State Farm's gaming competition reality series "Gamerhood" will premiere its fifth season on July 31. According to exclusive information obtained by Marketing Dive, this season's lineup is led by renowned streamer IShowSpeed. The first four seasons of the series have accumulated over 53 million views, and the new season will air simultaneously on the brand's official Twitch and YouTube channels, as well as on the personal channels of some participating streamers.

"Gamerhood is increasingly becoming a cultural force within the gaming and creator community," said Alyson Griffin, State Farm's head of marketing. "People are speculating online about which gaming streamers will participate, and they want to know what's going to happen. We're already seeing that kind of discussion online."

In addition to brand mascot Jake from State Farm, the fifth season brings together several streamers who won major awards at last year's Streamer Awards, including Streamer of the Year IShowSpeed, PlaqueBoyMax, Emiru, JasonTheWeen, Marlon, and Cinna.

This season of "Gamerhood" returns to the "everyone for themselves" free-for-all format introduced in the first season. Contestants will compete in popular video games and physical challenges for a prize pool of 100,000 gifted subscriptions. New episodes will air every Friday in August.

To extend the campaign to a broader consumer audience, State Farm will launch a new 2D game called "Jake's Neighborhood Swarm." Players will have the opportunity to win State Farm-themed custom gaming chairs and apparel designed in collaboration with 100 Thieves. Additionally, "Gamerhood" episodes will integrate Flowcode technology, using QR codes to direct viewers to the series' full official website.

"From a marketing perspective, we're excited about Flowcode technology because it allows us to build an ongoing relationship with consumers when they register to win gaming chairs, play games, or claim subscriptions," Griffin said. "It gives us the opportunity to learn who they are and extend that connection beyond the gaming context."

Creator and sports dual-track strategy

By bringing in IShowSpeed, State Farm is clearly betting on one of the hottest names in streaming right now. The company approached the creator in January, completed filming in March, and plans to premiere the new season just weeks after his partnerships with FIFA, Fox Sports, and YouTube—which allowed him to stream World Cup matches on his personal channel—come to an end. Last year, the "Gamerhood" lineup was headlined by top streamer Kai Cenat—further evidence of the growing importance of creators to marketers.

"Creators themselves are a media channel—that's undeniable," Griffin said, echoing recent IAB research. "We've been using them that way for a long time, but if you're just producing an ad rather than helping creators understand your goals, trusting them to create content that fans love and that they're invested in, and not trying to control every second, the difference quickly becomes apparent."

"Over the years we've come to understand that we have to make the right choices—I wouldn't hand over brand control to every creator—but when we vet and discuss synergies and the right 'good neighbor' connections, if someone fits our brand, we give them control and let them run with it," Griffin added.

While State Farm continues its multi-year deep dive into gaming, it is also focusing on major sporting events this summer. Although not an official World Cup sponsor, the company produced a batch of new Spanish-language ads to tap into the soccer theme and rolled out Jake-related social media content around the tournament.

"We're even testing having Jake from State Farm speak Spanish on his regular accounts," Griffin said. "We're experimenting and using the World Cup as an opportunity to deepen engagement with Hispanic audiences in the U.S. market—these consumers are truly hardcore soccer fans."

State Farm is also continuing to leverage its official partnerships with the NBA and WNBA. During the NBA Finals, the company launched real-time AI-generated social media content, reacting to live game action on platform X through its collaboration with Google's AI Lighthouse project. The brand also introduced a new character, "Stan," personifying the basketball backboard padding that has featured the State Farm logo for nearly 20 years. Stan has already appeared in ads with WNBA star Caitlin Clark and will appear in more commercials in upcoming seasons.

"We've sponsored that position for a long time, and people know it's there, but because it's been there so long, it can become passive," Griffin said of the backboard padding sponsorship. "The key is to rekindle attention on this long-standing, well-known icon and remind people about it again."