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Talk of the bay

Allstate hopes college football promo scores big

By JEFF HARRINGTON
Published September 12, 2005

Allstate Insurance was more exposed to disaster than any other public insurer when Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast. It's still reeling from Florida's four hurricanes of 2004.

But like many this time of year, at least it can take solace in college football.

The insurer's "Good Hands" logo (for its slogan, "You're in Good Hands with Allstate") is being featured on goalpost nets in college stadiums around the country.

What's described by Allstate reps as a "momentous marketing coup" kicked off Labor Day weekend with a pair of nationally televised games: Texas Christian University's shocking win over Oklahoma and Notre Dame's trouncing of Pittsburgh.

All told, 30 Division 1-A college football stadiums are linked to the Allstate promo. Among them is the University of Miami. In a release announcing the deal, Miami head coach Larry Coker said Allstate's deal is helping to drive competition on the field as well as performance in the classroom. "One kick can determine a championship, and this season those kicks will be landing in "Good Hands,' " Coker trumpeted.

As part of the deal, Allstate is donating scholarship funds of $300 per field goal and $100 per extra point kicked through its branded nets. It also is giving random fans at a game each week a chance to kick a 20-yard field goal; kickers who convert will win $6,000, half of it donated to a scholarship fund of their choice.

Allstate faces as much as $2.5-billion in pretax losses from Hurricane Katrina, according to industry estimates. The insurer wouldn't say how much its marketing promo costs.

[Last modified September 9, 2005, 21:03:03]