Back in 2006 Liberty Mutual, an insurance company, decided to define the face of their company and brand with the virtue of Responsibility. Hoping that it would give their brand a positive image as well as attract customers who believed themselves to act in a similar manner. They started this campaign with the release of commercial, with a “pay it forward” kind of message. The commercial became very popular, Liberty Mutual  received volumes of emails, phone calls etc praising the positive message the commercial voiced. The commercial can be seen below.

With the release of this commercial Liberty Mutual began a mission to make consumers more responsible human beings, and not just for the sake of buying insurance either. The company developed a website called the Responsibility Project as a way to promote responsibility in our society today. The website contains forums, stories, and blogs about real-life situations and how responsible outcomes can come of them. The website also contains a short-film series that contains real-life situations in which people do, or do not act in a responsible manner.

In Liberty Mutual’s most recent television campaign, which can be explored on the Responsibility Project website, they began releasing commercials focused on the Marlowe Family who LM describes as “A typical American family exploring the tough issues that real people face when trying to do the right thing. “

What I found to be more affective in this campaign as a whole, is a topic we speak about quite often in class, RELEVANCE. A good amount of Americans can relate to the Marlowes, because they are either facing unemployment or other financial hardships. Through the use of the Marlowe Family, Liberty Mutual is making it clear that despite obstacles and setbacks we should always strive to “do the right thing,” because when we do that, we can live in the hope that good things will begin to happen to us. Beyond the Marlowe family, I feel that consumers will be more likely to act in a responsible manner when they can relate to people who they witness acting in a responsible manner, which is made possible through the Responsibility Project website.

Liberty Mutual has developed their entire brand image around relating to their customers through the use of everyday people experiencing everyday occurances. By doing this Liberty Mutal has not only made their comany more responsible, but perhaps consumers in our society as well.