Plymouth Rock Launches Campaign for Northeast Region

Plymouth Rock Assurance, which provides homeowners and car insurance to customers in the Northeast, has a new ad campaign in which it advises customers to “keep calm and rock on,” a fairly reasonable directive, considering the vertical.

North Carolina ad agency McKinney, created the campaign that is meant to support the idea that living in the Northeast has its particular challenges in terms of weather, turkeys, falling trees, and other surprises.

A couple of spots on TikTok feature singing turkeys and in another, the bark of a tree sings about waiting to fall since 1995. The campaign is running across TV, paid social, connected TV, online video, addressable television, and out-of-home. Attention Arc handled the media planning.

We talked to Jennifer Lindauer, Director of Brand Marketing at Plymouth Rock about the company’s emphasis on its local appeal.

How does Plymouth Rock define its “Local Advantage?”

Our Local Advantage is the fact that we don’t just sell in the Northeast—we’re from here.  The Northeast has its own rhythm, humor, and resilience. People here take pride in where they live and expect companies to be straightforward and low-hassle—clear answers, no runaround. Those insights—drawn from consumer research, social listening, and regional focus groups—shaped how we positioned Plymouth Rock as a neighbor who understands the realities of life here and reflects that no-nonsense mindset. We’re not an outsider with another generic insurance message.

Why did the brand decide to use humor as a bridge to trust and relatability?

Insurance is built on trust, yet consumer sentiment toward the category is at historic lows. People are skeptical before they even hear your message. Humor helps us disarm that.

By acknowledging the same things our audience laughs—or vents—about, we start the relationship on common ground rather than from a hard sell. It shows that we see people as humans first, policyholders second.

How did the creative team ensure that the campaign’s depictions of Northeast life, like wild turkeys and stormy weather, felt authentic rather than caricatured?

The team grounded the humor in real, common claims from the region, like falling trees and turkey damage, handpicked to ensure relatability for Northeasterners. Instead of generic slapstick, they used scenarios locals actually experience and love to hate, then cast talent with matter‑of‑fact, unflustered delivery to mirror true Northeast attitudes. Paired with a smart, no-nonsense tone, this kept the work feeling like a wry nod to real life, not an exaggerated caricature.

How will Plymouth Rock measure whether this campaign meaningfully moves the needle on consumer perception and loyalty?

On the brand side, we’ll track awareness, trust, and favorability through our new brand health tracker and customer surveys. We’re also running controlled tests in select counties so we can isolate the campaign’s effect on key performance metrics like quote starts, conversion, and retention.

In addition, we’ll monitor changes in sentiment through social listening, customer reviews, and feedback from our agents and service teams. Our goal isn’t just for more people recognizing our name, it’s seeing tangible improvement in how confident people feel choosing Plymouth Rock and how strongly they view us as a reliable, human brand.

How is Plymouth Rock tailoring its message to fit each channel while maintaining a consistent local voice?

“Keep Calm and Rock On” in the face of Northeast chaos stays the same everywhere. What changes is how we bring it to life.

TV and CTV allow us to tell fuller stories and build emotional connection, so we lean into narrative: the build-up of a situation, the relatable tension, and the release through humor and reassurance.

In social we zoom in on bite-sized, shareable moments: quick, highly recognizable scenarios and lines that are easy to comment on, tag friends in, and remix. It’s also where we listen in real time and see what’s resonating.

The out-of-home [channel] focuses on simple, high-impact headlines and imagery that can be understood in a few seconds—often in context, like along major commuting routes or in areas that are particularly weather-prone.

Whether you see us on your TV, your phone, or your commute, it feels like the same neighborly voice talking to you.

Are there plans to extend “Keep Calm and Rock On” into community partnerships or localized activations?

Yes. We’re exploring ways to bring it into our sports sponsorships, local events, community giving, and partnerships such as our affiliation with teachers. That could mean everything from storm-preparedness initiatives and safety education to on-the-ground activations at regional events.

How did McKinney and Attention Arc collaborate to balance creative storytelling with data-driven local media targeting?

McKinney led the development of the creative platform and storytelling, grounded in audience insights and regional truths. Attention Arc focused on translating those insights into smart, data-driven media decisions—identifying high-value audiences, local patterns in media consumption, and the best environments to show up in.

They prioritized high‑reach and contextually relevant channels that over‑index with Northeastern “Active Optimizers,” then aligned placements tightly with the creative to keep messaging consistent across channels. A shared measurement framework ties media KPIs back to business outcomes, ensuring the storytelling stayed entertaining while the buy stayed ruthlessly focused on local impact.

What can other regionally focused brands learn from Plymouth Rock’s approach?

The biggest lesson is to lean into what only you can own. Regional brands have an advantage that big national players often underuse—the texture of local culture. By embracing the shared quirks and challenges of the Northeast, we found a way to turn everyday frustrations into a sense of “we’re all in this together.”

It starts with listening. When you really pay attention to what people joke about, complain about, and take pride in, you uncover powerful emotional territory. From there, the job is to reflect those truths with empathy and heart—not just to get a laugh, but to show you’re on your customers’ side.