- State Farm capitalized on the mania surrounding a rumored relationship between Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce on the Eagles-Washington Commanders game Sunday, in response to details shared with Marketing Dive.
- The insurance marketer placed its mascot, Jake from State Farm, next to Kelce’s mother Donna, piquing the web’s curiosity as Donna was previously seen cheering on her son aside Swift. During the Eagles game, Jake and Donna gave several nods to Swift’s fans.
- Social media posts further stoked discussion around the pairing, generating strong engagement online. The stunt speaks to how marketers can generate earned media by quickly jumping on trending cultural moments.
Brands are desirous to get in on the thrill around the rumored relationship between Swift and Kelce, which arrives within the thick of hype around the “Midnights” artist’s record-breaking Eras Tour. State Farm’s strategic deployment of its mascot, played by actor Kevin Miles, demonstrates that marketers still value the viral potential of social media platforms whilst those sites encounter serious challenges related to privacy and brand safety.
An X post concerning the arranged stunt from Fox Sports’ official NFL account had accrued 1.6 million views at press time, while Eagles center Jason Kelce, Travis’ brother, also gave a shout-out on Instagram. State Farm is dubbing the pairing “the bundle we didn’t know we wanted,” which aligns with its promotion of home and auto insurance bundles.
The idea of bringing together Jake and Donna Kelce, affectionately known as Mama Kelce, was pitched by Maximum Effort, the ad agency owned by Ryan Reynolds. The shop has developed a repute for jumping quickly on trending popular culture discussions, sometimes turning around ads inside days (an approach that has occasionally backfired). Reynolds and his wife Blake Lively are also personal friends of Swift.
“At State Farm, we recognize the importance of being in tune with the heart beat of popular culture. When a ‘lightning in a bottle’ moment appeared, we acted swiftly,” said Alyson Griffin, State Farm’s head of promoting, in an announcement. “Our collaboration with Maximum Effort allowed us to strategically bring this creative concept to life, seamlessly joining the continued conversation in a timely, relevant and authentic way.”
Jake and Donna together dropped several Easter eggs for viewers to select up on throughout the published, including swapping friendship bracelets, a typical ritual for attendees of the pop superstar’s Eras Tour. The brand mascot, outfitted in his typical red attire, also dipped chicken nuggets right into a condiment that was “seemingly ranch,” a reference to a viral X post about Swift eating the identical meal while attending a previous Chiefs game.
Condiment brand Heinz has also tried to seize on the oddly phrased remark, which got here from a fan account but quickly blew up on X. The marketer and agency Rethink devised a limited-run Ketchup and Seemingly Ranch product inside 24 hours of the unique post.
The NFL has appeared to receive a lift as speculation around Swift and Kelce reaches a fever pitch. NBC’s broadcast of the Chiefs-Jets game Sunday drew 27 million viewers, up 22% versus the prior 12 months, including 2 million more women, in response to Ad Age. The rankings bump is a robust sign that Swift’s fans, often called Swifties, have began tuning into NFL coverage of their snooping efforts around their favorite celebrity.
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