently embrace creator storytelling, knowing that campaigns will uphold their values and meet regulatory standards. By bridging the gap between brand safety and creative freedom, Ollie empowers financial advertisers to connect authentically with audiences while navigating one of the most regulated industries in marketing.
Props has consistently delivered impressive results for its financial clients across consumer banking, mortgage lending, credit cards, secure cards, life insurance, auto insurance, and wealth management. Props takes responsibility for delivering actual, measurable business outcomes—a key reason for its rapid growth.
For regional bank CMOs, Props offers an unparalleled opportunity to navigate advertising regulations while driving measurable results. By avoiding restrictive ad categories and using creator-led storytelling, Props enables access to advanced audience targeting tools that improve reach and engagement.
Its compliance-friendly strategies reduce advertising costs and create cleaner, more effective campaigns. With Ollie’s oversight, banks can run creative campaigns confidently, knowing that regulatory standards are being met. Props’ focus on authenticity builds trust with audiences, while its full-funnel strategy ensures seamless progression from awareness to conversion.
By leveraging paid media through creators’ handles, Props ensures that each story achieves both the reach and relevance needed to deliver measurable results. For CMOs seeking to transform their marketing strategy and connect authentically with their audience, Props offers a proven path to sustainable growth and success.
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