Companies: Farmers Insurance Group, March of Dimes
Timeframe: 2007
One out of eight babies is born prematurely in the United States, and those that survive often suffer from lifelong health problems. A couple years back, Farmers Insurance
Group, the nation's third-largest underwriter of both private passenger automobile and homeowners insurance, took note that the birth rate for premature babies had been increasing
more than 20% since 1990 and that the annual cost for preterm births was estimated to be more than $26 billion in 2005. So Farmers joined the fight to get babies healthy and
strong by supporting the March of Dimes (MOD), a national voluntary health agency dedicated to improving the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and
infant mortality.
While MOD has now become a year-round campaign at Farmers, the company originally focused on supporting WalkAmerica, the nonprofit's primary annual fundraiser, which was
largely employee-driven. While field executives participated, few agents were actively involved. To increase agent participation and raise the company's visibility as a national
supporter of MOD, Farmers created in 2006 its own company-specific fundraising event series, Be a Hero for Babies Day. The first Be a Hero for Babies Day surpassed its goal of
raising $1 million in one day by raising $1.4 million.
Overall in 2006, Farmers Insurance Group raised $3.2 million for MOD through all of its activities.
Outdoing The Competition When The Competition Is Yourself
The 2006 campaign was a success by all counts, but for 2007, executives had challenges to consider: Could the second Be a Hero for Babies Day generate the same level of
excitement and energy as the inaugural outing? And could the effort exceed what was achieved in the previous year?
Jerry Davies, media relations director for Farmers Insurance Group, never had any doubt regarding the former, which he attributes to the enthusiasm exhibited by Farmers CEO
Paul Hopkins. Davies says Hopkins' energy and passion is so infectious that it "has permeated from the top all the way to all of the states [that have Farmers Insurance
branches]."
As for the second challenge, the key was developing a solid and symbiotic working relationship with MOD that would translate well into efforts producing higher ROI than the
2006 effort. Farmers, which did not work with an outside agency on the campaign and instead relied on their media department, strove for seamless collaboration between the company
and MOD, particularly in the early planning sessions for the 2007 program (for more on the campaign's internal and external collaboration strategies, see sidebar).
"We held meetings and conferences [with the MOD] before [planning] started in 2007," recalls Davies. "The purpose was to set up how we were going to produce joint press
releases [addressing the] fundraising events put on by the many offices [within the Farmers organization] that are involved in the Be a Hero for Babies Day event."
Another necessary strategy was making sure both organizations would stay on message. In this vein, working the press together was important, since both Farmers and MOD would be
doing interviews publicizing the effort.
Building On Past Success
Farmers Insurance Group executives also gathered feedback from agents and employees about how to improve the campaign. The overall input indicated a need to streamline the
donation process and provide additional time and resources for implementing the local campaigns. Feedback also revealed an opportunity for friendly competition among states or
offices to drive participation and add excitement.
Targeting an audience comprised of employees, agents, customers, March of Dimes local and state chapters as well as local print and broadcast media, the project team then
outlined the following objectives for the 2007 campaign:
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Raise a total of $4 million through community events to support the MOD (which also includes WalkAmerica); and,
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Generate $2 million during Farmers Insurance Group's proprietary one-day Be a Hero for Babies event.
To fulfill these goals, the team focused on fleshing out their strategies. The first was to equip Farmers employees and agents with turnkey tools to execute local activities.
On Feb. 17, 2007, Farmers launched its campaign with MOD at an office event for employees and district managers. The meeting featured a presentation by MOD president Jennifer
Howse, as well as a motivational video. For agents, the campaign launched on March 16 via meetings with district managers.
Flexing Collective Promotion Muscles
With a goal of raising $2 million in one day while increasing the visibility of Farmers agents, the company knew it needed to put promotional muscle behind the Be a Hero for
Babies Day on June 7, 2007. The idea behind Be a Hero is for agents to conduct grassroots events to bring together their customers and neighbors for a worthy cause, and
demonstrate Farmers Insurance Group's passion for helping others. The day involved everything from hosting pancake breakfasts and bake sales to auctions and car washes.
In 2006, the company only had two weeks' notice to execute the one-day effort; in 2007, Farmers provided more advance materials and support for the field to meet the challenge
head on.
Tactics employed were as follows:
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For agents to execute fundraising activities: An online resource guide featured prepared materials for agents to download and customize, such as template letters to
customers about the one-day drive, speeches to give at local events and direct deposit slips for donations;
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For generating local publicity: A media relations tool kit included a print public service announcement, radio public service announcement script, media alert, news release
and speaking points;
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For helping district managers communicate goals and expectations to agents: A district meeting toolkit included an MOD kickoff video, PowerPoint presentation, resource
guide and flyers with instructions on setting up donation Web sites and payment options; and
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For reaching out to the company's state offices: A state office promotional kit with co-branded materials included banners, pens and magnets for their employees.
The second phase of the campaign focused on providing national support by leveraging public awareness of local efforts. Here Farmers Insurance Group executives provided
national advertising and public service announcements to help raise public awareness and drive traffic to agents' offices for Be a Hero for Babies Day.
The team produced and released a "Be A Hero" public service announcement featuring Farmers CEO Hopkins and MOD celebrity spokesperson Tom Bergeron (host of ABC's Dancing
With the Stars). Using the heroes theme, a 15-second television spot ran June 4-7, 2007, featuring Heroes child star Noah Gray-Cabey. In addition, Farmers ran national
ads in USA Today promoting its agents as "community heroes" and their local offices at designated donation centers for MOD.
To engage opinion leaders in the effort, the Farmers government affairs team worked with city and state officials to help declare June 7, 2007, "Be a Hero for Babies Day." Ten
cities or states, including Virginia, Tennessee and Los Angeles, declared the city as such.
The final phase of the campaign focused on giving Farmers employees and agents an incentive to get involved. To encourage and reward participation in the MOD campaign, the top
four fundraisers (agent, district manager, employee and state executive) each won a trip for two to Los Angeles to ride on the company's 2008 Tournament of Roses Parade float,
attend the Rose Bowl Game and enjoy other festivities.
Employees and agents were asked to submit stories throughout the year to highlight their efforts (which also included WalkAmerica) on behalf of MOD. These employees were
recognized on the company's intranet for others to learn about their contributions to the campaign.
Walking Across The Finish Line A Winner
The ROI wildly exceeded expectations. Farmers raised a total of $4.5 million for MOD--a 12% increase over its goal. This reflects the funds raised during the Be a Hero for
Babies Day and WalkAmerica, plus a $200,000 corporate contribution. In itself, the 2007 Be a Hero for Babies Day raised $2.7 million. To achieve this goal, agents in 30 states
held grassroots community events, including motorcycle rides, golf tournaments, BBQ lunches, open houses, raffle drawings and a "Big Bass Splash Fishing Tournament." PRN
CONTACTS:
Jerry Davies, [email protected]; Doris Dunn, [email protected]
Internal & External Collaboration: How To Maximize Chances For Campaign Success
When working in tandem with another organization on a campaign, it's imperative that both sides of the partnership be in sync with messaging, says Jerry Davies, media relations
director for Farmers Insurance Group, which has paired up with March of Dimes to work on its Be a Hero for Babies Day three years running. The following are some other tips that
companies should heed to fully ensure synergy and cohesion in a cause-marketing partnership:
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Conduct face-to-face meetings. "It's easy to get into these teleconferences and get their names," Davies says, "but the names fade [from memory] when you don't see
them in action or hear from them personally." Once you can easily attach a name to a person, then "it's coordination after that. It doesn't require meeting physically every week."
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Run press releases and other items by your partner before releasing them to the public. Make sure you do this to ensure that "you're on the same page in terms of the
dollar amounts and statistics listed in the press release," Davies says. Good communications play a vital role here as well as in mastering logistics of a campaign as broad as the
Be a Hero for Babies Day event.
Beyond the external collaboration, the army of Farmers Insurance employees that mobilized around the event was critical to the success of Be a Hero for Babies Day. Using this
campaign as a template, Doris Dunn, director of corporate communications for Farmers Insurance Group, offers this best practice for gaining employee buy-in:
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Get people to see what's in it for them. "One of the reasons we do [the Be a Hero for Babies Day]--and we encourage the agents to do it--is because it's good publicity
for them," says Dunn. "We want them to be community citizens. [With this event], we let the agents know that they're doing good for babies--March of Dimes is a great organization.
At the same time, they can help their own businesses by getting their names out."