‘In Gayle We Trust’ Kicks Off Mindshare’s Late Summer Roll-Out

This Monday Mindshare Entertainment, the media agency of American Family Insurance, kicked off the second phase of its branded entertainment campagin with the launch of the second season of In Gayle We Trust, NBC Digital’s original scripted comedy series about a relatable American Family Insurance Agent Gayle (played by Elisa Donovan) and her personal relationships with the community members of fictional Maple Grove.

The Season 2 debut is accompanied by other brand sponsored programming with a strong focus on reaching and tracking new customers, according to Advertising Age. Mindshare premiered In Gayle We Trust on NBC.com, Hulu and more than 25 video on-demand channels, and also launched the second iteration of MSN’s Building a Brighter Future featuring financial advice from Liz Weston, along with a new social media game and a Spanish language micro-site.

In an effort to better target and track customers, each series features its own lead generation software that will measure how  many qualified leads each series produces. Last year, when American Family Insurance and Mindshare directed traditional media dollars towards a multiplatform branded entertainment strategy, the risk paid off; the program led to more requests to find an agent, as well as a 20% increase in qualified leads.

The new season of In Gayle We Trust promises a more serialized storyline, according to Cameron Death, VP of NBC’s Digital Studio. Last season garnered nearly 3 million views with viewers watching multiple episodes. As major brands and media agencies continue to become more comfortable in the web series space, hopefully we’ll see less advertising, and more story.