Like A Good Neighbor, We're There!

"Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there!" has become a slogan everyone knows. But is it true? That's the real question.

Every company needs to make sure their presence is noticed in the community. It is important to give back and not only service your clients but make sure that you are doing things for the good of mankind. State Farm has done an amazing job at this. Many of you would not know it, but State Farm participates in several different activities and charities and has established programs to better the communities all around. Instead of one focus, they have involved themselves in several different areas of community involvement and each contribute to bettering society everyday!

Since it is an insurance company, one of the biggest contributions State Farm makes to society is better safety. The programs and actions they take promote teen driving safety, sober driving, child passenger safety, and seatbelt protection. On the website, you can find links to all different programs and information a person might need. For teen driving, the company focuses on promoting tips and suggestions for good driving skills and also provides parents with tips on how to teach their children how to drive. 

State Farm has also started Project Ignition. The company teamed up with the National Youth Leadership Council to offer service-learning grants focused on teen driver safety. Here grants are given to schools chosen for students to create impacting and engaging awareness campaigns that are presented to the public to encourage safe teen driving. 

Alongside with this focus on safety, State Farm implements special programs to teach children and the youth to teach them about how to be safe. One program is called Good Neigh Bear and assists in delivering education and public safety lessons to preschoolers and elementary school children in classrooms and at local community and events. Another program is the Youth Advisory Board. Each year, they select 30 students between the ages of 17 and 20 to serve on the State Farm Youth Advisory Board . The group helps design and implement service learning initiatives totaling $5 million dollars throughout the U.S. & Canada. 

Another major focus State Farm has in community relations is the emphasis on education. America's Promise Alliance and State Farm have announced a new partnership to locate and recognize Promise Places around the country. A promise place is a school, church, community organization, business or any other place that provide all five promises. These promises are caring adults, safe places, a healthy start, an effective education, and opportunities to help others. 

Besides these programs and safety efforts they have created, the company also partners with several other companies to create programs, relief efforts, and promote safety. Examples of these companies are the American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, and LISC (local initiatives support corporation).

State farm's mission statement is to "help people manage the risks of everyday life, recover from the unexpected, and realize their dreams." The company lives up to this statement because they reach out to all different areas of the community to help not only their clients but the people as a whole. Their efforts are great public relations for the company because it shows how involved their truly are. It shows that State Farm cares about the well-being of the people and how they live their lives. They reach out to children to try to influence them from a young learning age and teach them about safety and positive lifestyles. 

The only suggestion I have for the company is to make their involvement both nationally and worldwide more recognized. The fact that they live up to being a good neighbor and positively participating in the community gives the company a positive image and would be even more beneficial if it was more known in the media. 

Can I Get Some Social Media?

For all of you people reading who don't know what social media is need to stop reading and go create a Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media outlet! But for all of you who do, I'm sure you know how important it is for a company to be active through their social media pages and constantly maintain relationships with their customers and clients so they feel connected to the brand. State Farm has done an incredible job of doing this for their clients. Both through very active Facebook and Twitter pages, the company makes sure to answer any questions or provide feedback if its needed.

On Facebook, the company has made a presence by announcing events, promotions, charity events, and so many other tools. State Farm shows how active they have been in the community and also discusses any celebrities that have worked with them to do some work. The most recent activity they are discussing is the Go To Bat Charity event where they raised $205,000 for different charities around the country. On the Facebook wall, clients can give their feedback about the charities or events going on. Another event that created a lot of buzz on the page was the State Farm 9/11 tribute which got the company lots of positive attention for their sentimental words and support for the tragic event. 

On the State Farm Twitter page, the team at the company addresses any issues that clients might have that they can tweet directly at State Farm. The company also utilizes this social media site to announce any new events, charities, or information they feel their clients should know. After analyzing the Twitter page, I saw how active the company is and how attentive they are towards their clients. Majority of the posts are responses to clients telling them that whatever respective team will be taking care of their problem. 

From a PR standpoint, I commend State Farm for giving their clients such priority and the chance to voice their opinion and get a response from the company directly. After studying social media in such depth in my classes, I have understood the importance of a company having a strong presence in social media outlets especially because consumers feel a much closer connection with brands that they feel care about their opinion. For both consumer relations and crisis management, this connection with the consumer is vital. If the PR team at a corporation makes sure to establish this connection, in any situation where the company may have negative press or attention, it is easier to keep the brand loyalty by reaching out to the customers and apologizing or correctly addressing whatever the issue may be. Overall, State Farm is a company that utilizes social media in a very positive and helpful way for both the company's reputation and the client's needs. 

Can I Get A Hot Tub?

Who wants just insurance when you can get a hot tub too? No but really, who hasn't heard of the "Can I Get A Hot Tub?" commercial that State Farm has become NOTORIOUS for. If there has been any successful commercial series in 2011, I think almost any person would categorize the State Farm Insurance commercials in the Top 5. State Farm Insurance has re-branded itself in a way that most companies haven't been able to do in a very long time. They have appealed to a younger audience as well as an older audience through the same exact advertisements and PR stunts.

The focus of this blog will be to follow the progression of the public relations efforts made by State Farm Insurance over the past years to attract different customers. As most of you may already know State Farm Insurance is a company which offers life, home, and auto insurance. What some of you may not know is that the company also has banks and offers loans and mutual funds for investments. This company has also been labeled number 37 in the Fortune 500's Top 100 companies.

In previous years State Farm focused on the idea of how personal their company was with their clients. The campaigns focused on their agents caring about the needs of the consumers and being real people with feelings. The commercials frequently depicted agents at other companies who didn't fully cover their clients and always left them in the cold if they found themselves in trouble. This specific commercial from 2007 is one that many people remember because of the comedic emphasis on the word "ficus".

In current State Farm campaigns, the company has pulled away from focusing on how they are different from competitors and rather shown how they can help clients in any situation. Of course the commercials are funnier and show the agents helping clients in more unrealistic situations such as marital issues, being stuck in a safari, and wanting a hot tub, but it helps the consumer get the idea. One of my personal favorites like I mentioned before is the "Can I Get A Hot Tub?" commercial which has now been turned into a song available for purchase.

Although these commercials are primarily marketing tools, the PR department of this company has done an amazing job at going beyond just ads. These commercials and campaigns have brought a following to the company and created a brand that stay in people's minds. Besides the fact that they depict how dependable the company is and give small facts about how much money people save by switching to their company, the State Farm company has also created a new window for the company to grow. Because of the strong following of consumers for their comedic commercials, potential clients often think of State Farm first when they are looking for insurance of any kind.

The PR team behind State Farm has done a phenomenal job at maintaing a positive reputation for this company by utilizing any media markets that they can. When you go to the company's website, you are greeted by one of their ads about the falcon which was another successful commercial that became well-known but below it they quickly list every kind of insurance that they offer for their consumers. One technique that I have noticed they use is giving helpful information through the use of comedic characters. The falcon, hot tub, and safari are all scenes that consumers remember and help them link good insurance with State Farm.

The company also provides links to articles and anything they have done in the media and press releases on their website. They provide national media contacts and links to media outlets as well. This is a good idea for the company because it allows clients to get involved while browsing the website and wanting to find out information. Posting links that show positive participation in the community will create good public relations for the company.

As I continue to write this blog, I will further explain what State Farm does in areas outside of marketing to positively promote their company. Their involvement in the community, their earning before and after these commercial series and their use of social media all help explain how the PR team has used old tools in new innovative ways. Until next time, I'll be looking for an agent who can get me a hot tub!