I blame Curtis for getting me hooked on America’s Next Top Model - as I ended up watching way too much of the ANTM marathon this weekend. Three hours I will never get back. Arg.
But during commercial breaks (yes, I watched it live thinking I would turn it off in just a minute, so no need for Tivo) I kept seeing this funny ad where a guy drops a surprise engagement ring down a garbage disposal….ending with the phrase “now what? . . . nowwhat.com” But what was it for? What are they selling? I had to know so I finally broke down and headed to my office to check it out, and its a State Farm insurance site, specially for renters and car insurance.
I think this is a remarkable study in the most simple rules of marketing; Identify your target audience, Anticipate their needs and answer them with the benefits your product provides, and then Call to action.
(It’s also a great way to grow your business - after identifying a new market segment or target audience.)

Here is how State Farm did it:
Identify your target audience: the commercial aired during the ANTM marathon on VH1.
VH1 has the second highest concentration of P18-49 viewers among any network. [focusing on the 18-24 age group]
The median age of the VH1 viewer is 29.2. (Source: Nielsen)
VH1 has the highest concentration of P18-49 with a household income of $60K+.
51% home owners (source: cablevsionadsales )

Check out how the illustrations and tools in each the Music Room, Your Place/Your Stuff, and Your Car/Your Ride relate to that audience. The copy throughout the site is written in casual, conversational tone, using the voice and terms of the target audience. Plus they have aligned with the popular band The Fray, Projekt Revolution, the X games….

Anticipate their needs and answer them with the benefits your product provides:
At the forefront, this site uses a really basic question and answer technique, anticipating the users’ questions about insurance and coverage. Dig a little deeper and you will be surprised by the amount of lists and tools for tracking assets and calculating worth, no strings attached. (Because this target audience wants to receive value before they are willing to give up their contact info.) And at the end of each answer or tool, State Farm finds a simple way to say “Use State Farm, we’ve got your back.”

Call to action:
Besides the constant “Use State Farm, we’ve got your back” style of messaging, the omnipresent call to action is hanging out on the bottom right, in marketing’s favorite color - RED.

Ok - I kinda went off there. My main point was about customizing your message for the audience. Clearly this site was created for, and advertised to, the target audience of 18-25 year old non-homeowners with an above average income - selling them renter’s and car insurance. They don’t bother even mentioning home owners, life insurance, or disability.

Spend a few mornings watching the Today Show, and you will get a totally different kind of State Farm marketing, like this commerical, as well as a different website: http://www.statefarm.com/ that focuses on Home Owners, Life & Annuities, Health & disability, and Business.

I was so interested in this alternative marketing campaign to a non-traditional insurance audience, that I did a little more research and found this great quote:
“We do life solutions, and we do that by following life stages,” says Melinda Mueller, marketing manager at State Farm. “A first car. Graduating from college. Getting your first job. Getting married. You start buying life insurance when you have a baby. Most renters happen to be in this younger group, but only 3 in 10 have renters insurance. Statistics show that people are getting credit cards and managing their finances younger and younger. But as we analyzed our portfolio business, and compared our market share and market penetration in this group, we saw a great opportunity.”

Interesting, eh?

And yes, I am aware that this all only supports the fact that I am much too old to be losing 3 hours to an ANTM marathon.