Category: Best Use of Social Media Marketing
Advertiser: STATE FARM
Product/Service: INSURANCE
Agency: DDB CHICAGO
Media Agency: OMD, Chicago, USA
Chairman: Bob Scarpelli (DDB Chicago)
Chief Creative Officer: Ewan Paterson (DDB Chicago)
Group Creative Director: Barry Burdiak (DDB Chicago)
Group Creative Director: John Hayes (DDB Chicago)
Vice President/Creative Director: Geoff Mccartney (DDB Chicago)
Associate Creative Director: Gordon West (DDB Chicago)
Executive Creative Director: Joe Cianciotto (DDB Chicago)
Executive Producer Of Music And Creative Integration: Eric Johnson (DDB Chicago)
Art Director: Klane Harding (DDB Chicago)
Copywriter: Johnny Galbraith (DDB Chicago)
Director Of Digital Production: Paul Sundue (DDB Chicago)
Executive Producer: Scott Kemper (DDB Chicago)
Senior Producer/Digital: Laura Perrotta (DDB Chicago)
Media placement: :90 TV Spot - CBS.com, YouTube - 11 September 2011
Media placement: Long Form Web Film - CBS.com, YouTube - 11 September 2011
Media placement: Short Form Web Film - CBS.com, YouTube - 11 September 2011
Insights, Strategy & the Idea
Since its inception in 1922, State Farm has been an active advocate and sponsor of philanthropic efforts focusing on the areas of safety, community and education. For decades this has included support for the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.
As the ten-year anniversary of September 11 approached, State Farm set out to commemorate the moment with a message of thanks to the more than 400 fallen firefighters and first responders who bravely gave their lives that day.
Given the sensitive nature of the subject matter, and sincerity with which it was delivered, it was imperative that the tribute be handled tastefully and remain focused on the message of thanks to the fallen heroes of 9/11, not on State Farm.
The purpose of this communication was to publicly acknowledge that, while a decade may have passed, the sacrifices and bravery of those we have lost will never be forgotten.
Creative Execution
To commemorate the 10th anniversary, State Farm became the exclusive sponsor of CBS’s 9/11, 10 Years Later and opened the documentary with a message of thanks from State Farm chairman and CEO Ed Rust Jr. Accompanying this broadcast, State Farm partnered with Spike Lee to create a film tribute in honour of the heroes of 9/11, which was broadcast ten years to the day of the events of September 11.
The 90 second tribute aired only once.
Anticipating a surge of interest online, State Farm hosted a long-form documentary of their efforts on their YouTube channel. For the duration of the seven days following 9/11, the page was purposely devoid of State Farm branding and content.
State Farm continued supporting the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation by leveraging iTunes and Amazon to offer a special edition of Jay-Z and Alicia Key’s NY anthem “Empire State of Mind” and the tribute’s theme song.
Results and Effectiveness
In addition to being picked up by more than 150 of the top mainstream publications and blogs, in the first 72 hours “Empire State Of Mind” garnered more than 1.1 million views on YouTube, was the #4 trending topic on twitter and the 18th most searched term on Google.