In an industry littered with characters, cartoons, and critters, American Family Insurance reminds consumers of the most valuable things they own: their dreams. We are dedicated to inspiring, protecting, and restoring our customers' dreams. However, inspirational brands hit today's consumers with platitudes and empty messages from all angles. To be earnest, we needed to show people our commitment to dreams, not just tell them.
Our objective with our 2015 Super Bowl campaign was to translate our support down to a personal level for dreamers. Rather than urging viewers to get a quote or locate an agent – a CTA more befitting our competition – we used our marketing efforts to show our commitment to dreamers and to invite them into a conversation about their own dreams.
AmFam learned, through in-depth consumer research on dreamers, that "declaring your dream" is a crucial first step on the path to achieving it. The brand used this insight as the foundation to build an engaging, personal campaign that would run throughout the beginning of 2015, and get consumers talking about their dreams.
In January and February, we made the ultimate public statement: we showcased our commitment to dreams by turning over our Super Bowl campaign to dreamers who could use a little exposure or a big break. In the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl, our print, radio, digital and video advertising showcased the work of up-and-coming dreamers: artists, writers, musicians and business owners who were working hard to achieve success. The campaign seeded the brand's new tagline, "Insure Carefully, Dream Fearlessly," and featured the hashtag #DreamFearlessly, encouraging consumers to express how they "dream fearlessly." The response was immediately positive from consumers and the industry.
On Super Bowl Sunday, AmFam wanted to use this major platform, where athletic dreams were being achieved, to encourage everyday dreamers to share their own dreams in real-time. Our regional Super Bowl TV spot, with digital and social media extensions, showed dreamers pursuing their own dreams of performing in a Super Bowl commercial with Oscar-winning actress/singer Jennifer Hudson. The spot asked consumers to "declare your dream" to AmFam using the hashtag #DreamFearlessly.
As dreams were being declared on Twitter, professional chalk artists simultaneously brought those dreams to life at our Super Bowl Command Center at DreamBank, American Family's brand experience storefront in Madison, Wisconsin. As each chalk art piece was completed, these dreams were immediately posted back to Twitter to celebrate these brave dreamers and inspire them to pursue their dreams. Vine videos were also filmed and released on Twitter and Vine to show the artists illustrating in real-time and give users a behind-the-scenes view of the chalk art as it was created. This was another way to immediately link the Super Bowl and conversation around our commitment to dreams.
Consumers engaged with AmFam and were immediately rewarded for their efforts. This chalk artwork now lives at AmFam's headquarters in Madison; it reminds employees how their work helps our customers achieve and protect their dreams.
AmFam received an amazing consumer response to this integrated campaign, which helped relaunch the Dreams campaign and got people talking about and engaging with the brand. The brand got Super Bowl-level buzz and engagement, from an integrated regional campaign in the Super Bowl, all for less than the price of 1 national Super Bowl TV spot.
