award of merit
CONTEXT
Insurance, once something to “get out of the way”, is in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. Increasing frequency and severity of storms have consumers planning for when and not if they will need the right insurance. Coupled with a growing mistrust in institutions and economic uncertainty, consumers are left feeling alone and questioning the value of insurance.
American Family Insurance has long challenged the status quo of insurance. We understand that customers don't need gimmicks; they need real protection for what matters most – their dreams. As a mid-sized, midwestern company operating in 19 states, we had to punch above our weight to break through the clutter and attract younger consumers in order to grow the business.
INSIGHT
In times of economic uncertainty and institutional mistrust, people turn to their communities and families to seek support, strength, and purpose. Legacy has taken on new meaning, moving beyond just the passing down of wealth to fostering intergenerational relationships and providing a touchstone to navigate turbulent times.
IDEA
American Family Insurance has long been about protecting dreams passed down through generations. We understand that when we dream, we don’t just dream for ourselves, we dream for everyone who comes next.
Now more than ever, American Family Insurance needed to lean into its differentiating dreams platform and reimagine the playbook of insurance marketing.
We launched “A Dream of Next” as part of the branded content series entitled “Dream Fearlessly”. We brought new meaning to our long-standing “Insure Carefully. Dream Fearlessly” tagline with the insight that when we dream, we don’t just dream for ourselves–we dream for everyone who comes next.
It tells the stories of families across generations, from different walks of life, to highlight the protection and legacy that bonds them.
LAUNCH
The launch was architected as a content experience versus traditional advertising. It was promoted like the latest film or TV show with :15 and :60 trailers across social media that drove to the playlist on YouTube. We aligned with the holiday season to capitalize on key family moments and shared viewing experiences.
To maintain interest post launch, we had an in-show integration on the December 16th holiday episode of the Jennifer Hudson show. She spoke of her and her children’s dreams to bring the overall legacy and narrative to life while driving viewers to watch on YouTube.
The final component of the roll-out was the launch of a bespoke content hub within the FireTV Holiday Hub on December 17th. The series lived alongside traditional family holiday movies and content to align to family viewing moments.
RESULTS
As part of the “Dream Fearlessly” series, “A Dream of Next” proved successful across awareness and engagement metrics. With almost 400M impressions, the campaign exceeded benchmarks for Peacock and Amazon for awareness lift, ad recall (+5.3% for TikTok and +4.9% for Meta), and consideration (+4.8% for TikTok). Video completion rates and click-through rates for both the content and teasers outperformed benchmarks across Meta, YouTube, Peacock, and Amazon placements.
