Ally, a financial services company with the nation's largest all-digital bank, helps customers manage their financial futures through a suite of personal banking and investment services. As a disruptor in the financial services industry, Ally looks for ways to authentically tell brand stories through opportunities with partners like Roku.
The challenge
Women are a formidable force driving consumer trends, purchasing decisions, and brand loyalty. In fact, women lead up to 90% of household financial decisions.¹ Ally has always been dedicated to uplifting and inspiring women. In fact, in 2022, the company pledged to invest equally in men’s and women’s sports media in honor of the 50th anniversary of Title IX.²
At this year’s Cannes Lions festival, Bridget Sponsky, executive director of brand and sponsorship marketing at Ally, shared how representation of women in media is at the forefront of their brand’s ethos.
“Ally has an actual, intentional focus on representation of women in media. That extends all the way up from the highest order of our brand to everything we’re doing with women’s sports,” she said. “Women are living longer, and they’re graduating college at unprecedented rates. We’ve got to think about women as an area of growth.”
Ally was looking for opportunities to authentically share how their brand provides value to customers, especially to women. Nearly half of all women prefer brands that speak authentically to their lived experience.³
The campaign
The approach
To co-create an inspiring, original television show, Ally partnered with Roku and Hello Sunshine, the Reese Witherspoon-founded media company that “puts women at the center of every story.” Ally wanted to use entertainment to speak to the unique challenges women face when starting their own businesses, while also empowering participants and audience members to improve their financial wellbeing.
“Side Hustlers” premiered in March 2024, hosted by celebrity businesswomen Emma Grede and Ashley Graham. With 2% or less of venture funding in Europe and the United States going to women-founded startups in 2023,⁴ the show is centered around elevating women and showcasing female entrepreneurship. The five-episode series follows six female founders as they receive guidance and mentorship and vie for investment from the hosts, all in the hopes of quitting their day jobs and turning their side hustles into their main hustles.
“Side Hustlers” wasn’t just “presented by Ally.” The brand worked alongside Hello Sunshine and Roku to craft the story in a way that added value to viewers and tied into Ally’s mission of helping customers build their financial futures.
Jack Howard, head of money wellness for Ally, led financial coaching sessions for women on the show to explore how their personal experiences have shaped their relationships with money. Ally also brought in its innovation arm, TM Studios, to help the entrepreneurs learn about each of their brand’s external perceptions, providing the participants with unique insights on how to talk to their customers. These elements went beyond the tropes of reality shows to mix entertainment with financial education and allowed for genuine connection with viewers.
“Consumers are really smart. It’s not just about integrating your brand, because they’ll see right through it,” said Bridget Sponsky, executive director of brand and sponsorship marketing at Ally. "Delivering that added value, from an authenticity perspective, is absolutely critical.”
The results
With support of Roku’s marketing tactics, including high-visibility placements on the Roku home screen, “Side Hustlers” was an instant success. During its opening weekend, it became the #1 on-demand title on The Roku Channel and scored a renewal in its first week of launch.⁵
“We saw that people wanted to learn more about Ally because of the show, with searches for Ally spiking the highest they’d been in the previous twelve months in the first week after the show’s premiere,” said executive director of brand and sponsorship marketing at Ally, Bridget Sponsky.
Viewership drove real results for Ally, scoring significant lifts in all core brand metrics, including an increase in awareness, favorability, and intent that surpassed typical campaign norms. The show delivered +105% lift in brand trust, +116% lift in recommendation for Ally, and a +89% lift in likelihood to open an Ally account.⁶
Furthermore, Ally’s brand experience achieved an impact that went beyond traditional metrics. According to SeeHer’s GEMⓇ (Gender Equality Measurement) methodology, which evaluates how women are represented in advertising, “Side Hustlers” scored in the top 20% of all GEM-tested creative and performed at or above baseline for all categories tested.⁷ African Americans scored “Side Hustlers” the highest for women representation, +33% above GEM baseline.
With viewers faced with more content choices than ever before, brands need to approach storytelling in new and surprising ways. By prioritizing authentic, value-adding experiences for consumers, brands like Ally have achieved positive results by partnering with platforms like Roku to deliver content.
“We could see that streamers were searching for content like this where women were represented. It’s all about reaching the right person at the right time with the right creative. That’s the equation of success for how Ally was able to resonate with viewers in a way that drove favorability,” said Rachel Helfman, director of ad marketing and creative solutions at Roku
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¹ Forbes
² Ally
⁵ #1 by reach and engagement, opening weekend defined as Friday, March 1 to Sunday, March 3
⁶ Roku Internal Data, 2024
⁷ SeeHer GEM®, March 2024, ABX
