2. SPHINX ADVERTISING
The Great Sphinx in Egypt is carved out of rock. It has the head of a
Pharaoh and the body of a lion, representing wisdom and strength.
Carbondale is the heart of “Little Egypt” in Southern Illinois. It is the
home to Southern Illinois University, the Salukis, and Sphinx Advertising.
Sphinx measures and defines success by building relationships with
clients and providing innovative solutions to their challenges. In the spirit
of our namesake, we believe that the best ideas come from a synergistic
blend of integrated marketing communications.
Brains and brawn. Youthfulness and yearning. Intelligence and instinct.
Learning and living. It is our belief that each of these elements are
fundamental in creating an invigorating and successful campaign.
Delivering strong results and powerful ideas, we are Sphinx Advertising - an Integrated Marketing Agency.
3. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The case study provided by State Farm directed us to develop an integrated marketing
communications plan targeted at men and women aged 18-25. This new supplementary
campaign will run alongside the existing State Farm campaign. Emphasis is placed on
creating media that will focus on selling auto and renters insurance. The budget for the
campaign is $40 million. TABLE OF CONTENTS
Research
To ensure that the campaign resonates with our target market, Sphinx Advertising
collected extensive primary research. Sphinx conducted a survey that solicited the
opinions of approximately 300 college students in order to understand their insurance
2 Introduction
buying habits, knowledge of insurance companies and media usage. In addition to the
survey, we conducted a focus group to understand their attitudes, interests and opinions.
The research insights served as vital inputs for this strategy.
3 Situation Analysis
Strategy
Sphinx Advertising proposes the Community Square campaign that highlights the
7 S.W.O.T. Analysis
trustworthiness and credibility of State Farm while presenting the messages in a language
that indentifies with 18-25 year olds. The strategy utilizes multiple touchpoints to reach 8 Primary Research
the four segments of target audience in an effective and efficient manner.
Touchpoints 11 Strategy
Television and billboards will be the first wave of media used for image building, while The
Edit4Credit competition on YouTube will launch the social media campaign. State Farm
will sponsor FIFA World Cup United States and Mexico matches, and the semifinals and 25 Media
TABLE OF CONTENTS
finals will screen in movie theaters across the 50 largest markets of our target audience.
State Farm will also award 2,000 insurance policies to students in financial need with
above average GPAs. In addition, other campaign elements have been chosen to ensure
29 Evaluations
that State Farm maintains their legacy customers as well as attain new ones.
30 References
Media
The recommended media strategy reflects the media consumption of our target market. It
emphasizes traditional media for image building and reach, while implementing 31 Acknowledgements
non-traditional media to build frequency and target specific segments of their audience.
The campaign will be evaluated at different stages to gauge its effectiveness, and
corrective actions will be taken if necessary.
1
4. INTRODUCTION
State Farm Insurance is the sponsor of the 2010 National Synopsis of Case Study
Student Advertising Competition. State Farm is currently the
leading property and casualty insurance company in the Brand Promise
United States. State Farm understands that nothing’s more important than being
there: Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.
This case study calls for the development of a national
communications campaign to target State Farm’s Brand Tone
undersaturated market among young adults aged State Farm takes their role as a Good Neighbor very seriously.
18-25. This campaign focuses on automobile and renters This permeates their beliefs and actions and sets the tone for the
insurance and will supplement State Farm’s current kinds of communication that are brand appropriate.
message of always being there. It will relay messages of
dependability by enhancing agent/customer relations and A Good Neighbor
overall better identify with its desired customer base. • Acts inclusively and makes people feel welcomed, valued and
accepted
• Is honest, looks out for your best interests, and has your
back
• Does not exclude, alienate or disparage
• Does not poke fun at others but is certainly willing to share a
good joke
• Never makes people feel excluded with excessive violence or
innuendos that might offend
Research
Sphinx Advertising conducted intensive primary and secondary
research in order to understand the insurance marketing
INTRODUCTION
environment and State Farm’s target audience. The following
sections contain the important research findings unveiled through
secondary research (situation analysis and S.W.O.T. analysis) and
primary research (survey and focus groups).
2
6. Company Analysis
State Farm is a group of insurance and financial
service companies. It is currently ranked 31st
among Fortune 500 companies. The company is
headquartered in Bloomington, Illinois, and its
Consumer Analysis
primary focus is on automobile insurance. Adults aged 46-54 represent the largest group of insurance
policyholders, closely followed by those between the ages of
State Farm was founded in 1922 by retired farmer and 36-44. The 26-34 age group is not far behind. The smallest
insurance salesman George Jacob “G.J.” Mecherle. group of policyholders are young adults aged
Mecherle knew that farmers were on the road 18-25. Gender has no significant effect on consumer buying
substantially less than others, and therefore had fewer of insurance policies.
accidents. It was his belief that everyone deserved a
fair price and claim settlement. His current employer MRI data reports that Caucasians are nearly seven times
did not share his beliefs; he decided to begin his own more likely to be insured by State Farm than members of
business, and thus State Farm was born. other ethnic groups. Asians, Native Americans, and Native
Alaskans represent the smallest group of policyholders.
State Farm has always been a leader in safety. In the Married couples are twice as likely to hold insurance policies
1920s, State Farm was the first insurance company to as those who have never been married. Parents with children
emphasize education to keep their customers safe. To aged 12-17 make up the largest group of policyholders. Most
this day, State Farm maintains their efforts to educate are employed in sales and office occupations. The average
their customers about safety in the home, at work, household income of State Farm policyholders lies in the
and on the road. $75,000-$150,000 range.
Today State Farm holds the most auto and home There are more policyholders in the South than in other
SITUATION ANALYSIS
insurance policies totaling over 75 million. State Farm regions in the U.S. There are more policyholders in heavily
employs more than 17,000 agents across the U.S. and populated A and B counties than in more scarcely populated
Canada. C and D counties. A counties are those located in the 25
largest U.S. cities. B counties are those with a population
of more than 150,000, which do not qualify as A counties.
This means that people living in large metropolitan areas are
more likely to have State Farm insurance than people who
live in smaller communities. Homeowners, and those who
have lived at their current address for five or more years are
also far more likely to be insured by State Farm.
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7. lost among their varying representatives. However, although
their recent campaign advertisements demonstrate little
Competitive Analysis relevance to their product, they are still able to maintain
their top-of-mind recognition among consumers.
Allstate, Progressive and Geico are State Farm’s leading
competitors. MRI Data suggests that State Farm Insurance is State Farm’s third strongest competitor is Progressive.
falling behind its competitors among their target audience. Progressive has an aggressive marketing effort based upon
price points through the use of their popular spokesperson
named Flo.
MRI INDEX OF STATE FARM COMPETITORS
State Farm Market Share
110.0 State Farm
Allstate
82.5 Geico
Progressive 18%
55.0 Other
27.5
State Farm
10%
SITUATION ANALYSIS
Allstate
Geico
0 57%
Progressive
8%
State Farm’s primary competitor is Allstate. Allstate is 7%
easily recognizable because of their attractive, well-spoken
representative that creates an alluring environment for
potential customers. Their tagline “Are You In Good Hands?”,
relays a message of relief and trust. Allstate has been using According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal,
this advertising campaign since 2004, and it is the simplicity Progressive is gaining market share. It currently has a market
of their message that is so appealing. share of 7%, Geico’s market share is 8% and Allstate has a
market share of 10%. State Farm currently leads the market
Geico is State Farm’s second largest competitor. Their with a share of 18%.
tagline is “Fifteen Minutes Could Save You 15% or More
on Car Insurance.” There message is straightforward and
communicates that a small commitment of time will lead to
big savings with their insurance. While this message is clear,
Geico’s commercials are not. The value of their message is
5
8. Product Analysis
Since the company’s creation in 1922, State Farm has been
one of the leaders in auto and home insurance. State Farm is
currently the industry leader in auto insurance. The company
exists on the basis that everyone should receive fair coverage
and claim settlements, and to this day State Farm still
maintains this philosophy.
State Farm offers its customers an array of policies including
auto, homeowners, condo, renters, life, business, boat,
health, disability, and long-term care insurance. These
types of insurances are based on how much or how little
the customers are willing to spend. Furthermore, State Farm
also provides group policies and discounts when purchasing
multiple types of insurance.
State Farm currently carries two types of insurance that
are relevant to most 18-25 year olds, renters and auto
insurance. Renters insurance is extremely beneficial to
their target audience because while most landlords carry
property insurance, they do not actually insure the renter’s
property. For a low monthly fee, an 18-25 year old can insure
everything from their Xbox to their laptop.
SITUATION ANALYSIS
The second type of insurance that is highly relevant to 18-
25 year olds is auto insurance. Most young adults own cars
and most states require that everyone is insured with at least
liability coverage. State Farm works to offer affordable auto
insurance with high levels of customer service.
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9. S.W.O.T. ANALYSIS
SW
Market leader for insurance Perception that it is expensive
industry
Under-penetrated among
Strong brand awareness young adults
weaknesses
strengths
High customer loyalty and Poor brand recall
retention
Lower share of media voice
Wide network of agents compared to Geico and
across the U.S. Progressive
OT
Deeper and sustained
S.W.O.T. ANALYSIS
Competitors are more
expansion among young
attractive to younger
adults
audiences
opportunities
Utilize agents to form
Economic slowdown
long-lasting relationships
Financial outlay for natural
threats
Affordability of renters
catastrophes and disasters
insurance
Fickle nature of young
Increased use of social
audiences
media
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10. 85.6%
PRIMARY RESEARCH
Have auto insurance
70% Are insured under a higher
guardian
Who Buys Auto Insurance?
49%
Indicate that trust and
Primary RESEARCH
PRIMARY RESEARCH
credibility are important
48%
Indicate that price plays
an important role
8
11. KEY FINDINGS
Market Share of Auto Insurance Companies • Target audience indicated that State Farm had
State Farm
by far the highest credibility and trustworthiness
Allstate quotient among all insurance companies
Progressive
Geico
3% • Auto insurance for 18-25 year olds are
Farmers 10%
Nationwide 28% predominantly purchased by their parents
USAA 7%
Liberty Mutual
• Brand memorability tests for State Farm
Esurance 9%
commercials revealed very low recall
8%
• There is a widespread perception among our target
7% 19% audience that renters insurance is very expensive
10%
• Target audience indicated that T.V. is still the best
option to promote insurance
• Focus groups suggested that our target audience
spends an average of 40 minutes per day engaging
in social media
50% Are likely to change insurance if offered
a better deal
45% Prefer to buy insurance direct from an
agent; 28% prefer to purchase through a
KEY FINDINGS
website
30% Individually purchased auto insurance
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14. BRAND STRATEGY
Community Square Stages of the imc plan
The most important finding from the intensive research
we conducted is the insight that our target audience Item Touchpoint
is very socially active in real life as well as in the
online world. Their online interactions through both
web and mobile media are an extension of their real
life conversations. These interactions serve as arenas
1 Image Television, Billboard, Office Space,
Newspapers
for identifying common interest in news, sports and
entertainment, among other topics.
2 Sponsorship FIFA World Cup
Certain topics transcend from conversations between
among a few people to greater levels of popularity.
Topics could range from Obama making his March
Madness selections to Kanye West humiliating Taylor 3 Social Media Social Networking Sites, User Generated
Content Sites, Social News Sites
Swift at the VMAs. This transition of topics from
mundane to high popularity is what Sphinx Advertising
calls the Community Square phenomenon.
4 Public Relations Philanthropy
The Community Square is a platform for people to come together, share,
discuss, and talk about issues and topics that are relevant and important to
BRAND STRATEGY
them.
Sphinx Advertising proposes a multifaceted brand strategy that will elevate
State Farm from being just another insurance company to a company that
becomes a part of the Community Square. Once this occurs, State Farm
will be a company that is discussed at large because of its values, associations
and partnerships.
This strategy divides consumer groups into four categories of State Farm
customers: new, existing, legacy and switch. Switch refers to potential
customers that can be persuaded to change from other insurance companies
to State Farm.
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15. CREATIVE BRIEF
Marketing Objectives
Primary Target Audience
• Achieve growth through new young adult auto The primary target for this campaign consists of independent 18-25 year
policies. olds who are generally not concerned with insurance and have a limited
disposable income.
Secondary
• New young adult renters policies These tech-savvy individuals are hard to reach, but enthusiastic about music,
• Retention of legacy young adult policies sports and social networking.
• Rentention of current independent young
adult auto and renters customers Message Theme
The image campaign will emphasize State Farm’s existing message of always
Communication Objectives ‘being there’ for their customers.
Primary Support
• To establish State Farm Auto Insurance among State Farm’s extensive network of insurance agents from all over the country
our target audience as the most reliable will never fail a customer in their time of need.
agency that provides the best value and service
Tone
Secondary The tone of this campaign will use elements of humor that highlight the
• To build and maintain relationships with unpredictable realities of our daily lives, paired with the assurance of having
existing independent and legacy young adult State Farm as the leading, dependable insurance company.
auto and renter policy holders
CREATIVE BRIEF
• To inform our target audience about the value
of purchasing renters policies
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16. IMAGE CAMPAIGN College Newspapers
The first stage of the Community Square strategy is an image
building campaign that will portray State Farm as a company that Newspaper advertisements will be utilized in our campaign.
is easily identifiable and memorable to their target audience. To Advertisements will be placed in the top 100 college
implement this strategy, we suggest commercials on TV, the web, newspapers throughout the country.
billboards in high traffic areas, as well as a modest upgrade of
agent’s offices. These ads will focus primarily on State Farm renters insurance.
Renters insurance is an important product for our target
Concept for TV Image Spot because while they are cost conscious; their valuables are
generally expensive. The ads are designed to appeal to the
1. Parents and young adult walk up to State Farm office. consumer’s lifestyle. They play on the fact that things would
2. Meet and greet with the State Farm insurance Agent. just not be the same if the consumer were to lose their
3. Sit down in office; young adult sits in between parents. belongings.
4. Insurance agent explains automobile insurance.
5. Insurance agent smiles and slides the paper to sign towards The auto insurance ad plays upon the fact that nothing would
the young adult. be the same if it were not up to the consumer’s standards.
6. Parents look at each other and have flashbacks to: Overall, the advertisements’ primary goal is to remind
a. Signing marriage certificate. consumers that for a low monthly fee, they can have piece of
b. Buying a car and getting car insurance. mind.
c. Having a child and getting life insurance.
d. Renting a home and getting renters insurance.
7. Before signing insurance papers, young adult has flashsbacks
of:
a. Learning how to ride a bike.
b. Going to first day of school.
c. Receiving their first drivers’ license.
8. Young adult comes back to reality, smiles and signs the paper.
IMAGE CAMPAIGN
9. Parents and young adult shake hand with insurance agent.
It’s Just Not the Same, Is It?
With State Farm we’ll make sure things get back to normal. Choose State
Farm and for only $10 a month you will never miss another movie night again.
Now we give that two thumbs up. Visit StateFarm.com to learn more today!
It’s Just Not the Same, Is It? It’s Just Not the Same, Is It?
At State Farm we’ll make sure things get back to normal. Choose State Farm At State Farm we’ll make sure things get back to normal. Choose State Farm
and enjoy the benefits of coverage for your automobile. Who knows... you and for only $10 a month you can enjoy security in your home and social life.
14
might even get a second date. Visit StateFarm.com to learn more today! You do the cooking; we’ll do the rest. Visit StateFarm.com to learn more today!
17. Outdoor Advertising
Outdoor advertising will be necessary in order to further
improve upon State Farm’s brand awareness. Visual, eye-
catching billboards, along with easily recognizable signage
placed strategically in areas highly trafficked by State
Farm’s target audience will aid in improving State Farm’s
top-of-mind awareness among a younger audience.
Billboards
Billboards will be placed in high-traffic areas across the
United States near busy intersections. This placement was
chosen so that drivers stopped in traffic will easily spot
State Farm’s billboards while awaiting a green light. In
addition, the billboards will be placed alongside interstates
stemming from major universities and college towns
because the majority of State Farm’s target audience is
working to complete a degree.
It is essential that State Farm’s billboards are very visually
appealing so that they will not go unnoticed by drivers
on the road. Two billboards will be featured – one that Automobile Insurance
applies to automobile insurance and one that applies to The State Farm automobile insurance billboard will look similar to
renters insurance. Both versions will have a crisp, white the image shown above. It will be in 3D, as it will feature an actual
background and red text as well as State Farm’s logo so that car that has previously been wrecked. The car will be positioned
the company’s association with their chosen colors will not on the left side of the provided space to appear as if it crashed
IMAGE CAMPAIGN
be lost. through the billboard. The headlights will be turned on and a tire
will hang from the billboard to make the advertisement even more
visually appealing. The text for this billboard simply says, “Good
thing State Farm is here” to convey the message that there is less
for a driver to worry about if he/she is insured with State Farm.
Renters Insurance
The renters insurance billboard’s primary focus is also one visual
appeal. The left side of the billboard will feature a house that is
on fire. The flames from the house will extend above the top of
the billboard and be brightly colored with lights. As with the auto
insurance billboard, the text will read, “Good thing State Farm is
here.”
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18. Signage
Large signage will be created in the form of a mosaic of State Office Space
Farm’s current logo. The mosaic will include headshots of State
Farm’s agents pieced together to comprise State Farm’s logo. In today’s generation, image is key. Our target audience responds
This signage will be placed in areas regularly frequented by positively to sleek, modern and contemporary designs. An agent’s
18-25 year olds including malls, airports and popular concert office that incorporates a clean, stylish and inviting atmosphere
venues. This signage will also be used on transit advertising indicates that State Farm takes pride in their image and how they
including placement on subways, trains, trolleys, buses and bus present themselves to potential and existing consumers.
stops.
The signage will also be placed on the windows of agent’s offices
or inside the agent’s office where window space is not available.
This will aid in increasing brand awareness of State Farm and the
mosaic of the agent’s within the logo relays the message that
State Farm is personable.
Sphinx Advertising suggests a reinvention of State Farm offices in
IMAGE CAMPAIGN
close proximity of the top 100 colleges. These offices will be provided
with a sleek, white desk that incorporates the State Farm logo on a
pearl backlit sign located on the front of the desk.
A large flat screen television will be mounted on the wall in front
of the contemporary design. This television will continuously play
the most recent State Farm commercials. A high tech, touch screen
kiosk will be placed in the forefront of the office. This kiosk will offer
clients the option of evaluating and comparing prices of State Farm
insurance to their competitor’s rates. Customers will also be provided
with the option of viewing State Farm’s latest Edit4Credit videos.
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19. SOCIAL MEDIA
Community Square as suggested by Sphinx Advertising
incorporates a multipronged approach to social media. Our ultimate
objective is to have as much State Farm online content go viral as
possible. State Farm will achieve this through social networking sites
including Facebook and Twitter, user generated content sites like
YouTube, as well as popular social news sites such as Digg, Riddit,
and Stumble Upon. Once State Farm’s online content has been highly
popularized and has reached audiences within each category of social
media, the content can be considered viral.
Social Networking
The popularity of social media has exploded in recent years, and
State Farm’s target audiences are the primary users of social media.
Facebook and Twitter are the two most popular social networking sites
that exist. Every State Farm agent will be required to have a Facebook
fan page as well as a username on Twitter and update their pages
frequently. Customers will be invited by e-mail and direct mail to
“become a fan” of their State Farm agent on Facebook and to “follow”
their agent on Twitter. If customers do choose to befriend their agent
on Facebook or Twitter, they will qualify for special discounts offered
by State Farm.
This contact via social networking will make it easier for the target
audience to stay up-to-date with their represenative and will also allow
for the opportunity to view their agent on a more personable level than
SOCIAL MEDIA
a monotonous agent/customer relationship. State Farm’s promise is to
be “like a good neighbor,” and social networking allows agents to build
a stronger relationship with their clients through this measure.
User Generated Content
To make people more aware of State Farm through the web, we will
expand on our user generated content. This will happen by getting
people to mention State Farm in their blogs and video blogs. The more
people mention State Farm, the more recognizable it becomes to our
audience. This leads to State Farm becoming recognized on social
news sites like Digg, Riddit, and Stumble Upon.
17
20. YouTube Edit4Credit
State Farm will purchase a video channel on YouTube where
users can submit their videos to the Edit4Credit competition.
These videos will mock current and past popular news and
entertainment stories. The users will submit their videos, and the
public will vote for their favorite. This campaign will run through
the months of November-February 2010-11, and the public will
select monthly winners. The first prize wins $10,000, $5,000 for
the second and $2,000 for the third. There will also be a grand
prize winner who will be awarded $50,000
and an all expense paid trip to the
83rd Academy Awards.
During the Edit4Credit competition,
State Farm will purchase a homepage
takeover on YouTube, in which the Kim Kardashian on Twitter
homepage skin will become a
State Farm logo. This will State Farm will also form an agreement with celebrity Kim
happen once at the beginning of the Kardashian in which Kim will post tweets about the company.
and prize winner is taking place in February. Kim has over 3 million followers on Twitter - more than any
other celebrity using the social networking site. The majority of
Teaser campaigns will run on T.V. channels her followers are between the ages of 18-25. Kim would be a
such as E!, MTV, VH1, BET, and ESPN. These spots will urge great resource for promoting State Farm’s Edit4Credit YouTube
viewers to visit the State Farm current news channel on YouTube competition because her tweets reach such a large audience.
and vote for their favorite videos.
Popular videos on the State Farm YouTube news channel will also
SOCIAL MEDIA
be popularized through social news networks such as Digg.com,
Reddit.com, and StumbleUpon.com.
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21. Landing Pages
The landing pages will be linked with Google AdWords.
Anytime someone searches for “car insurance”, “auto
insurance”, “renters insurance” or any keywords of this
nature, the new landing pages will contain the traditional
State Farm logo made out of the mosaic of agents. Whenever
a user scrolls over the logo, a new agent will pop out. Along
with the agent’s photo, there will be a short bio along with
their contact information. This allows the user to get better
acquainted with the agents who are within the closest
proximity. The new landing pages are more user friendly and
easy to navigate.
Google Adwords
These are examples of common State Farm phrases that
search results will provide via Google as top research
terms.
Keywords
“renters insurance” “auto insurance costs”
“renters insurance quotes” “edit4credit”
“best insurance coverage” “cool videos”
“auto insurance” “kim kardashian”
“automobile insurance” “popular videos”
SOCIAL MEDIA
“auto insurance quotes” “trustworthy”
“automobile insurance quotes” “insurance”
“quality insurance” “inexpensive renters insurance”
“state farm insurance” “full-coverage”
“neighbor” “cheap renters insurance”
“dependability” “always there”
“insurance quotes” “free quotes”
“renters insurance costs” “relationship”
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22. SPONSORSHIPS AND PARTNERSHIPS
During the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, State Farm will
sponsor a nationwide viewing of the USA and Mexico matches,
as well as the semi-finals and final matches of the World Cup.
Throughout the U.S., State Farm will rent out 50 movie theatres in
the major urban areas where soccer is likely to be watched.
Tickets for the viewings will be distributed to winners of an online
sweepstakes that will be featured on the State Farm website.
Participants will be required to submit details of their current
SPONSORSHIPS AND PARTNERSHIPS
insurance usage and contact information. Winners will be sent an
e-mail to easily access their tickets. Each winner will be allocated
two tickets.
This promotion also appeals to our target audience among the
Hispanic community where soccer plays a dominant role in their
culture.
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23. PUBLIC RELATIONS
State Farm’s mission is to help people manage the risks of State Farm will also publicize these awards through the use of
everyday life, recover from the unexpected, and realize their public relations in popular news outlets. A press release will
dreams. State Farm believes that education is key to achieving be sent before the announcement of the application process
any dream. One of the company’s most important values is and also after the awards have been distributed. This exercise
education. State Farm supports efforts that allow students to will showcase the philanthropic side of State Farm and that
reach their greatest potential and develop valuable leadership they put to practice their slogan.
skills. The company focuses on academic excellence in
higher education. With today’s economy, State Farm wants
to lend a helping hand to college students to help pay for
their insurance. State Farm will award free insurance to 2,000
deserving college students every year who obtain a grade
point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale or higher and who have an
annual household income of less than $50,000.
Applicants will need to visit their local State Farm agent’s office
to complete forms and apply for this award. This initiative
will be publicized through social media networks, as well as
through posters in student financial aid offices on universities,
and through print ads in college newspapers.
PUBLIC RELATIONS
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24. DIRECT MAIL
Financial Planner
A number of State Farm clients are legacy customers. These
young adults have State Farm insurance because they are on
their parents’ policy. As they finish school and begin their adult
lives, many of them will move away from home and be removed
from their parent’s policies. It will be their responsibility to find a
policy that suits them. They will be faced with two options: stay
with State Farm or switch to another agency. Our plan to retain
customers will begin with their parents. In the mail, parents will
receive a notification encouraging that their children stay with
State Farm to receive a 5% discount on their insurance policy. This
will give the parents the incentive to persuade their children to
stay with State Farm. Parents have a better chance of persuading
their children than any form of media.
Financial Planner Inside Cover
their own financial responsibilities. State Farm will also create a
financial planner. This planner will be sent out to the parents of
DIRECT MAIL
young adults who are about to graduate from high school and
college. The planner will help recent graduates keep track of their
finances as they venture out into the world. The cover will display
a picture money trees along side a road. The planner will feature a
calendar/daily planner to include a list of seminars to attend and
a tool to help keep track of accounts and purchases.
Financial Planner Cover The first page of the planner will feature a “My State Farm”
section that will contain contact information about the customer’s
Since not everyone attends college, we will extend this offer to personal agent and local State Farm office. In the back of the
all parents of young adults between 18-25 years of age. This is book, there will be a coupon page with discounts for auto-related
the age when most young adults leave home and begin to handle services such as car washes, oil changes, etc.
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25. PROMOTIONS
License Plate
For our existing customers, State Farm will contact them through
direct mail, informing them of our new, loyalty discount. The
envelope will inform the users of how they can start saving 5%
off their yearly insurance fees if they allow State Farm to place a
company license cover over their license plate. It will reassure the
customer that it is for their most loyal customers and how State
Farm wants to give them every opportunity to save.
Through a random campus poll at Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, we found that 2 out of 3 students would keep the
license plate cover, leading us to disregard the remaining 33%
who said they would remove the plate once they left the office.
In doing so, we will create greater brand awareness and
strengthen the loyalty in our customers, increasing the chance in
return on investment.
PROMOTIONS
23
26. Promotional Giveaways
State Farm agents will also be encouraged to host events in the
community for their clients such as free barbeques and post
information regarding the events on their Facebook and Twitter
pages. In addition to posting about State Farm sponsored events,
agents should also promote State Farm’s Edit4Credit video
competition via their social networks. This will stream more
viewers to State Farm’s YouTube channel and encourage more
users to vote for their favorite videos!
PROMOTIONS
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28. MEDIA STRATEGY
1) Reach 70% of target audience with a Media Allocations
frequency of four times per month
2) Use mass media such as network television
for the image campaign and use non-traditional
items such as direct mailers and promotions to
reach specific target segments
3) Use traditional mass media to reach a
national audience and non-traditional media in
the top 50 markets with a high concentration of
our target market audience
4) Use a pulsing campaign schedule with peaks
of high activity during events such as the NCAA
tournament, NFL and award shows.
MEDIA STRATEGY
26
30. MEDIA STRATEGY
MEDIA FLOWCHART
January February March April May June July August September October November December Impressions Cost
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52
Top 100 Billboards in the US 3,500,000 $3,480,000.00
College Publisher Network 300,000,000 $1,440,000.00
Hulu- Colbert Report 5,000,000 $1,600,000.00
Hulu- House 5,000,000 $1,600,000.00
Hulu- It's Always Sunny 5,000,000 $1,600,000.00
Hulu- The Office 5,000,000 $1,600,000.00
Hulu- Family Guy 5,000,000 $1,600,000.00
Hulu- The Simpsons 5,000,000 $2,400,000.00
Top 100 Mall Advertisements 3,394,500 $900,000.00
March Madness on Demand 3,000,000 $1,050,000.00
Youtube Homepage Buy 35,400,000 $800,000.00
Office Designs 200,000 $1,000,000.00
ABC.com 5,000,000 $1,800,000.00
Promotional Items 2,000,000 $1,000,000.00
FIFA screenings 26,800 $463,104.00
Network TV 22,800,000 $8,000,000.00
Cable TV 984,440,000 $8,000,000.00
Soccernet 5,000,000 $223,900.00
Kim Kardashian Twitter 2,700,000 $40,000.00
Spoof Campaign Prizes 800,000 $218,000.00
Newspapers 40,000,000 $1,000,000.00
Total 1,438,261,300 $39,815,004.00
Campaign CPM
$27.68
28
31. Evaluations
Measuring Marketing Objectives
Primary Objective: To achieve growth through new young adult auto policies
Evaluation: Examining growth in new policies will determine the levels of curiosity in our target audience.
Secondary Objective: Achieve growth in the following:
-New young adult renters policies
-Retention of legacy young adult auto policies (those young adults from an existing State Farm household)
-Retention of current Independent Young Adult Auto and Renters customers
Evaluation: We will conduct brand performance studies in current and new customers by discovering where our competition has failed in
the past.
Evaluating Creative Elements
Concept: Our creative strategy will be evaluated though examination via brand recognition. We will use quasi-experimental design to select
our audience and use post-test examination to measure their recall of State Farm commercials and levels of participation in State Farm run
contests. These tests will measure interactivity as well as our ability to persuade.
Measuring Media Objectives
Objective: Reach 70% of our target audience with a frequency of 3-4 times per month.
Evaluations: Pre-tests-Post-test evaluations will be conducted periodically throughout our campaign in local malls. We will also measure the
increase in online activity through click impressions and Edit4Credit spoof registrations.
Objective: To use mass media such as network television for the image and use non-traditional items such as direct mailers and promo-
tions to reach specific target segments.
Evaluations: Quasi-experimental design will be conducted before, during, and after the campaign to measure the top-of-mind increase in
our target audience. Separate focus groups will be used to measure direct mailers in potential and legacy customers to figure configure bet-
EVALUATIONS
ter marketing techniques.
Objective: Use mass media to reach national audience and non-traditional media in top 50 markets that have a high concentration of our
target market audience.
Evaluations: Figures will be monitored on a monthly basis to check for consistency.
Objective: To use a pulsating campaign schedule with peaks of high activity during certain events such as NCAA tournaments, award show
seasons and the NFL.
Evaluations: Throughout the NCAA tournaments, award shows and football seasons, the figures will be monitored on a weekly basis to
check for the activity levels during the events.
29
32. REFERENCES
Allstate
www.allstate.com
Geico
www.geico.com
Gorman, B. (2009, September 18). Fx’s It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia Draws 2.2 Million Avg. Viewers. Retrieved March 4, 2010,
from http://tvbythenumbers.com/2009/09/18/fxs-its-always-sunny-in-philadelphia-draws-2-2-million-avg-viewers/27704
Gorman, B. (2010, March 10). In Race For 18-49 Ratings Bronze, ABC Is Within Reach of NBC. Retrieved March 15, 2010, from
http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/03/10/in-race-for-18-49-ratings-bronze-abc-is-within-reach-of-nbc/44535
Learmonth, M. (2009, December). Here’s Who Gets the Highest Ad Rates Online. Retrieved March 14, 2010, from http://www.busi-
nessinsider.com/heres-who-gets-the-highest-ad-rates-online-2009-12
Macsai, D. (2009, October 7). Cut the Cable:All-time Top 10 TV Shows on Hulu. Retrieved March 10, 2010, from http://www.fastcom-
pany.com/pics/cut-cable-all-time-top-10-tv-shows-hulu#5
Monthly Traffic. (n.d.). Retrieved March 24, 2010, from http://www.quantcast.com/youtube.com
Motor Insurance in the United States. (2009, August). Retrieved March 4, 2010, from Datamonitor (0072-0153).
Nielsen Television (TV) Ratings for Cable. (2010, March 21). Retrieved March 22, 2010, from http://www.zap2it.com/tv/ratings/zap-
nielsen-cable,0,7538199,results.formprofile?SortBy=cdb_01_num+%2Ccdb_05_txt+&PageSize=50&Page=1&Query=*
Non-Life Insurance in the United States. (2009, October). Retrieved March 5, 2010, from Datamonitor (0072-0125).
REFERENCES
Sphinx Advertising primary research
State Farm Insurance Homepage
http://www.statefarm.com
Television. (2010, March). Retrieved March 20, 2010, from Nielsen.
U.S. Census Bureau
30
33. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This campaign was a true collaborative effort involving numerous departments across campus including:
School of Journalism, Dept. of Cinema and Photography, Dept. of Radio and Television, Dept. of Speech Communications, American
Marketing Association, Saluki Advertising Agency, and Public Relations Student Society of America.
We are extremely grateful to Ms. Karen Waldron, and Ms. Sherida Evans at the School of Journalism for their help in organizing our
trip and representing Southern Illinois University Carbondale at NSAC. We would like to thank our professors, Prof. Linda Correll,
Prof. Vicki Kreher, Prof. William Freivogel, Prof. Dennis Lowry, Prof. Kathy Frith, Prof. Kavita Karan, Prof. Jerry Bush in the School of
Journalism for laying a strong foundation towards our future careers in advertising.
We would like to extend a special thanks to Dean Gary Kolb, Ron Graves, Clare Mitchell, and the JRNL 301 students.
AAF Officers
President: Jenna Smith
Co-President: Kristina Kaganer
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
NSAC Members
Brittany Johnson
Andrea Likes
Lara Nederveen Pieterse
Ariel Runyon
Krystal Saulsberry
Melahnie Springfield
Dan Sokolowski
Special thanks to our faculty advisor Prof. Narayanan Iyer
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