Situation

For years Farmers Insurance had lobbied in the Nation's Capitol with key legislator's in behalf of "tort reform.” The Company saw "frivolous law suits" and the jury reward system on punitive claims inconsistent with what insurance was supposed to be and do. So, the Company invited the agency in to discuss the possible production and staging of a special event media show that would give its lobbying effort some additional clout.

Problem

Lobbying wasn't very effective for Farmers. As a leader in its industry, it felt it had a responsibility to speak out. But, insurance companies, like oil companies and energy companies, all have too many zeros at the bottom of their balance sheet to be trusted. There is a perception that correlates this wealth with corruptness of messages, especially when those messages are also self serving. Who can trust a messenger with the truth when there is that much at stake?
   When Benjamin Franklin invented the concept of insurance, it wasn't with the idea of rewarding people for having been injured. It was primarily to get them back up on their feet. Punitive awards made by jurors today -- from Farmers’ view point -- were not only killing the insurance industry, they were killing all industry by causing the prices on all products and services to skyrocket exponentially. From their point of view, insurance needed to be revamped in alignment with the original intent. For example:
   Half the cost of a Big Mac was allegedly caused by necessary compounded insurance premiums added to protect McDonald's from processors and customers who might help make or eat one.
   Similarly, the costs of insurance for doctors, hospitals, HMOs, and pharmaceutical companies were also exploding exponentially. Nobody seemed to be happy, except the trial lawyers who have an interest in promoting litigation:
   Forty-two of the fifty-five signers of the Constitution ( 76%) were lawyers. The percentage of lawyers in Congress now is well over 90%.
   Over 94% of the law suits in the world were being filed in the United States. Over 18 million law suits were being filed annually; i.e., one for every five households in the U.S.
   Over 100,000 new laws were being passed annually, which included over 35,000 new federal regulations.
   In California, lawyers had increased ten fold over the past decade. The State had just seen over 100,000 wrongful firing cases in one year. And, if you made $50k + and lived in California, there was a one-in-four chance you would be sued.
   At the time, there were 3 times as many lawyers per capita in the U.S. than in the U.K.
   The Insurance Industry contributed more than $80 billion in costs to the U.S. GNP.
   U.S. liability insurance, for example, was 20 times higher in the U.S. than in Japan.
   Over 70% of all obstetricians were getting sued annually.
   And, the average civil case took 14 months to come to trial.

Solution

The American Promise:  The agency had contacted Farmers with initial hopes of staging and producing national sales meetings and other special events presentations. In subsequent discussions, it became clear that the old lobbying approach was only causing legislators (98% of whom were lawyers) and their constituencies to dig in and square off against the insurance companies on the issue of tort reform. A special events media presentation, no matter how dazzling, could not change the way people would perceive or react. Farmers’ point of view just wasn't getting through, or if it was, it wasn't having any effect
   In this scenario words alone don't work. People tune out self-serving advertising, always asking "Whose skis are being waxed?" Their focus shifts from the message to the intent behind the message. Words alone aren't heard or understood in traditional media messaging. And they see everything that is said as "propaganda." The only way to access the minds and hearts of people, especially in delivering a message as controversial and politically charged as this, is to show what you mean; better yet, to demonstrate what you mean with actual examples, words, and actions from the very people you are trying to communicate with, how real world problems are being resolved between conflicting parties without litigation.
   The agency painted a scenario that would use public television to demonstrate what ordinary Americans in their communities, professions, and hobbies are doing to work out daily issues; disputes that might otherwise get taken to court and settled through litigation. Farmers agreed, and the agency brought in James C. Crimmins, who researched, wrote and produced the Series.
   PBS was the perfect medium for exposing Farmers' point of view. The American Promise, a 3 hour TV mini series sponsored by Farmers Insurance, demonstrated what people were doing to settle issues out of court to the very people who were most opposed to Farmers’ positions concerning tort reform. A full color companion to the series was sold through major book store chains along with a Windham Hill CD. In addition, a web site went online to facilitate sales and continuing interest in the program.

Results