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.
Despite that, the category spends billions of dollars to entertain, focusing on chaos, characters and critters to distract, rather than engage consumers.
American Family Insurance has long challenged the status quo of the insurance category. 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. It encompasses values, memories and storytelling across generations.
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 and stand out in this cluttered environment.
“Legacy” brings that belief to life through a long-form film that launched the “Dream Fearlessly” branded content series.
LAUNCH
The launch was architected as a content experience versus traditional advertising. The campaign launched with “Legacy” and was promoted as if it were the latest film or TV show with :15 and :60 trailers across social media and digital 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. Jennifer Hudson spoke about the dreams of her and her children 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, “Legacy” 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.
