While receiving my daily dosage of social media today, I was Snap Surfing and came across video footage from this past weekend’s major storm, Florence, that hit the Carolinas.
One of the videos I watched was, of course, the weatherman video where two pedestrians breezed through the storm while the weatherman braced for dear life!
After I had a good chuckle, I was struck with raw footage of people’s homes and property ruined by the storm. I was in awe of what residents would come back home to. I felt useless as I watched how Florence impacted families.
As I continued watching, up next came a video that seemed a bit different. A scene began with catastrophe everywhere. There was rubble from homes and debris that winds had blown around. A helicopter made its rounds in the sky; all while a piano began in the background with a familiar tune.
There were two women in the middle of nothing but rubble. A woman with freshly washed and ironed professional clothing comforted a distraught woman with casual attire by rubbing her back. The woman showing sympathy had a big red coat on.
A homely voice came on matching the text that appeared on the screen, “Wish you were here.”
That’s when I realized it was an ad.
State Farm: Wish You Were Here
Cleverly placed, in between Snapchats of Florence, came a State Farm ad that made me feel warm inside. It’s employees wore its traditional red colored polos and jackets while the homely voice spoke of human nature overcoming nature. It was almost as if the narrator was reading a poem. The dialogue was about the power of human spirit and the bright red was visible throughout all the debris. State Farm agents helped those in need by giving them water, rescuing pets, and salvaging whatever remains they could find.
The video ended with one of the victims playing a damaged piano and the first distraught woman hugging the agent with the coat on while having a smile on her face. Mr. Homely Voice ended the video with, “To help show that human nature is greater than nature. State Farm… here to help recovery go right.”
The last thing I saw was State Farm and its logo on the agent’s jacket.
After the video ended, the Florence videos resumed and I put my phone down.
This ad made me feel that I could contribute to relieve some of those victims just by having State Farm as my insurer. The ad makes viewers believe State Farm is doing the right thing and it creates a positive brand image for the company.
The impact of this video brought some sort of relief to viewers. I am not going to lie, I myself felt guilty just by sitting there watching the massive damage Florence caused.
One of the lines that the narrator said was, “With one of the industry’s largest catastrophe response teams, State Farm will always be among the first to arrive and the last to leave.”
Those words alone put me at ease.
I did some research to see if State Farm actually does do all it can to help catastrophe victims. I came up with a couple of examples from the recent storm.
An agent is invited to share tips on flooding. Before watching the video I thought it would speak about unplugging devices and storing important belongings in high places, but instead it spoke about…you guessed it, insurance. The agent spoke about how State Farm does not cover flooding damage but gave a tip on someone who does. She did advise that the coverage needs a 30 day window before it kicks into effect.
The agent did give useful tips for flooded vehicles and what to do if you’re driving and see a flooded area.
State Farm also made a statement speaking about how they are prepared and ready to respond for the storm.
With further research, I surprisingly found evidence from multiple former State Farm employees stating:
“…the guys and gals at the top don’t see that they are destroying what was once a great company that cared not only about the people they insured, but the employees as well.” The review goes on to state, “…now it’s all about numbers, spread sheets, analytics, more numbers and conference calls to tell you you aren’t meeting those numbers.”
This former employee gave the company two stars out of five and the company average on the GlassDoor website is 2.8/5 stars. Out of all the former State Farm employees on GlassDoor, only 36% would recommend working there to a friend. You can find this former employee’s review and more here.
Ways To Enhance State Farm’s Social Media Impact
While I only found a couple of simple videos of State Farm employees loading up and driving out, I did find another inspiring ad of theirs.
There was nothing that showed raw footage of agents actually helping people. If State Farm were to provide agents with an account to post video and photos that represents the work they do, it would not only save State Farm in production costs, but also show raw (not acted) footage of them.
In these videos they could be handing out water to people even those who are not clients. State Farm could also take photos of the team with people they have helped and provide fresh shirts, pants, or blankets with the State Farm logo on it to people who had everything wiped away.
A simple gifted shirt will go a long way, not only with the viewers of the content but most importantly, it may change someone’s outlook on the situation. Someone who has just had everything washed away is given a shirt that is symbolic of hope, sympathy, and encouragement, but most importantly, a fresh start. This shirt would prove there are people out there that care, a company that will literally put a shirt on your back. Capturing these moments of raw emotions on footage and sharing them through social media platforms like Snapchat and Instagram is content viewers will love and they will share this willingly with friends and family boosting the company’s social image.
Maybe there is such raw content out there of them assisting those in need, I just couldn’t find it. If there is such content, please share it and I will update the blog.
All in all, State Farm produced a powerful ad and placed it on the right platform, at the right place and time. Its message raised brand awareness and brand loyalty. I am sure it made current clients feel good about their decision of choosing State Farm as their insurance company and provoked others with a compelling reason to become a customer sooner rather than later.
If you would like to make a donation towards Florence relief you can do so here:
If you donate through Google, by typing “donate hurricane Florence” in the Google search box and scrolling down, they will match your donation towards Florence relief to the American Red Cross, up to 1 Million in donations.
Comment with thoughts and suggestions.
Social Media Ad Impact 
Your first post is awesome and clearly shows your effort to blog a topic that is insightful and analytical. Keep up the good work and I look forward to reading more.Thanks!!
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