Being a good neighbor is about lending of support in any community, so State Farm set out to become the Good Neighbor within this Twitch community and drive brand awareness in an unexpected, yet fun and endemic way to positively impact streamers on the platform.
We wanted to go above and beyond the standard influencer partnership through Twitch, and lean into the uniqueness of the Twitch community to create unforgettable moments and positive brand sentiment in an authentic manner. Staying true to the platform, State Farm partnered with three large streamers to execute twelve total Stream Raids and gifted 500 subscriptions to fans tuning into each stream.
Just as the world is now interconnected, so is culture. And for Gen Z, gaming is a primary cultural catalyst that influences identity, fashion, music, film, sports, and more. With a goal of awareness and positive affinity among this Gen Z gaming audience, State Farm knew they needed to not just show up authentically in front of this audience, but also add value to their experience. To achieve this goal, we first defined State Farm’s role within the gaming community as The Good Neighbor. A brand that has your back so you can focus on the things you love, lends a hand when you need it, and foster community and inclusivity through the gaming community.
Live streaming platforms have gained exponential popularity in the last decade, with many people not only watching and streaming, but some building a career out of it. With the amount of wildly popular players dominating the space, up-and-comers have a hard time breaking through and being seen. As the Good Neighbor, State Farm identified an opportunity for the brand to not only highlight smaller streamers, but to reward their communities.
Stream Raids are a component authentic to the Twitch platform, when a popular streamer sends their live viewers to another streamer's channel to boost exposure and viewership of the former’s stream. This, in turn, increases the raided streamer's exposure and reach.
We identified and partnered with three well-known streamers in the industry, SypherPK, LilSimsie and Sommerset, to host branded live streams. Each of these unique 12 streams culminated with our talent raiding a brand-approved up-and-coming creator's channel to spotlight and give the exposure they have been working towards.
Gifting subscriptions is also a popular gesture in the Twitch community. Subscriptions are typically purchased by Twitch users to unlock a variety of exclusive perks elected by the streamer.
The Twitch community wouldn’t be successful without the viewers, so we know we needed to spread the Good Neighbor ethos to not only the streamers, but the fans as well. To ensure we recognized their continued support and loyalty as a community, State Farm gifted 500 subscriptions to everyone in the chat after each raid took place.
With a budget of less than $250,000 State Farm's stream raids program resulted in over 223,000 chat messages, almost 80,000 peak concurrent viewers, and 216,000 hours of branded content watched. This organic program not only boosted the brand’s viewership, but also caused overly positive sentiment from the fans in chat and the streamers involved. The program brought thousands of new followers to the both the State Farm and rising streamers’ Twitch channels.
State Farm’s goal to be a Good Neighbor in gaming in an authentic way was met. The gifting of subscriptions on Twitch and spotlighting up-and-coming creators was seen by consumers as one of the most genuine ways a brand can support the community. The program was additive to both the fans and the streamers gaming experience in a non-disruptive manner. The authenticity was apparent when fans in chat were explicitely asking for more of this sponsored content.
