Challenge
In 2009, Allstate Insurance Company of Canada selected Thornley Fallis Communications as its first public relations agency of record. Allstate Canada wanted to strengthen and modernize its brand reputation and to place the insurer in the minds of Canadians as an insurance company that gives back to the community and protects people.
Allstate Canada had noticed that safe driving issues were a topic of frequent discussion in both the media and government in Ontario due to some widely reported and severe car collisions. Allstate Canada believed it was the right time to promote discussions about safe driving practices and asked TFC to develop a program that would position Allstate Canada as a leader in this discussion and encourage governments and drivers to think about safe driving practices.
Solution
Allstate Canada has a vast collection of policyholder claims and data, particularly in Ontario, which allows them to provide insight into the trends and changes in Canadian communities.
Using Allstate Canada’s claims data, TFC created the Ontario Safe Driving Study, which ranked Ontario communities by rate of collision frequency and crafted a media relations campaign around the study and its results. The messages of the campaign highlighted the need for safer driving practices and increased brand awareness through Allstate safe driving tips.
The Ontario Safe Driving Study was released in 2009 and the program repeated in 2010.
Approach
TFC and Allstate Canada analyzed the claims data for Ontario auto insurance policy holders to see what story the information told about Ontario drivers. After much examination, it was decided to compare the frequency of collisions in Ontario communities based on Allstate Canada data from 2003–2006 and 2006–2009 in order to see how communities both ranked and improved over the two time periods.
TFC created key messages for the Ontario Safe Driving campaign, as well as provincial and regional media releases that placed Allstate Canada as a leader in discussing and bring safe driving practices to the forefront. TFC also worked with the municipal government of the top ranking community in the Ontario Safe Driving to include a statement from the mayor about the importance of safe driving practices.
For the 2010 program, eight regional and one provincial Allstate Canada spokesperson were trained in the key messages developed by TFC. TFC crafted a provincial media release, both English and French, and posted it to the CNW newswire. We also wrote 18 individual pitches to regional media to emphasize the ranking of different communities.
Results
The 2009 Ontario Safe Driving Study generated 84 stories from Ontario media. In one week, TFC was able to generate almost 50 per cent more coverage than Allstate Canada had received in total over the previous five months.
For the 2010 program, after one week the media coverage for the Ontario Safe Driving Study totalled 219 stories with a total reach of nearly 18 million, a 160.7 per cent increase from the 2009 program. Of the 219 stories for the 2010 program, 94 per cent mentioned program specific key messages. The cost per contact for the program was $0.003.
