Like a Good Neighbor, State Farm is There With Business Acumen

Commercials must be memorable to be effective. For many organizations that advertise, this means making them odd, powerful or humorous enough to catch the attention span of viewers. I imagine that it’s difficult to get people interested and engaged around insurance. For many, it’s a dry, complicated subject, or one that people don’t want to think about. I feel this is a heavy reason for why so many insurance companies (Geico, All State, Progressive) all center their advertising around a funny character or situations to draw people in.

State Farm is no stranger to this tactic. For years, I couldn’t turn on the TV without hearing their jingle and seeing agents rescue people from buffalo attacks and other random disasters. But last year, State Farm decided to rebrand themselves, a bold move in this heavily competitive business environment where comfort and routine are desirable. State Farm’s new tagline is “Here to Help Life Go Right,” and they are producing some very powerful commercials for this campaign.

A prime example, look at this recent commercial released by State Farm titled “Following.” I’m not used to insurance organizations tugging at my heartstrings and making me think about real-world issues, but that’s just what State Farm did. Usually, insurance means you are thinking about yourself. You are trying to fix a personal mistake, make your own life better, or set yourself up for benefits down the line. But this campaign completely flips that on its head.

State Farm can still be known as a great insurance provider to help you out with life, but they have gone above and beyond in being memorable by giving people the opportunity to give back to others. The commercial ends with asking the viewer to visit neighborhoodofgood.com. At this website, you can enter your zip code and find ways to take local volunteering action in your own community. It’s simple, yet brilliantly effective. Rather than just make commercials about their own services and offerings, they have branded themselves as helping create true change. How can you make your organization stand out against the competition like this?

For many, it starts with driving the engagement of their own employees to make effective change. It starts with business acumen. You may not believe a bottom-line financial understanding has much of an impact of how an organization is perceived. But think of it this way: when every employee has a significant understanding of how their business operates, they make more confident decisions like a business owner. Making better decisions has a positive impact on the growth of the organization and allows for engagement to thrive. If you want to make your organization stand out, drive the engagement and motivation of your team.

Business acumen may seem like a dry subject for some, but if an insurance company can find a way to get your attention and learn more about them, then all it takes is the right kind of training to begin developing the engagement of your own organization.

Want to learn more about the change business acumen can bring to your organization? Find out why it’s the missing link by downloading our infographic here.

And we encourage you to visit neighborhoodofgood.com and see where you can make a difference in your community.