Why an insurance company created a boy band supergroup

Campaign: Boys No More
Companies: CSAA Insurance Group
Agency Partners: Deloitte Digital (creative); Red Havas (public relations); Heavy Duty Projects (music); and Calmatic (video)
Duration: June 6, 2023 — ongoing

Which of the following is your favorite ‘90s boy band: *NSYNC, 98 Degrees, New Kids On The Block or Boyz II Men? Thanks to CSAA Insurance Group, you don’t have to decide.

Strategy

The AAA-affiliated insurance provider’s creatives wanted to build on their successful 2022 campaign Rickroll, which featured ‘80s singer Rick Astley and his popular song, “Never Gonna Give You Up.”

“Our goal was to create something new and exciting that would surprise and delight audiences and customers,” Linda Goldstein, EVP of customer experience and marketing at CSAA Insurance Group, stated in an email to PRWeek.

They decided to again flip through the pop music back catalog because “leveraging nostalgia is a powerful way to speak to consumers in a unique way, while communicating the values of insurance through culture,” Goldstein stated.

Tactics

Once they landed on the idea of featuring bands who formerly graced MTV’s Total Request Live stage, the brand had to figure out which singers to include. They ultimately picked Joey Fatone from *NSYNC; Nick Lachey from 98 Degrees; Joey McIntyre of New Kids On The Block; and Wanya Morris of Boyz II Men.

They would form a new group: Boys No More.

“Insurance is like boy bands in that it is ubiquitous, and while everyone has a favorite, there is no ‘greatest’ boy band,” Goldstein wrote. “It was important to make sure we appealed to as many fans as possible.”

The brand expected for the campaign to resonate with a 30-something audience and any other boy band fans. 

Heavy Duty Projects wrote the lyrics for the supergroup’s first song, “Make it Right.”

“No matter what goes wrong in life, baby we’ll make it right,” the quartet sings. 

“Baby, just call me, and you’ll get all my loyalty,” Lachey continues.

The music video is reminiscent of their former groups’ videos. It then shows them in AAA garb and working in an office as their new manager guides them. 

Goldstein stated that the brand “wanted the music video to be a true homage to a ‘90s boy band song, taking viewers back to when they would regularly see the bands on television or live in concert.”

The video shows them getting off a tour bus, doing a presser, in the studio and performing a concert.

“Next time there’s a bump in the road, you call the ones you trust, and you know, they got your back,” Fatone sings.

In addition to releasing the video on YouTube, the brand created original social handles with the username @officialboysnomore on Instagram and TikTok and shared video content. The band members also shared posts on their personal Instagram channels. 

Even though they weren’t actually touring, the brand sent a Boys No More “tour bus” to cities like Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, DC, and purchased commercial airtime in those markets, Goldstein stated.

They also sent “‘90s-inspired mailers” featuring cassette tapes and players to media, influencers and super fans. 

“The cassettes were a fun way to further pay homage to the era and generate some genuine campaign excitement,” Goldstein stated.

Results

On YouTube, campaign videos generated more than 2 million views and more than 7,000 engagements through paid and organic outreach, according to the campaign. 

On Instagram, the brand gained more than 17,000 new followers and more than 269,000 video views, and on TikTok, the videos were viewed more than 19,000 times.

The Los Angeles Times also covered the campaign.