This is why brands should monitor their social media mentions.
On Monday, State Farm, which regularly tracks all its brand mentions on Twitter and Facebook, noticed a dramatic uptick discussions about its Jake character. State Farm introduced Jake in 2010 with this ad:
[seealso slug="marketing-claims-alex-from-target/"]
"We noticed a serious increase in Jake mentions," says Patty Morris, director of brand content for State Farm. "He was mentioned every two minutes. We recognized this as an opportunity."
What was the cause? Alex from Target.
While teen girls swooned over Alex, the meme that went viral on Monday, State Farm's paunchy, khaki-clad everyman Jake offered a comic contrast. At first, Jake merely acknowledged Alex:
Hello #alexfromtarget! I'm @JakeStateFarm!— Jake from State Farm (@JakeStateFarm) November 3, 2014
The brand also retweeted lots of fan comments:
RT for Jake from State Farm Fav for Alex from Target pic.twitter.com/YG55JN5cvl— Marissa Matese (@marissa_matese) November 3, 2014
Talk about #AlexFromTarget all you want, but Jake from State Farm is the one who will be there for you at 3 in the morning.— Nic Nielsen (@nicthesurfer) November 3, 2014
Jake's Twitter account launched in September 2013 and had amassed around 27,000 followers organically. The hoopla over Alex prompted State Farm to buy its first social media ad promoting Jake. The ad, below, ran on Facebook, not Twitter.
