In 2023, the Taylor Swift hype came to a crescendo at a Kansas City Chiefs football game. To support her then-rumored beau, football star Travis Kelce, Swift showed up and sat next to Travis’ mom, Donna “Mama” Kelce. It propelled Mama Kelce into the stratosphere and she became the person everyone, and every brand, wanted to sit with. But only State Farm had the long-standing relationship with Travis Kelce that would make their presence authentic. And only State Farm had Jake from State Farm, the face of the brand with enough cultural capital to go where no mascot had ever gone before — straight to the heart of pop culture. All of which provided State Farm the perfect way to crash the moment before the topic became oversaturated. But they had to move lightning fast.

The Swiftest Response: Capitalize on a massive cultural moment by seating Jake in the best seat in the world—next to Mama Kelce, days after Taylor Swift sat there, scoring Jake the hottest ticket ever.

Broadcast networks flocked to air the moment, and the internet did the rest.

To maximize relevancy, we strategically crafted Jake's social media profile to stay at the top of the trending lists for days.

By acting fast to stand out from the crowd, State Farm didn't just capitalize on a massive cultural moment; they created one. All while proving their motto "Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there."

A 102-year-old insurance brand built on and by neighborhoods needed to relocate to prime new real estate — the cultural communities where younger audiences live — to grow relevance.

In 2023, the epicenter of Gen Z culture was Taylor Swift. But for one week in September, it was in an NFL football stadium, where Taylor Swift sat next to Donna Kelce, mother to Swift’s then-rumored beau, NFL star Travis Kelce.

On 9/25, a pic of Taylor sitting with Mama Kelce became the shot seen ‘round the world, earning billions of impressions. And Mama Kelce became the person everyone, and every brand, wanted to sit with.

State Farm knew that if Jake from State Farm could take a seat next to Mama Kelce at the very next game, the world would do the rest. But to get there, they had to move faster than the speed of culture.

The sports-focused media moment generated:

- 2.6B impressions.

- 270K engagements across social, digital, broadcast, and radio.

- A 15x lift in State Farm-related brand searches.

- 92% positive sentiment from all mentions.

- Earned media value equivalent to $22.9M across 415 earned articles within 5 short days.

- According to data and analytics firm EDO, footage of Jake and Donna from the initial broadcast had the same impact as 30 standard primetime ads and 172 cable ads combined.

- The rebroadcast played during Sunday Night Football a few days later was also a major hit, equaling 300 standard primetime ads or 1,758 cable spots.