National Grid is on a mission to increase awareness among hard-to-reach younger audiences about its commitment to EVs and to their clean energy transition. National Grid partnered with Props, a storytelling-as-a-service platform, to achieve this important company-wide objective.
Props unlocks new audiences by enabling brands to publish and promote authentic stories directly from their websites.
This approach is proven to unlock audiences who typically ignore ads.
When brands publish and promote natural stories, as told by people rather than through the lens of advertising, it builds trust, increases response, and drives real connections with consumers.
By partnering with Props, National Grid achieved unprecedented results.
National Grid was drawn to Props’ content first method.
Props recruited six young adult content creators to promote National Grid’s key messaging to a hard-to-reach audience of 18 to 49-year-olds in Massachusetts. In curating each creator, the Props platform focused on their unique experiences, storytelling ability, and relatableness to each audience segment rather than their followers, as Props relies on highly targeted and controllable paid media to promote each creator’s story.
All six independent creators set off on their EV journey across Massachusetts, stopping at small business ice cream shops to make their content seasonally and culturally relevant. Along the way, these creators stopped at National Grid-enabled charging stations to educate their audience about National Grid’s Drive Clean initiatives.
Props leveraged Facebook, Instagram, Google Display, TikTok, and Snapchat to promote each story to reach the younger demographic.
Overall, Props outperformed for every benchmark set by National Grid including impressions, CTR, time on site, site traffic, and engagement. Further, about 90% of the traffic to National Grid’s website had never before been to their site - a critical and never-before-reach objective achieved by this unique approach.
With the initial goal of increasing awareness of National Grid’s 1,800 charging stations to millions across Massachusetts, Props ultimately tripled the number of views National Grid aimed to achieve.
National Grid’s content, in partnership with Props, reached 8x more people than their branded charging post content and had their click-through rates improve 10x more. And, we did this all while driving viewers directly to the National Grid website.
Once these new audiences landed on our creator’s episodes on the National Grid website, their TOS exceeded the industry standard. Why? Because people connect with people—and authentic storytelling always wins.
Props proves people trust people more than brands. By having curated, independent creators spreading National Grid’s message, it carries more weight for consumers and constituents than when the message comes directly from National Grid. The imprimatur of independent curated creators increases trust and dramatically raises response and engagement—far beyond a typical ad or PSA.
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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