The Nationwide jingle has been a cultural mainstay since 1964. These seven notes have been a part of some truly iconic moments, from Peyton Manning’s “Chicken parm you taste so good,” to H.E.R.’s and Brad Paisley’s unique spin on them. The jingle’s infectious tune meant it was a perfect vehicle for replication on TikTok, where music reigns supreme. And in 2023, a spontaneous viral moment gave Nationwide a way to connect with a wider audience on the platform.
Nationwide started their TikTok account last year to increase brand awareness, win voice among competitors, and build engaged communities among their diverse consumer audience. Nationwide’s strategy revolved around leveraging current trends on the platform to showcase what the company stands for and offers.
When a Nationwide branded moment suddenly took off and became one of those trends, we got a unique opportunity to not only join in, but play an active role to engage our audience in a space where they are most expressive and creative. We sought to prove that Nationwide is more than an insurance and financial services provider, but a brand that actively listens, responds, and participates in culture.
In September 2023, our Nationwide community managers alerted the team about a video using the jingle that started to go viral on TikTok. It featured Zaya Campbell, daughter of gospel singer Erica Campbell, giving it her all while singing the Nationwide jingle. Her unique and adorable rendition was recorded years before, but given that the TikTok algorithm is not linear, it suddenly started picking up on the platform and among users, inspiring them to leverage Zaya’s rendition and sound in fun and relatable ways.
The Ogilvy and Nationwide team quickly jumped in to create content of their own in real time, building on and using Zaya’s rendition. Fan responses on the platform quickly picked up with TikTokers showing that they wanted to see more of Zaya. So, we got together with the Nationwide team and in hours, reached out to the Campbell family directly, sparking a partnership that leaned into the jingle’s ability to engage and inspire creativity through music.
We worked with Zaya on a real time response video of her own, with a subtle, almost “meta” nod to the time that’s passed since the recording of the original video. But we didn’t stop there. We extended our partnership with Zaya by launching the Nationwide Jingle Challenge, a contest for high school music groups. We invited them to sing their own versions of the jingle for a chance to win money for their school, partnering with Zaya to kick off the contest, encourage entries, and announce the winners.
Fan response was overwhelmingly positive. From the very first TikTok, Zaya captivated and entertained users with her charm and charisma.
User Generated Content
The original Zaya content generated 500M+ video views, with the sound being used by popular accounts like actress Josie Leinart (@josieleinart), wife of ex-NFL player Matt Leinart, and content being shared by Chance the Rapper.
Videos using #NationwideChallenge received 1.2M views.
Owned Content
Nationwide content featuring Zaya’s sound received 9M views.
Our #NationwideChallengeContest launch post featuring Zaya was one of Nationwide’s most successful posts to date, resulting in the most followers gained by a single post (1.2K) and an engagement rate that was +491% above our engagement benchmark.
#NationwideChallengeContest content received 6.5M views, with contest entry videos receiving 5.6M views.
Owned content also generated 300,000 engagements (likes, comments, shares).
The viral moment and partnership resulted in a 1.9 point increase in conversation volume and a 110% increase in SOV versus the three months prior to the moment going viral.
Press Coverage
The viral moment featuring Zaya and the resulting partnership garnered coverage in several online publications, including Yahoo, as well as Black media, parenting, and insurance news websites. It also received coverage on local TV news in several markets.
