The Art of Enduring Brands: Beyond the Campaign Cycle

Sherina Smith of American Family Insurance reveals how a deep understanding of customer needs, coupled with a willingness to invest in long-term, narrative-driven content, can transform a legacy brand. This conversation unpacks the strategic shift from immediate marketing tactics to building genuine emotional connections, demonstrating how embracing complexity and investing in foundational capabilities--like robust customer data and cross-functional collaboration--creates a durable competitive advantage. It's a masterclass for leaders aiming to build brands that resonate beyond fleeting trends, particularly those in established industries seeking to break through the noise and foster authentic customer relationships. Those who embrace this patient, purpose-driven approach will find themselves better equipped to navigate market shifts and cultivate lasting loyalty.

Why the Obvious Fixes Create Long-Term Headaches

The insurance industry, much like many established sectors, is a crowded space where differentiation is a constant battle. Sherina Smith, Enterprise CMO at American Family Insurance (AmFam), articulates a core challenge: how to break through the cacophony of similar messages and establish a meaningful connection with customers. The prevailing approach, as Smith notes, often leans on humor and broad strokes, aiming for immediate recognition. However, AmFam, operating as a challenger brand despite its nearly century-long history, sought a more profound impact.

The genesis of their innovative "Designed to Last" streaming series on Hulu stemmed from this strategic imperative. The business problem was clear: how to punch above their weight with a limited budget in a category saturated with advertising. Simultaneously, there was a recognized customer need: a lack of understanding about the insurance industry and a desire for a partner, not just a transaction. This led AmFam to explore a less conventional path, one that leveraged long-form entertainment to embed brand purpose and customer value.

"Our particular challenge as a business was, how do we break through? How do we create a moment that allows us to punch above our weight? That was sort of the business problem that we wanted to solve given how we go to market and what our budget constraints look like."

The initial foray into leveraging entertainment involved a partnership with Disney, starting with a presenting sponsorship for Captain America--a seemingly obvious alignment of protection. But Smith felt this was too superficial. The real breakthrough came from a deeper dive into their customer segmentation, identifying a "proactive protector" persona deeply invested in their home and seeking ways to safeguard their dreams. This insight fueled the concept for "Designed to Last," a competition show where teams of architects, builders, and designers tackle weather-related challenges to protect homes.

The show's design itself is a masterclass in consequence mapping. It’s not just about showcasing resilience; it’s about demonstrating proactive protection, a core tenet of insurance that often gets lost in the narrative. The challenges--wind, water, fire, snow--are directly informed by AmFam's claims and product teams, ensuring relevance and practical value. This approach moves beyond mere sponsorship to intrinsic brand integration, where the show’s narrative inherently reinforces AmFam’s purpose: to inspire, protect, and restore dreams. The internal sell, while requiring investment, was met with excitement once leaders understood the potential to position the industry as a partner rather than just a comedic foil during stressful times. This strategic pivot, moving from short-term ad buys to long-term content creation, represents a significant investment in brand equity that pays dividends far beyond immediate campaign metrics.

The 18-Month Payoff: Building a Business-First Marketing Engine

Sherina Smith’s journey at American Family Insurance is a testament to the power of a deliberate, long-term transformation of a marketing function. When she joined in 2019 as VP of Marketing, the team was enthusiastic but faced capability gaps. Smith, a self-described "practitioner" and "marketer at heart," recognized that true impact required a shift from leading "from the center" to being a "centered leader"--a subtle but crucial distinction that reorients focus from constant reaction to strategic direction.

This evolution involved a multi-pronged approach, fundamentally re-architecting the marketing team’s operational framework. A key initiative was building robust marketing mix analysis capabilities and, critically, consolidating disparate customer data into a unified platform. This wasn't merely a technical upgrade; it was the foundation for sophisticated marketing orchestration and targeted audience engagement. The objective was clear: to move beyond simply understanding marketing to understanding the business of marketing.

"I think our team, the, this team really understood marketing, but really, I call it, I've been on a journey of improving our business acumen. So making sure that not only does the marketing team understand the marketing, but the marketing team understands the business, where we fit into the business life cycle, how does customer acquisition and customer retention turn into profitable customer acquisition and retention?"

This emphasis on business acumen transformed the marketing team into a respected partner across the organization. By fostering close working relationships with technology, product lines, and sales, marketing became a driver, not just a supporter, of business objectives. This shift is reflected in internal engagement results, with high scores in manager trust and a sense of contribution to the business--a significant change from previous states.

The success of this transformation hinges on several factors. Firstly, a deliberate focus on talent acquisition and development, bringing in leaders who could coach and develop junior marketers. Secondly, a commitment to building trust and fostering collaboration, including structured team coaching sessions to address broken processes and manage conflict constructively. This hard work, often involving uncomfortable conversations and a willingness to confront systemic issues, is precisely what creates durable advantage. It’s the kind of effort that most organizations shy away from, yet it’s essential for building a high-performing, business-first marketing engine. This patient investment in people, process, and foundational capabilities is what enables bold initiatives like the "Designed to Last" series, creating a marketing function that is not just creative, but strategically impactful and deeply integrated with business goals.

The Architect of Connection: Building Brand as a Best Friend

Sherina Smith’s definition of brand transcends traditional advertising. She views it as an ethos, an embodiment of exceptional customer service, and a fundamental driver of customer decisions, built on an emotional connection. This perspective is not merely theoretical; it’s the guiding principle behind AmFam’s marketing transformation and the inspiration for initiatives like the "Designed to Last" series. Smith’s core superpower, she explains, lies at the intersection of left-brain analysis and right-brain creativity--the ability to synthesize consumer insights with business value to craft compelling stories that fuel growth.

This capability is deeply informed by her literary influences. Charles Dickens, with his exploration of paradoxes in "A Tale of Two Cities," and F. Scott Fitzgerald, with his blend of whimsy and dark undertones, both resonate with Smith's appreciation for complex narratives and the human condition. These literary foundations inform her understanding of how to tell stories that acknowledge life's dualities--the best and worst of times, the joy and the struggle--and how to weave these into brand narratives that foster genuine connection.

"I hope that in the time that I've been here, people embody that, and people really take to heart the idea that the way we think about our customer, we, if we as a brand become like a best friend, it would mean that we anticipate their needs. It would mean that we seek to understand them and please them, delight them at times."

The metaphor of the brand as a "best friend" encapsulates this approach. It implies a level of intimacy, anticipation, and genuine care that goes far beyond transactional relationships. This means not only understanding customer needs but actively seeking to delight them, making decisions for the business with the same consideration one would for a cherished friend. This philosophy underpins AmFam's long-form content strategies, including the Hulu series and the Tidingspire campaign, which aim to share the humanity of the brand and build deeper connections.

This commitment to building relationships through storytelling is not just about creating better work; it’s about creating more rewarding and sustainable work. It requires patience and a willingness to invest in narratives that unfold over time, much like a friendship. This is where the delayed payoff lies. While immediate campaign metrics might show incremental gains, the true advantage of building a brand as a best friend is the creation of enduring loyalty and a powerful emotional moat that competitors find difficult to breach. It’s a strategy that requires a deep understanding of human connection, a commitment to authenticity, and the courage to move beyond the ephemeral demands of the campaign cycle.

Key Action Items

• Develop a "Brand as Best Friend" Framework: Map out what specific actions--across customer service, communication, product development, and marketing--would be taken if AmFam were treating its customers as best friends.
• Invest in Long-Form Storytelling Ecosystems: Beyond the initial content piece (e.g., the Hulu series), build out surrounding content (social, website hubs, agent tools) that deepens engagement and provides ongoing value.
• Prioritize Customer Data Consolidation: Continue the effort to unify customer data, focusing on how this platform can enable more personalized and anticipatory customer interactions.
• Foster Cross-Functional "Business Acumen" Training: Implement ongoing programs to ensure marketing teams understand the broader business context, P&L drivers, and inter-departmental dependencies.
• Cultivate "Centered Leadership" Practices: Encourage leaders to prioritize strategic thinking and personal well-being, creating space for thoughtful decision-making rather than constant reactive engagement. This involves setting clear boundaries and empowering teams.
• Embed "Controlled Risk-Taking" Culture: Train teams on how to take calculated risks with contingency plans, linking empowerment with clear accountability. This is a longer-term investment in team development.
• Seek Out "First-of-Their-Kind" Category Innovations: Actively explore and pilot novel approaches to customer engagement and brand building that break industry norms, accepting that these may require significant upfront investment and patience to yield results. This pays off in 12-18 months and beyond.