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LeBron James and Stephanie Courtney as FloBron and Flo in "The Switch," Progresive's new digital ad campaign.
(Progressive Insurance)
CLEVELAND, Ohio – LeBron James is the new pitchman for Mayfield Village-based insurance giant Progressive, starring in a unique, online-only ad campaign.
James is featured as "FloBron," the hideous wig-, apron-, and hairband-wearing twin of popular Progressive spokeswoman "Flo," played by comedienne Stephanie Courtney.
Courtney, who has appeared in dozens of Progressive commercials over the past six years, and James clown around in a basketball setting in the ads. But rather than saturating the TV airwaves with the new campaign – which is the norm for ads from Progressive and commercials featuring James – Progressive is limiting its "The Switch" campaign featuring FloBron to social media platforms for the time being.
The digital campaign began on Halloween.
The ads – both still shots and videos -- are available primarily to the 5.4 million people who "like" Flo from Progressive's Facebook page, and to Progressive's 12,000 followers on Instagram. They can also be seen on YouTube.
Sources said that a TV commercial could grow out of the on-line campaign, but Progressive was not ready to discuss next steps at this time. Progressive refers to its campaign strategy as "situational content," or "sit-con."
"We chose to go digital first with FloBron because it allows us to develop content and a story in a way that's more flexible than simply launching a TV spot," said Jeff Charney, chief marketing officer for Progressive, in a statement provided to Northeast Ohio Media Group. "This is a counter-intuitive way to run a campaign, but it works for us because it allows us to develop characters, not just commercials. ... We're very happy with the results so far. 'The Switch' is just the beginning. Stay tuned."
Terms of the agreement between James and Progressive were not disclosed. The insurance company is the only significant, personal marketing partner James currently has in Ohio.
The ads were filmed over a four-hour session at Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary High School earlier this fall.
Like James' new ads with Nike, Sprite, and Beats by Dre, James' marketing team sought a relationship with Progressive to highlight his Akron/Northeast Ohio roots. But James and Progressive were brought together by a Boston brand manager working with James' LRMR marketing firm, which manages all of his endorsement deals.
Fenway Sports Management, a partner of LRMR's since 2011, put Progressive on a list of potential Ohio-based suitors for James following James' July decision to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Fenway Sports has an office across the street from iconic Fenway Park in Boston, and is owned by the majority owners of the Boston Red Sox. Fenway Sports has a relationship with Boston-based Arnold Worldwide ad agency, which claims Progressive as a client. That's how the introduction was made.
There is a cardboard cutout of FloBron in Fenway Sports Management's lobby.
From Fenway Sports Management's lobby in Boston.
"Progressive had an idea they wanted to explore with us," said Mark Lev, managing director for Fenway Sports Management. "We started a conversation with them, but it just so happened that when we started the conversation, they were already thinking of something wanted to present to LeBron."
Lev works with Maverick Carter, James' long-time friend and business partner who runs LRMR.
Fenway Sports is the marketing arm of the Red Sox, Rousch Fenway Racing, the Deutsche Bank Championship golf tournament, and England's Liverpool FC soccer club, which is owned by Fenway's parent Fenway Sports Group.
As part of the agreement between Fenway and James, the Cavaliers' superstar received a small financial stake in Liverpool. Fenway brought Dunkin Donuts – a Red Sox marketing partner – to James for an ad campaign in Asia in 2012 that ended earlier this year (in part because of James' global agreement with McDonald's, in part because his contract with Dunkin expired).
Fenway benefits from its partnership with James, too. Samsung, a marketing partner with James, is now partnered with the Red Sox, too.
"We went in and basically said to Maverick, 'We are interested in a relationship with representing you and LeBron because we are not in the business of representing athletes,' " Lev said, recalling Fenway's courtship of James. "We're in the business of representing brands. Maverick, being a sharp guy, instantly got it."
Fenway also works on projects for Browns rookie quarterback Johnny Manziel because Manziel is represented by LRMR.
James has not discussed with FloBron campaign with the media. But he called his relationship with Fenway – which brought Progressive and LRMR together – a "great partnership" because of the authenticity of their work, something that's important to James.
"Everything they do is real and not fabricated," James said of Fenway. "From Day 1 that was my whole point, before I decided to go with them and they understood that."
James and Courtney, FloBron and Flo – a tandem that is nothing if not authentic.