Since his reinvention in 2020, Jake from State Farm has stood out on social channels by living the State Farm® promise and being a good neighbor. But more recently, the State Farm team recognized a need to make stronger connections with Gen Z, so that the brand is top of mind with the next generation of policyholders when they are in the insurance purchasing phase of their life.
Dominated by Gen Z users, TikTok was an obvious channel choice for this effort. With 272 videos posted every second, 16,000 videos posted every minute, 981 thousand videos posted every hour, 34 million videos posted each day and 707 million videos posted each month, all are vying to make Gen Z’s thumbs stop scrolling on TikTok, When it comes to Gen Z on TikTok they are 1.4x more likely than other platform users to discover new brands and products on the platform. In fact, 42% prefer brand content that is entertaining and 1 in 3 are looking for brands to show their real side on TikTok.
State Farm’s answer? Same good-neighbor credo but expressed through content and genuine interactions that put authenticity first.
The brand’s mission on TikTok is to make Jake and the insurance industry relatable. He’s a mirror to the brand’s Gen Z target, who happen to be the largest age group on TikTok. And if they see themselves in him, they will know that State Farm is the brand for them when it comes time to become an insurance policyholder.
As part of Jake’s TikTok strategy, State Farm leveraged its established brand assets like khaki pants and "good neighbor" behavior in content by reimagining them in relatable, social-first ways. State Farm also seamlessly incorporated branding into Jake’s content by having him address the TikTok community as "neighbors," featuring multiple styles of his signature look in content, and demonstrating "good neighbor" character traits by offering everyday tips and advice. Jake’s community also got to know him more deeply through content serialization and routine comment interactions via community management strategy. This year, Jake left over 1.8K replies to users in the comments section. In doing this, State Farm began building dimension and one-to-one connections to Jake that aren’t possible through traditional advertising channels.
In 2024, State Farm took Jake's TikTok presence to new heights and made notable connections with Gen Z along the way. From big-time moments like getting dapped up by Travis Scott courtside on basketball legend-in-the-making Caitlin Clark's senior night — sparking reaction videos that garnered 3.1 million likes — to being the first to congratulate Clark on her No. 1 selection at the 2024 WBNA draft, it’s all shared on TikTok.
Jake's TikTok adventures took him well beyond the basketball court, though. His collabs with folks like viral fashion creator Kristin Juszczyk, whose custom Caitlin Clark vest generated over 225K likes, social influencer sensations Anna Sitar, and artist Devon Rodriquez piqued Gen Z interests. His house tour video with Skit Star Delaney Rowe garnered tons of laughs and even the likes of Architectural Digest in the comments. Jake even hung out with music up-and-comer Paul Russell and made an impromptu music video to “Lil Boo Thang.” And the collaborations were well worth it since influencer videos like these often outperform Jake’s own posts.
To further generate community and authentic connections, State Farm made sure that his comment section was just as popular, interacting with audiences daily through punchy one-liner replies and comments.
Gen Z flocked to Jake’s TikTok channel to keep up on the latest with him because, just like his personality, his content speaks to them. And he has the numbers to show for it.
In 2024, Jake reached 96,651,679 people on TikTok. That’s like filling up State Farm stadium nearly 1,525 times. His content was viewed 236,791,802 times, which is way more than the number of people who watched the Super Bowl in 2024. And overall, the TikTok community spent 160,340 days watching Jake’s content.
As of November 2024, Jake has 1.36 million followers, with Gen Z making up 50.4% of his audience. Overall, State Farm has raised preference among consumers ages 18-25 (Gen Z) by 6.8 percentage points in 2024 when compared to a 2022 baseline.
