State Farm’s reality-competition sequence “Gamerhood” will kick off its fourth season on Aug. 1, in keeping with supplies shared with Advertising Dive. This season of the streaming present options new expertise, improved manufacturing and elevated alternatives for customers to play alongside. It additionally demonstrates the most recent step in State Farm’s decade-long funding in gaming.
“Our total class used to only do brand sponsorships on the backside nook of the sport… we have mental property now,” stated State Farm Head of Advertising Alyson Griffin concerning the evolution of gaming advertising and marketing. “Now we have individuals who know — with out prompting — that State Farm does ‘that Gamerhood problem’ yearly.”
Serving to State Farm have interaction with avid gamers is the world’s high streamer, Kai Cenat, who additionally featured within the model’s “Batman vs. Bateman” marketing campaign. As with that effort — which was initially meant to be a Tremendous Bowl business earlier than the model pivoted because of the California wildfires — letting creators create is essential to the authenticity demanded by customers.
“[Creators] do not need to be boxed in and be pretend, and I do not suppose a model is doing itself any favors in the event you’re boxing creators in,” Griffin defined.
For the fourth season of “Gamerhood,” which airs each Friday in August at 6 p.m. ET., meaning streaming the present not simply on State Farm’s Twitch and YouTube channels, however throughout opponents’ personal streaming channels. Together with Cenat, the season will function returning group captains Ludwig, Mark Phillips and Berleezy, plus streamers Sydeon, LuluLuvely, Cinna, JasonTheWeen and CouRage, who will compete in each video video games like Marvel Rivals and bodily challenges.
“Gaming is large — it isn’t the NFL — nevertheless it’s enormous, and we have to broaden the platform for avid gamers, democratize entry to those avid gamers,” Griffin stated. “[Gamers] are celebrities in their very own proper, however they don’t seem to be mainstream fairly but… We’re additionally how we will use our platform [to change that].”
The final season of “Gamerhood,” which notched greater than 23 million episode views in 2024, gave viewers a extra intimate view of the featured avid gamers by way of the “confessional” movies popularized by actuality TV. This season will lean into these tropes due to companion Smuggler, a manufacturing firm with years of expertise in actuality and competitors TV. The present was additionally developed alongside The Advertising Arm, with extra company assist by FleishmanHillard, Infinity Advertising Crew and OMD.
Because the avid gamers compete to learn nonprofits and charities, viewers this season can participate within the State Farm Gamerhood Fantasy League, assembling fantasy groups of “Gamerhood” opponents and competing for an opportunity to win limited-edition, custom-designed gaming chairs every week. The at-home component provides to the general sense of shock and delight that State Farm is hoping to stoke this season.
“It is simply thrilling to see this mental property evolve over time, and watch not solely the avid gamers, their engagement collectively, their engagement with Jake from State Farm… I believe it’s going to come by way of within the broadcast,” Griffin stated.
