Table of Contents 6 2012 OVATION Awards Winning Entries

• Ensure an ongoing stream of newsworthy Allstate Canada angles by developing a program that mixes
low cost news release options with higher impact, key target‐focused campaigns at strategic periods of
the year
• Make customers happy to buy from Allstate Canada by being the insurance company that encourages
Canadians to better understand their insurance in order to both reduce frustration/dissatisfaction when
it is time to make a claim and make them more aware of their claims options
The 2011 Allstate Media Relations campaign was thus created to include an ongoing News Bureau of
releases and pitches that would each discuss a particular insurance need and thus a particular target
audience, a Get to Know Your Insurance education program focusing on life milestones, an Action
Against Distraction campaign to target younger drivers and the Ontario Safe Driving Study that would
utilize Allstate Canada claims data and encourage discussion of driving safety in key Ontario markets
with AIAs and where the majority of Allstate Canada auto policies are held.
The total budget for the Allstate Canada media relations campaign was $232,800 for all programs,
including wire distribution for nine release, two half pages for matte stories in News Canada, all Action
Against Distraction events (including team member travel), an Ontario Safe Driving event in Brockville
and survey costs for Get to Know Your Insurance.
IMPLEMENTATION & CHALLENGES
News Bureau
The News Bureau campaign began in February 2011 and continued until December 2011. It included
both a “story bank” of media releases to proactively pitch to journalists who wouldn’t typically cover
insurance topics such as auto, home and lifestyle reporters and two sets of matte articles published in
the English and French editions of News Canada. To identify newsworthy topics, TFC reviewed successful
2010 pitches and Allstate claims data and compared these with earlier research identifying trends of
interest to the media. As a result, over the course of the year we created and pitched (where applicable)
a total of nine releases including one discussing home renovations and the need to ensure insurance
covered expensive new updates, one highlighting the need to review and potentially combine insurance
policies upon marriage and another specifically targeting protection against flooding in Quebec, a major
growth market for Allstate Canada.
At Allstate’s request TFC also created and pitched 12 media advisories about local Allstate Canada
community events.
In total nine matte stories researched, written and distributed through News Canada on such topics as
how to save on insurance when buying a new car, how to make an insurance claim and how a home
insurance policy often covers many summer travel needs.
Get to Know Your Insurance Education Program
Allstate Canada wanted its current and potential customers to better understand their insurance and
their coverage needs. Too often Canadians would complain of their insurance coverage after they tried
to make a claim, or in some way invalidate their claim because they did not understand their policy
before they actually needed it. On the flip side, many Canadians do not make a claim they could make
because they are unaware of what their home and auto policies include. In response, TFC created a
program that would help Canadians better understand their insurance and help to eliminate insurance
confusion.
TFC conducted market research with Leger Marketing to determine Canadians’ understanding of their
home/tenant and auto insurance. Surprising findings included that 13 per cent of Canadians were
unaware that their home/tenant insurance covered them for loss due to fire and 54 per cent didn’t