2009 PRO Awards: State Farm Call Your Shot

Agency: The Marketing Arm
Client: State Farm

State Farm hit a home run with its “Call Your Shot” promotion, designed to drive brand buzz and consideration around the company’s sponsorship of the 2008 All Stars Home Run Derby at New York Yankees Stadium.

Capitalizing on the passion of baseball, the program began with a seven-week online contest. The winner received a trip for four to the All-Star Game festivities and was brought down to home plate to choose the field (“call the shot”) he wanted the Home Run Derby MLB player to hit to.

Local market buzz was created by a 24-hour Times Square takeover. In addition to video streaming of the stadium event on the NASDAQ and Reuters jumbotrons, State Farm  erected a mini-Yankees Stadium from which passers by could take their own shot at  hitting a home run and be enter to win two tickets to the evening’s Home Run Derby. During the event, street teams handed out promotional materials and premium items.

Additional exposure was generated when members of the Boys and Girls Club tried their hand at bat in the mini-stadium live on Good Morning America, with Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. as their coach.

The promotion definitely connected State Farm with its audience. More than 31,000 agent leads were generated, and 83% of participants moved State Farm to their top three consideration set.