State Farm adds Highdive to agency roster

State Farm is expanding its agency roster. The Bloomington, Illinois-based insurer confirmed it has hired Highdive, with a new campaign expected to debut later this year. The insurer will continue working with The Marketing Arm, the Omnicom-owned shop that it named its brand creative agency in 2019. Prior to that, State Farm worked with DDB Chicago, another Omnicom shop. “Highdive is a great addition to our creative team of agencies,” said Patty Morris, assistant VP of marketing at State Farm, in a statement. “They are committed to understanding our business and our consumer.” See America's Hottest Brands 20 brands that are trending in 2023 Click here The insurer said its relationship with The Marketing Arm has not changed, though its way of working with creative agencies has evolved away from a lead agency model. In recent years, State Farm has explored new channels and marketing as it pursues creative ways to connect with more modern consumers. Even still, Highdive’s addition means Omnicom will have to share the account with an outside shop—the holding company had held lead creative duties for State Farm for 75 years. “TMA’s mission is to make State Farm the most culturally resonant brand in insurance, and we’ll continue to partner with State Farm’s roster of agencies in that mission,” said Erin Wasson, executive VP and managing director at The Marketing Arm, in a statement. The assignment marks a significant win for Chicago-based Highdive, which has built its reputation on funny Super Bowl ads for Jeep, Rocket Mortgage and Lay’s since it was founded seven years ago. The independent shop was named Ad Age’s Small Agency of the Year in 2020 and earlier this year was on Agency A-List as a standout. Other clients include Jersey Mike’s and Dollar Shave Club. It also has insurance experience having recently worked with The General, before resigning from the car insurance brand's account last year. “State Farm has a huge opportunity to own the hearts and minds of a younger and growing demographic,” said Highdive Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer Chad Broude in a statement. “We’re going to work together to drive relevance by reflecting, influencing and creating culture for the State Farm brand.” See all of the Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards winners here State Farm’s agency addition comes under new marketing leadership. Kristyn Cook took over as chief marketing officer early this year, replacing Rand Harbert, the longtime CMO who retired after a dozen years at the helm. Under Cook, State Farm has invested in digital-forward marketing channels such as TikTok, where the brand ran a Super Bowl campaign in February. The video, which featured spokesman Jake from State Farm (Kevin Miles) alongside TikTok star Khaby Lame, took advantage of State Farm’s naming rights of the Glendale, Arizona stadium where the Big Game was played this year. Jake recently surpassed the milestone of 1 million TikTok followers. Also read: Khaby Lame reigns as the most-followed TikTok star Also this summer, State Farm has been expanding on its multi-year partnership with the Walt Disney Co., announced last year, with a commercial promoting Disney’s new “Haunted Mansion” movie. Called “Property Damage,” the ad pairs its spokesman with actress Rosario Dawson, who appears in the film. The spot was created by The Marketing Arm in collaboration with the Walt Disney Studios. The Marketing Arm, which revived Jake as a spokescharacter in its first work in 2020 for State Farm, has also been boosting the brand’s gaming content in order to better attract younger Gen Z customers. Separately, State Farm recently brought back its “Gamerhood” gaming series, created with Infinity Marketing Team, on Twitch and YouTube for a second season. Targeting younger customers is a strategy all insurers are exploring as the category faces pressures including climate change, rising prices and new competition from startups. Related: How Gen Z is embracing AI in the workplace Several insurers have been limiting where they do business as a result of environmental issues such as wildfires and flooding. Earlier this week, Farmers Insurance said it will no longer offer insurance policies in Florida, for example. State Farm has limited its business in California. At the same time, new brands are ramping up their own offerings. Startup insurer Lemonade, which is powered by AI, debuted its first-ever brand campaign this week as it seeks to raise awareness about its offerings. The campaign emphasized the differences between the modern insurance upstart and more established, larger insurance brands. Some of the challenges are already taking a toll. Last year, State Farm reported a net loss of $6.7 billion, its most unprofitable year ever. In 2021, the brand had a net profit of $1.3 billion. Much of the 2022 loss was attributed to underwriting losses in State Farm’s automotive business. Allstate and Geico also lost money from car insurance last year. Contributing: E.J. Schultz

State Farm adds Highdive to agency roster

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