• by Karl Greenberg , June 2, 2009

Farmers Insurance is launching a national campaign, "True Stories," that follows the tried-and-true approach of showing real agents with real people, dealing with real problems.

The television, radio, direct marketing and interactive campaign is the company's first major push by The Richards Group, a Dallas-based independent that won the account last December. The effort also introduces a new theme line, "Ready feels good."

The effort instills both the idea that an insurance company is really its agents and that being ready means having a policy from the right company. The campaign comprises documentary-style ads that introduce regular people by their first names, shown by superimposition with "Farmers Clients" underneath, and has them speaking conversationally, but emotionally, to the camera about catastrophes that the insurance company covered.

The ads introduce the Farmer's agent and his or her relationship with the clients, using the on-camera interviews, personal photos and home videos, as well as scenes from their everyday lives.

Pete Lempert, principal at The Richards Group, says the campaign is being rolled out in phases, with TV and radio first. There is national cable, a spot buy covering 38 markets, and co-op buys with agent groups. A national print spot runs in USA Today today. Interactive and direct marketing pushes will take place in the coming months.

The last major Farmers Insurance campaign was in fall 2008. "True Stories" notes a major creative shift from its last campaign, "Sanity makes a come back."

One of the two 60-second TV spots has "Will and Mary" talking about a brush fire that nearly destroyed their house. "Everything around the house was on fire," he says. "It was very emotional," she continues. The spot introduces their agent, who had explained to them before the fire how to protect their house in anticipation of just such an event, which saved their house.

The other ad focuses on the agent who talks about how he started in the business ten years ago, with his comments paired to those of his first client, who says he tells everyone he knows about Farmers.

The Richards Group executed the media buying and planning for the campaign, which the agency says is targeted to 25- to-54-year-olds.