ORLANDO, FL: State Farm, the insurance provider, has made “solve don’t serve” one of the guiding principles for its brand, reflecting its emphasis on helping customers obtain their life goals, rather than only being there if things go wrong.

Rand Harbert, State Farm’s EVP/Chief Agency, Sales, and Marketing Officer, discussed this subject at the Association of National Advertisers’ (ANA) 2017 Masters of Marketing Conference.

And he asserted that the brand’s focus on “empathy with action” involves forming relationships that can tangibly improve customers’ lives, instead of only selling functional products – which is often the perception of the insurance category.

“As ‘empathy with action’ was driving more proactive perceptions about State Farm, we also had to be driving new behaviors and actions,” Harbert said. (For more details, read WARC’s in-depth report: State Farm’s four tips for refreshing a brand.)

“This simple, but critical, component is powered by relationships and deeper understanding of exactly what we are trying to solve. It’s key to retain the customers we have and attracting the prospects we want.”

Given this agenda, State Farm has implemented a wide range of strategies, from connecting people with local volunteering opportunities to opening a coffee shop in Chicago where people can learn about managing their money better.

“We win by owning up to who we are, and what continues to make us authentic, and that’s the power of personal relationships in 19,000 offices. That is the engine that drives how we create new behaviours to become a better us,” said Harbert.

Another sign of State Farm’s determination in this regard was a new tagline, “Here to Help Life Go Right”, that launched last year, replacing “Like a Good Neighbor, State Farm is There”, a long-standing proposition for the brand.

“Our brand stands for being here to help life go right, for every person who walks into an agent’s office, reaches us at a call center, visits statefarm.com, or just cares about acting within their community,” Harbert said.

Sourced from WARC