As a difficult year drew to a close, we wanted to bring to life a simple truth at the heart of the MassMutual brand: people are still looking out for one another, all around us. We needed to break through, but instead of turning to the tried and true use of celebrities and influencers with large followings, we took a less conventional approach. We dug beyond the mainstream headlines to uncover countless uplifting stories that got lost in the noise, and used them to change the social conversation about 2017—and to lift people's spirits heading into the new year. Stories of everyday heroes from all over the nation, who went out of their way to help neighbors and strangers alike. And we thrust these everyday heroes to the national stage, so their inspiring stories could reach millions.

We knew the time to get noticed was at the end of the year, when every social network, magazine, news outlet, and content publisher was doing a recap of the year that was. And while the media stream was flooded with negativity and despair, we offered much needed relief—and proof that people were looking out for each other all around us, even if their stories didn’t go viral or get picked up by the national media. Their stories were told through print, a two-minute musical film, and six mini-documentaries that let people dive deeper. We tapped into hometown pride by engaging local media, who ran with the stories that celebrated their local residents, and by activating our unsung heroes through their own social connections. Then we amplified our reach by sharing our message of hope on national TV, in cinemas, and on various social media channels.

- 53M Views

- 2B impressions

- Positive social sentiment for the brand doubled

- Searches for the brand increased by 43%

- Website traffic increased 4x

- 170+ Engagements

- MassMutual was a Trending Topic on Twitter during the Super Bowl