Jake From State Farm
Evergreen Social + Influencer
In 2020 Jake from State Farm was reintroduced to the world in the iconic “Khakis” spot. As a teaser to Jake and his return, we flooded Instagram & Twitter and prepped for real-time responses for fun consumer engagement. The fresh-faced version of Jake is State Farm’s ‘spokesfluencer’ and from there crafting his place on social (Twitter + Instagram) was top priority in order to connect with consumers and brand fans.
As lead for Jake on social and digital, I managed campaigns, influencer opportunities and client needs. Ultimately resulting in increased follower growth, multiple large scale partnership and influencer campaigns, and increased engagement during key cultural moments.
Campaigns
Evergreen Social
Jake on social is more than being an extension of State Farm. Unlike other fictional characters, Jake is the brand’s ethos without the heavy brand tone or a caricature presence. On social we made sure to create a world that was natural for millennial audiences to connect and around key cultural moments.
Evergreen social included strategic insights for creative that featured new trends and sounds from Reels/Tik Tok, showing off his dope style, or kicking it with his homies. Jake’s revival experienced many firsts that pushed the envelope for State Farm’s Marketing teams.
We secured partnerships with Mike Johnson and Don C, appearances at high trafficked events (ASW 2020), and consistently drove brand sentiments above benchmarks (>8%). During my leadership, Jake’s followers grew to 60.3K IG + 53K Twitter followers, was featured in NBA, NFL, Gaming, and Fashion work streams, and testing on IG Lives which lead to exploring other social platforms (Tik Tok).
Drake From State Farm
Capitalizing off of the buzz around Jake's look-a-likes, we turned a viral moment into a Top 10 Ad Week spot airing during Super Bowl LV. The spot featured celebrity talent and easter eggs from previous spots culminating in the most talked-about ad for weeks!
A “war room” was created for real-time responses on Jake and State Farm’s platforms. Immediately after the airing, Jake’s social experienced an influx of followers and social engagements. Twitter banter and quick responses to consumers and other brands throughout the Super Bowl propelled the social handles into an active role in cultural conversations.
Repost + amplification from partners like Drake helped increase visibility of Jake and his social platforms, further growing his following and engagements.
This spot earned several recognitions and was a huge win for State Farm and their debut Super Bowl spot
Influencer Halloween with Mike Johnson
Jake has undeniable lookalikes.
Consumers and brand friends mention this almost daily on social media and share lookalikes they come across. These consumer conversations and even celebrity banter could not be overlooked, so during Halloween I pitched a campaign featuring a Bachelorette favorite and the world of ‘Jake-Alikes’.
The mix of strategic insights and social listening allowed us to explore recurring conversations, social platform capabilities from a brand’s POV, and encourage Jake inspired UGC during the holiday season.
The 4-phase partnership with Mike Johnson included:
AV teasers
influencer gifting + unboxing
15-minute IG Live hosted by Mike + Jake (a State Farm first)
Following the collaboration, UGC increased and was featured in the new highlight: Jake-Alikes resulting as one of Jake’s highest engagement (10% above benchmark) and 24K IG followers.