How a Viral Advert Turned Into an Award-Profitable Content material Marketing campaign

Viral video success doesn’t occur typically. For manufacturers, particularly in industries like insurance coverage, customers deal with their content material as an uninspiring necessity – not a supply of leisure and inspiration.

However when content material fortune does strike, huge viewers alternatives comply with – if in case you have the agility and an efficient technique to capitalize on them.

State Farm did all that in its built-in Jazz Bathtub: The Bathtub Bomb Periods marketing campaign. With assist from its inventive company, The Advertising Arm (TMA), the model turned the viral asset into a totally built-in content material platform that drove ongoing viewers engagement and model affinity.

The viral success of Jake from @StateFarm explaining “personal” to NFL QB @PatrickMahomes propelled State Farm and @wearetma_agency to expand their #content reach, says @Joderama via @CMIContent. Click To Tweet

It’s a lesson in finest practices for this 2023 Content Marketing Awards Mission of the Yr finalist.   

1. Capitalize on resonant connections

Star-studded stunt-casting is a well-liked advert strategy, particularly through the Nationwide Soccer League’s season. To face out, viewers have to see the movie star cameo as related to their pursuits and affiliate it with the model’s priceless choices.

State Farm achieved this by reinforcing the viewers’s confirmed belief in its khakis-and-red-shirt clad spokes-character – Jake from State Farm – for an advert airing all through the 2022 season. The Bathtub Bomb advert aired a humorous dialog between Jake and Kansas Metropolis Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.  

The spot promotes the insurer’s private worth plan. Patrick will get a bit of too private by revealing that he’s “a shower bomb man.” Whereas Jake clears up the misperception concerning the “private” product, the enrobed quarterback proceeds together with his leisure ritual of soaking in a bathtub full of scented bathtub oils in the midst of the exercise room, no much less. Then, the group’s tools man (performed by actor/comic Mark Sipka) pops in together with his saxophone so as to add the musical ambiance.

2. Pay attention for inventive alternatives

Insurance coverage isn’t related to enjoyable, leisure, or movie star spa habits. But, the off-beat spot sparked a frenzy of optimistic suggestions on social media. Many (like @TayloreHemnes within the instance beneath) used the marketing campaign’s hashtag #JazzBath on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook to specific curiosity in creating their very own jazz bathtub expertise.

3. Leap in earlier than sentiment has time to chill

State Farm acknowledged the clear alternative to increase the model’s second of cultural resonance. However constructing on that momentum would take swift motion, easy coordination, and a splash of inspiration.

Losing no time, TMA took the tub ball and turned it right into a jazzy multimedia marketing campaign. The lynchpin? They labored with skilled jazz musicians to report six unique tracks. The ensuing CD – Jazz Bathtub: The Bathtub Bomb Periods – enabled Jazz Bathtub followers to take pleasure in a private leisure journey.

@StateFarm’s agency, @wearetma_agency, turned the #video success of its Jazz Bath ad spot into a free, original six-track CD, says @Joderama via @CMIContent. Click To Tweet

To streamline orders of the free CD (whereas they lasted), TMA created a microsite: MyJazzBath.com. (Now that the marketing campaign is over, the URL redirects site visitors to State Farm’s most important web page.) Banner advertisements and on-line movies promoted the disc and prolonged the marketing campaign’s attain.

4. Invite influencers to dive in, too

Even hit campaigns can have a brief shelf life in a loud content material panorama. As soon as the viewers’s pleasure winds down, they’ll rapidly lose curiosity and transfer on. Selling your viral content material is one of the simplest ways to make sure your model stays on their minds, holds their curiosity, and drives them to behave.

State Farm didn’t drop the ball on this significant step. To assist get its tunes onto followers’ bath-time playlists, the company used a trusted content material advertising play: partnering with influencers. 

In response to TMA, State Farm enlisted the assistance of the marketing campaign’s stars and partnered with high-profile influencers (together with @Courtschaos and @Baileyspinn) on TikTok to push the album on social media.

Media companions have been known as as nicely. Spotify shared a branded playlist that includes all six tunes from the CD, together with Who’s Prepared? (For a Jazz Bathtub) and I’m Not Crying (There’s Cleaning soap in My Eyes).

5. Reinforce enjoyment with associated content material

A single viral content material hit not often equates to long-term advertising outcomes. However by extending an expertise the viewers enjoys, you possibly can reinforce the worth they obtain – and enhance the probability they’ll take direct motion with your online business.

For Jazz Bathtub, the company stored the preliminary spot’s stress-free vibes alive with different marketing campaign movies. For instance, within the spot beneath, Jeff, the tools supervisor who introduced the saxophone to the unique advert, pitches his debut CD by parodying a 1990s-era infomercial:

The company adopted that up with the Jazz Bathtub Hotline interactive content material function. Followers who known as (866) JAZZ-BATH have been handled to a message from Jeff together with his suggestions for winding down and chilling out.

Cool jazz, scorching outcomes

Inside per week, all 11,000 copies of The Bathtub Bomb Periods CD offered out. Even higher, in accordance with TMA, the marketing campaign related with State Farm’s hard-to-reach target market of millennials. Getting them jazzed up a few “boring” subject like insurance coverage led to spectacular advertising outcomes.

In response to TMA, these outcomes included:

• 125.6 million impressions
• 13.3 million-plus video views
• 8.5 million-plus earned impressions
• 201,100 engagements
• 6,0000-plus streams on Spotify
• 30,000-plus visits to JazzBath.com
• Practically 1,000 calls to the Jazz Bathtub hotline

@State Farm’s Jazz Bath hotline attracted nearly 1,000 calls, and the whole campaign earned over 8.5 million impressions, says @Joderama via @CMIContent. Click To Tweet

On high of capturing the cultural zeitgeist, the marketing campaign garnered recognition for TMA amongst its business friends: It received the Content material Advertising Award for Most Modern Content material Distribution Technique. It additionally took the highest prize on the fifteenth Shorty Awards within the humor, comedy video class and obtained an honorable point out within the humor, monetary companies class.

Tune in, flip up the quantity, and soak in success

With a sensible technique, you possibly can flip a shock hit right into a well-orchestrated, multi-platform marketing campaign. Not solely will that squeeze extra advertising worth out of your hottest content material property, however it might probably additionally get you showered with consideration out of your viewers.

Will State Farm’s Jazz Bathtub add a Content material Advertising Award for Mission of the Yr to its spectacular achievements? Register to attend Content Marketing World, the place the winner might be introduced on September 28.

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Cowl picture by Joseph Kalinowski/Content material Advertising Institute