Integrated Campaign Gets People Talking About Tough Topics

Fast Horse helps Nationwide earn consumers’ trust as a financial advisor and information resource through the successful “Have the Talk” campaign. Good content – funny, useful and readily available – anchors the effort to get people thinking of Nationwide when they think about financial planning.

We do our homework
Gut feelings and hunches can be great. But research-based insights drive our strategies. In this case, we learned consumers have access to plenty of information about personal finance, but lack ideas on how to talk about tough financial decisions. We helped Nationwide fill the gap.

Hook them with good content
We broke the ice through a series of videos featuring comedian Frank Caliendo, who provided a lighthearted look at how not to have “the talk.” The three videos garnered more than a million views via online platforms. Then we engaged consumers with a useful Have the Talk website, which provided tips, quizzes and info sheets for families gearing up for difficult conversations.

Target advertising to expand the audience
Have The Talk ads were placed on news, family and personal finance websites to further drive traffic to the micro-site as families around the country were getting together for the holiday season — an opportune time for people to have difficult discussions. In addition, a Facebook application allowed people to make an appointment to “Have the Talk” with friends or family.

Drive action with sponsorships, events and big media
Fast Horse helped Nationwide leverage “Have the Talk” via the company’s existing sports sponsorships and a new partnership with the American Red Cross for a national “Have the Talk Day.” A promotional segment on “Live! With Regis and Kelly,” mainstream media coverage and blogger outreach also accelerated the campaign.

When I first heard about the insurance ‘talk’ videos, I thought, ‘Oh this is going to be dumb.’ But then I watched some, I started chuckling, then laughing, then guffawing.
CNBC reporter Jane Wells
Fact: Good content works for you. “Have the Talk” generated 50 million media impressions and more than a million YouTube views. The “Have the Talk” micro-site garnered more than 8,000 visits per day, with an average site visit time of more than five minutes.

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