Rural Path
Our Challenge
Built a first-of-its-kind rural creator network in Ohio — reaching rural voters through trusted local voices on the issues hitting their communities hardest.
Impact
1 in 3 commenters on national creator posts identified as Ohioans.
Nearly 100 qualified creator sign-ups for a long-term rural network
3.2M+ views and nearly 600K interactions
Our Work
Content Creator Strategy
Rural voters don’t trust ads — they trust neighbors. Novel recruited nine first-time local creators, from a Lutheran pastor to a horse farmer to a former Trump voter, plus three national creators with deep rural followings. We briefed them on two issues hitting rural Ohio hardest — data centers driving up utility bills and Medicaid cuts threatening rural hospitals — and let each tell the story in their own voice.
Social Listening
Paid media did double duty: putting creator content in front of rural Ohioans across 60+ target counties, and recruiting the next wave of messengers. A recruitment push with national creators drew nearly 100 qualified creator sign-ups for a long-term network. And local posts sparked real debate - nearly a quarter of commenters pushed back, a sign the content was landing outside the usual echo chamber.
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