Mass Mutual Brings The World’s Smallest Ad Campaign To The Kentucky Derby Via ‘Small Acts’

MassMutual thought small when it came to activating its rights at the 2019 Kentucky Derby – really small.

MassMutual’s Churchill Downs on-site Derby weekend takeover saw its build a series of 20 miniature outdoor displays in an activation titled ‘Small Acts’.

The miniatures were placed around key areas at Churchill Downs: including the stadium, the infield, roof beams and other high football and subtle, but eye-catching spots.

Ahead of the race weekend, ‘Small Acts’ was teased on social in order to drive hype and then the idea is to continue the conversation on-track and via social throughout the day using the #LiveMutual and #KYDerby hashtags

And we're off to the races…see you at the #KYDerby! #LiveMutual https://t.co/ixoKNJNrfb

— MassMutual (@massmutual) April 30, 2019

The on-site, brand-presence led OOH initiative is on-site during both The Oaks on Friday and the Derby itself on Saturday and it aims to engage race-goers in a fresh way they haven’t quite experienced before.

The financial services brand, which is the lead sponsor of both The Oaks (3 May) and the Kentucky Derby (4 May) worked with agency Johannes Leonardo on an approach that continues MassMutual’s umbrella vision of showcasing the power of the American spirit through mutuality and tradition and its belief that small acts of mutuality can make a big difference for your financial future.

The idea emerged after the team recognized the fact that Derby-goers spend a lot of time waiting and on the insight that Derby-goers already typically carry and use binoculars to get a closer look at the race.

Through these miniatures, the brand and the agency aimed to encourage fans to take a closer look at their finances.

“As a leading life insurance brand, we are always considering new ways to interact with our consumers and touch their lives with powerful brand ideas. With this in mind, our partner Johannes Leonardo came up with an engaging activation campaign to illustrate our belief that small acts of mutuality can make a big difference for your financial future,” commented MassMutual head of brand and advertising Jennifer Halloran.

She added that the brand wanted to “surprise and delight” Derby-goers in a way that pays homage to the history of the event.

“We [Johannes Leonardo] ran with the insight, attempting to address the question ‘How could we use this opportunity to get them to take a closer look at their finances?’” said Johannes Leonardo group creative director Samira Ansari.

“Knowing that only 25% of Americans have a financial plan, we wanted to highlight that a small financial contribution today, can make a big difference in the future by leveraging a captive audience at The Derby. We are thrilled to see the activation come to life this weekend as part of a bigger brand partnership between The Derby and MassMutual.”

The campaign was created for MassMutual Head of Brand and Advertising Jennifer Halloran, Head of Brand Activation and Engagement Kristin Lane, Advertising Director Christa Perry and Marketing Consultant Kaitlyn Swierzewsky by Johannes Leonardo.

The agency team included Chief Creative Officer Jan Jacobs, Chief Creative Officer Leo Premutico, Group Creative Director Samira Ansari, Creative Directors Kevin Watkins and Hope Nardini, Copywriters Talia Berniker and Phoebe Talbot, Art Directors Emily Haughbro and Kimberly Scott, Creative Interns Dohee Kim and Haeun Kim, Associate Design Director Esther Park, Designer Christina Hillman, Director of Creative Services Michelle Moscone, Project Manager John Thomas Shults, Head of Integrated Production Dana May, Executive Producer Darbi Fretwell, Senior Activation Producer Maria Elena Lopez Frank, Producer Phil Guignon, Head of Accounts Emily Wilcox, Account Director Lisa Paravano, Account Supervisor Lily Shelmerdine, Account Executive Joel Bebasa, Head of Strategy Mark Aronson, Associate Strategy Director Johnny Roelofs, Head of Communications Strategy Meg Piro, Communications Planner Casey Donahue, Senior Business Affairs Manager Kacey Kelley and Business Affairs Manager Pamala Billman.

The activation production company wasTH Productions and the animation house was Hieronymous.

Comment:

Links:

MassMutual

https://www.massmutual.com/

https://twitter.com/massmutual

https://www.linkedin.com/company/massmutual-financial-group

https://www.facebook.com/massmutual

https://www.youtube.com/user/MassMutual

https://www.instagram.com/massmutua

Johannes Leonardo

http://johannesleonardo.com/