State Farm, sports media company Team Whistle and agency Optimum Sports have teamed for three episodes of a football-focused series titled “Home Team.” The program will air on Team Whistle’s YouTube and social platforms beginning Dec. 7, per details shared with Marketing Dive.
“Home Team” pairs football players with “at-home teammates” for competitions and Q&A segments that provide insight into their personal lives and relationships. The episodes include messaging about bundling home and auto insurance and State Farm’s Personal Price Plan. This marks the third year of collaboration with Team Whistle around original NFL-focused content, explained Alyson Griffin, vice president of marketing at State Farm.
“Given the mass reach of football, we always want to tap into the passion of the fanbase and elevate State Farm into the cultural conversation,” Griffin said in a statement. “We’re excited to help bring these episodes to life for fans to learn more about their favorite players — and more about State Farm too.”
Social assets promoting “Home Team” will run across TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts. Team Whistle and State Farm have used their partnership to embed brand messaging into original shows and talking points into short-form content extensions. Previous collaborations between the two include “Personal Day,” a series that drew more than 7 million views and 15 million total impressions, per release details.
The “Home Team” episodes will feature Minnesota Vikings tight end TJ Hockenson and his fiancé Mikala Brown; Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle Jordan Mailata and his wife Niki Ikahihifo-Bender; and Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Mecole Hardman and his girlfriend Chariah Gordon.
State Farm is no stranger to efforts around football players and their paramours. The brand scored one of the year’s best campaigns with a quickly assembled effort that tapped into the hype around the relationship between Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift.
Team Whistle, a DAZN Group company, previously partnered with DirecTV Stream for a social media takeover that touted the satellite provider’s value and promotional offers at the start of the college and professional football seasons. Optimum Sports is the in-house sports marketing agency within Omnicom Media Group.
