One of the Super Bowl’s most talked-about brands is not actually an in-game advertiser. When State Farm confirmed last week it was withdrawing its Big Game spot while it supports customers affected by the Los Angeles wildfires, the brand attracted nearly as much attention as Doritos, a Super Bowl advertiser, according to data from social listening firm Sprout Social.
State Farm’s repositioning shines a light on what consumers might expect to see from insurance brands moving forward as climate change continues and coverage shifts.
Insurance marketing and natural disasters—how messaging might change amid climate change
Elisabeth Honka, associate professor of marketing at University of California Los Angeles’ Anderson School of Management, said she expects insurers to pull back on advertising to save on costs as they deal with rising costs from claims related to natural disasters.
Messaging may also change, moving to support and help from humor as climate changes are already in many people’s lives, experts said. With disasters such as the L.A. fires and 2024’s Hurricanes Helene and Milton causing billions of dollars in damage, insurers could dispense with any fear-related messaging, they said.
“Our focus is firmly on providing support to the people of Los Angeles. We will not be advertising during the game,” State Farm, which had advertised in the game last year, said in a Jan. 15 statement. The change came after the insurer, the largest in California, drew criticism for the cancelation of several home insurance policies in the state last spring.
“Their core message will focus on empathizing with customers and emphasizing their commitment to assisting those impacted by disasters,” wrote Indranil Bandyopadhyay, a principal analyst at Forrester in an email, noting that State Farm has highlighted the importance of keeping its employees and customers safe while Nationwide promotes its efforts to help policyholders with safety tips.
For instance, State Farm has publicized Catastrophe Customer Care sites in California, including at a Home Depot parking lot in Los Angeles, where customers can get walk-up claim assistance.
He added that future marketing could include “disaster preparedness, resilience measures, and ongoing support” for customers, an approach that “will help them sustain consumer trust and align with their commitment to help during difficult times.”
Consumers have mixed opinions on insurance brands that run ads during natural disasters, according to a poll conducted by Harris Poll for Ad Age. It found that 32% of consumers would have a negative opinion, while 25% reported a positive impact and 46% said such ads would not impact their opinion. The majority of consumers (66%) said they would have a negative opinion of an insurance brand that cancels or reduces coverage for those affected by the L.A. wildfires.
Already, State Farm’s strategy appears to be resonating. Sprout Social—which is tracking social media metrics for Super Bowl advertisers—found that the brand attracted 1,542 social media mentions and 23,101 engagements between Jan. 1 and Jan. 21, second to Doritos’ 1,709 mentions and 23,189 engagements. Some consumers praised the move, noting the optics of spending millions on an ad would have appeared tone-deaf.