Independent Validation of Creator Marketing's Durability

‍Executive Summary

In a world where marketing accountability is more important than ever, independent validation has become the gold standard for identifying which channels truly deliver impact. Since early 2024, Props has been continuously measured by a leading global Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM) provider that works with Fortune 500 brands across industries.

Across five consecutive quarterly evaluations for a major U.S. Insurance and Membership organization, Props has been consistently recognized as one of the most efficient, effective, and resilient digital channels. The findings are clear and repeated: Props delivers incremental growth, outperforms traditional digital and offline tactics, and warrants increased investment quarter after quarter.

This white paper summarizes those results, highlighting how Props has proven its value over time—through periods of market headwinds, rising competition, and evolving media strategies. The conclusion is unmistakable: Props is a validated, future-forward channel that should be treated as a core, always-on component of any performance-driven media plan.

The Role of Independent Validation

Why independent measurement matters—and how Props has proven itself through five consecutive quarters of rigorous MMM analysis.

Marketing leaders face growing pressure to demonstrate that every dollar of spend is accountable, efficient, and contributing to business growth. To meet this need, many of the world’s largest marketers rely on Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM). Unlike platform-reported results or isolated channel attribution, MMM provides an objective, holistic view of how each channel drives incremental business outcomes.

Since early 2024, Props has been included in quarterly MMM evaluations for a leading national provider in the Insurance and Membership industries. This organization manages both consumer insurance products and one of the largest paid membership programs in the U.S., making it a rigorous testing ground for evaluating media efficiency and scalability.

Across five consecutive quarterly reports, Props has been measured side by side with every major digital and offline channel in the client’s portfolio. Time and again, Props has been validated as a top performer—delivering high efficiency, resilience under market pressure, and incremental growth even as budgets scaled.

The sections that follow will highlight key findings from these independent analyses, demonstrate the trends that have emerged over time, and showcase why Props has proven itself to be an enduring, future-forward investment for marketers across industries.

"Props (Creator Marketing) was one of the top recommended channels for budget increases, with the [MMM Model] advising +15–20% higher investment across multiple regions". - MMM Report

Highlights: Independent Validation of Props

These insights come to life through specific results that showcase Props’ strength across multiple quarters.‍

Scalability Without Efficiency Loss: In Q3 2024, Props’ investment grew by more than 50% year-over-year, yet CPMs declined -84% YoY. Unlike most channels, which deteriorate as budgets increase, Props became more efficient as spending scaled.‍

Consistent Investment Recommendations: In every quarter since early 2024, Props was recommended for budget increases of 5–20% across all major regions. Few other channels earned such consistent endorsement for expansion.‍

Membership Mix Advantage: In Q3 2024, Props shifted to a blended mix of Awareness, Traffic, and Conversion campaigns, boosting efficiency and validating it as a scalable, high-performing contributor. Independent MMM reaffirmed this in Q2 2025, calling the blended mix the optimal strategy to maximize growth and efficiency.

Creative Advantage: In Q2 2025, independent analysis highlighted that creative quality is the single largest driver of media performance. Props’ creator-led model is uniquely positioned to capitalize on this driver, delivering authentic content that builds trust and fuels conversion.‍

Ecosystem Halo Impact: Independent attribution confirmed Props Brand Ads contributed more than 21% of new member acquisitions, second only to Google Organic. This demonstrates that Props not only delivers direct efficiency but also strengthens the performance of the broader media ecosystem.

“Channels like Props, OLV, Social, and CTV continued to outperform other tactics, even as investment scaled. Future-looking recommendation is to test higher investment levels across all four of these tactics in all regions.”

Props’ Multi-Quarter Performance Highlights: Insurance

Insurance is a highly competitive category where rising rates, aggressive competitor spend, and macroeconomic headwinds often drag down marketing efficiency. Against this backdrop, Props has consistently emerged as one of the strongest-performing digital channels in independent MMM analyses.

Q2 2024: Props was validated as a top digital efficiency driver, outperforming traditional tactics such as Paid Search, Display, and OLV.‍

Q3 2024: Props scaled significantly—investment grew by more than 50% year-over-year—yet efficiency held strong. CPMs dropped by -84% YoY, demonstrating rare scalability without efficiency loss.‍

Q4 2024: While overall Insurance efficiency declined by more than 20% YoY due to base pressures (rate hikes, competition, macro factors), Props stood out as one of the few digital tactics recommended for increased investment.‍

Q2 2025: Once again, Props was highlighted for budget increases of 5–20% across all major regions, cementing its role as an enduring, efficient driver of policy acquisition.

MMM Reccomended Max Budget Increases for Props Since Q2 2024

Over five consecutive quarters, Props has maintained its position as one of the top two or three most efficient digital channels for Insurance. It consistently outperforms major categories like Search, Display, and OLV—while scaling investment without sacrificing efficiency.

"[MMM Model] reinforced that continuing to invest in and optimize channels like Props will help maximize efficiency of the tactics that have scaled investment in the past few quarters”. - MMM Report

Props’ Multi-Quarter Performance Highlights: Membership

Membership marketing presents a unique challenge: balancing cost-efficient acquisition with the need to sustain brand presence and long-term loyalty. Independent MMM analyses show that Props has consistently delivered incremental Membership growth, outperforming expensive legacy tactics like Direct Mail and Paid Search, while also adapting to the evolving needs of the portfolio.‍

Q2 2024: Props proved its value early by driving incremental Membership acquisitions at higher efficiency than Direct Mail and Search, two of the client’s largest legacy channels.‍

Q3 2024: Props adopted a blended mix of Awareness, Traffic, and Conversion campaigns rather than focusing too heavily on lower-funnel conversion. This shift delivered exceptional results: Props was validated as a scalable, high-efficiency contributor and recommended for expanded investment.‍

Q4 2024: Even as CPMs rose across digital channels, Props was one of the few tactics with a major year-over-year increase in investment (+717%) that continued to deliver acquisition growth, proving its ability to sustain erformance at scale.‍

Q2 2025: Independent MMM highlighted this as the optimal strategy to maximize efficiency and growth.
Additionally, creative quality was emphasized as the primary driver of media performance—an area where Props excels, thanks to its authentic, creator-led content that builds trust and engagement.

While Conversion campaigns drive volume, Props has proven that the greatest efficiency comes from a balanced mix across Awareness, Traffic, and Conversion. The shift back to blended in Q2 2025 mirrors the highly successful Q3 2024 strategy, setting Props up for even stronger performance in upcoming reports.

Efficiency Ranking: Q2 2024 - Q2 2025

1. Props (Creator Marketing): Consistently among the top digital channels; efficiency held even as spend scaled; recommended for budget increases every quarter.
2. Paid Search (Branded): Props stronger every quarter; Branded Search more efficient than NB but still lagged.
3. Paid Search (Non-Branded): Significantly weaker than Props; high cost with diminishing returns.
4. Display Retargeting: Props consistently outperformed; limited incremental contribution.
5. OLV (Online Video): Underperformed vs. Props; less efficient at driving acquisition.
6. Display Prospecting: One of the weakest digital tactics; Props often 2–3x more efficient.
7. Direct Mail (Membership): Legacy offline tactic; costly, consistently beaten by Props.
8. FSI (Inserts): Very low efficiency; Props multiple times stronger.

“Props is consistently grouped with CTV, Streaming Audio, and Social as high-efficiency digital channels to prioritize.” - MMM Model

Key Strategic Insights Across Reports

Independent MMM findings across five consecutive quarters reveal clear, enduring patterns in Props’ performance.‍

Efficiency Leadership: Props consistently ranked among the top digital channels, reliably outperforming Search, Display, and OLV in both Insurance and Membership.‍

Scalability: Props is one of the few channels that improves with scale. Even as investment rose sharply, efficiency held or improved.‍

Creative Advantage: Props’ creator-led content aligns with findings that creative quality is the largest driver of media impact, ensuring trust, engagement, and conversion.‍

Resilience Under Pressure: Despite market headwinds such as rate hikes, economic softness, and increased competitive spend, Props delivered positive returns and earned budget increases.‍

Halo Effect: Beyond direct efficiency, Props amplifies other media by expanding retargeting pools and contributing a large share of incremental acquisitions, second only to organic search.

Together, these insights show Props is not just another tactic in the mix, but a multi-dimensional driver of performance validated repeatedly by independent, third-party analysis.

The Enduring Value of Props

Independent MMM has consistently confirmed what brands that use Props already experience: this channel is not experimental, it is essential. Over five consecutive quarterly reports, Props has been repeatedly recommended for increased investment, both in Insurance and Membership. Few other digital tactics can claim this kind of consistency across time, product lines, and market conditions.

Props is distinctive in three critical ways:

1. Consistently Efficient: Whether in Insurance or Membership, Props has held its position as one of the most efficient channels, regularly outperforming legacy digital formats like Search, Display, and OLV, as well as costly offline tactics like Direct Mail.
   
2. Future-Forward: Independent analyses repeatedly group Props alongside modern growth engines like CTV and Streaming Audio—channels built for the evolving digital landscape. This confirms Props belongs at the center of any forward-looking media plan.
   
3. Scalable and Resilient: Props has scaled significantly over the past year, with budgets growing quarter after quarter, while efficiency remains strong. Even during periods of rising competitive pressure and macroeconomic headwinds, Props continues to deliver positive incremental value.
   

Taken together, these findings establish Props as a core, always-on investment that not only drives direct ROI but also enhances the performance of the entire media ecosystem.

What This Means for Marketers

For marketers navigating increasingly complex media environments, the lesson is clear: creator marketing is no longer optional—it is validated. Props is not a niche add-on channel; it is a proven, scalable driver of efficiency and growth.

Independent MMM confirms that Props delivers both direct performance (efficient policies and memberships at scale) and indirect ecosystem impact (expanding retargeting pools, improving creative resonance, and lifting the performance of other media).

The implications for marketers are straightforward:

• Treat Props as a permanent fixture of the media mix, not an experiment.
  
• Maintain consistent investment to capture efficiency gains and avoid the volatility seen when Props spend is paused.
  
• Integrate Props with other future-forward channels like CTV and Streaming Audio for maximum incremental value.
  
• Leverage Props’ creative advantage, ensuring campaigns blend awareness, traffic, and conversion in the right balance to maximize ROI.

Conclusion

Across five consecutive quarters of independent analysis, Props has been validated as one of the most efficient and effective channels available to marketers today. It thrives under market pressure, scales without sacrificing efficiency, and consistently earns recommendations for increased investment.

For brands seeking measurable, sustainable growth, the verdict is clear: Props is validated, resilient, efficient, and scalable. It is not just a channel in the mix—it is a strategic growth engine that should be activated as a core, always-on driver of marketing success.