Propane

Its team culture is described as:

• Crafty: brainstorming solutions for design, strategic approach, and scope
• Cool-minded: maintaining active partnerships between the team and clients
• Creative: executing projects intended to make real business impacts

Propane is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in its business practices. It states that inclusion applies to all team members regardless of race, skin color, religion, gender, gender expression, age, national origin, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status. The agency aims to provide a safe, equal, supportive, respectful, and collaborative work environment.

Selected history

• 2003: Propane began building websites and brand identities for technology startups.
• 2004: The agency expanded into conference signage, interactive demos, green-screen work, and 3D animation.
• 2005: It began building custom content management systems and later shifted toward SaaS-based custom applications.
• 2008: Propane prototyped concept-car interfaces using web technologies for Volkswagen and Audi.
• 2009: It created Propane Labs, an agency incubator, and began building complex platforms and company-wide workflows.
• 2013: Propane helped Kaiser Permanente deliver its Affordable Care Act project.
• 2015: The agency launched the Sutter Health linkAges Community and incorporated analytics and optimization into its performance-based services.
• 2018: Propane launched a new identity focused on platform thinking.
• 2020: It closed its physical office, established remote management infrastructure, and began developing products of its own.

Brand and Innovation

• Brand strategy, purpose, positioning, and architecture
• Messaging and narrative
• Naming and go-to-market strategy
• Market research and sizing
• Logo and visual identity design
• Innovation workshops and design thinking

Digital Experiences

• Websites and ecommerce experiences
• Product strategy, product and application design
• Design workshops
• Product demos and UX prototyping
• Service design and strategy
• User research and testing
• Content strategy
• Design systems
• Community marketplaces

Marketing and Media

• Marketing strategy and campaign planning
• Consumer target definition and segmentation
• Campaign creative
• Media and digital planning, buying, and optimization
• Editorial calendars and distribution plans
• Content, social, and influencer marketing
• Video, film, motion content, and content creation

Data and Analytics

• Reporting and analysis
• Dashboards
• Omni-channel and multi-channel analytics
• Unified analytics ecosystems covering site, marketing, social, sales, customer, and transaction data
• Marketing automation and CRM integration
• Attribution analysis
• ROI and ROAS analysis

Platforms and Technology

• Platform and transformation roadmaps
• Technical and CMS consulting and workflow optimization
• CRM and marketing automation recommendation and implementation
• Custom business tools
• Responsive and ecommerce website development
• Intranets and internal platforms
• Data centralization
• Internal sales enablement and digital sales playbooks
• Sales configurators and visualizers

The agency works at the intersection of business, brand, and modern B2C and B2B experiences. Its work is intended to deliver revenue, results, and stronger connections between brands, audiences, and teams.

Propane has worked with organizations including Kaiser Permanente, Volkswagen, Aetna, Digital Realty, Audi, Sutter Health, Intel, Equinix, San Francisco Symphony, Banner Health, Plant Prefab, and Charles Schwab.

The agency invites prospective clients to book a free consultation to discuss business challenges and potential solutions.

Strategy and Transformation

Propane uses rapid, in-depth explorations to inform creative and technical work. Its approach can include design thinking, qualitative and quantitative research, consumer, customer, stakeholder, patient, and HCP research, data and business analysis, and brand, platform, product, and digital transformation strategy. Virtual and remote collaboration is incorporated so client teams around the world can participate.

Products and Platforms

Solutions range from mobile consumer applications to complex internal and customer-facing platforms and products. Areas of expertise include sales enablement, enterprise technology platforms, training, and customized, flexible, scalable applications. Propane has customized its Agile methodology to reduce time to MVP and has conducted global design sprints to accelerate internal innovation.

Design and Content

Propane's design, creative, and content teams create design systems, visual languages, content marketing programs, brand and performance campaigns, and sales and creative assets. Its full-service media partnership supports planning the connections that bring communications to life.

People and Purpose

Propane promotes collaboration among its staff, clients, partners, and brand audiences. The team includes seasoned professionals focused on mentoring and fostering an inclusive, equitable environment, working with Fortune 500 companies, startups, and nonprofits.

Scope of work

• Website redesign
• Out-of-home campaign
• Photoshoot
• Video creative and production

Challenge and approach

Propane identified an opportunity to use emotion in a category where competitors were not using colloquial and empathetic language. It applied a storytelling approach to ServiceMax's messaging and content strategy, refreshed the brand to create a friendlier and more approachable look, and developed out-of-home and video campaigns to announce the new identity at Dreamforce.

Results

The new website launched on time and on budget. The work led to a reported 10% increase in enterprise account leads, downloads, and event attendance. The site's scalability also supported ServiceMax's acquisition by GE Digital.