So do hippies, the world’s most brilliant computer engineers, and gay men in the Castro district who stroll to the corner store naked because it’s legal and they like it.

San Francisco is a vibrant, beautiful city, and a creative team from SKM Group spent a fun, productive week there recently on a week-long photo and video shoot for client California Casualty.

The mission was to capture stills and video testimonials from 60 customers. Teachers, police officers, firefighters and nurses. These are the professionals insured by the company, and California Casualty does it very well: normal client retention in the insurance industry is 70%;  for “Cal Cas” it’s nearly 100%. As we learned in talking to customers, people LOVE this company.

We found one man whose family loyalty dated back to 1914, the year the company was founded! A few customers told us they were approaching the half-century mark. Many younger customers said they couldn’t imagine ever leaving. With specialized insurance benefits for their profession, customer service reps who also stay far longer than the industry average, and nearly 100 years of solid, successful operation, it’s easy to understand why customers are so passionate.

Cal Cas is equally passionate about its customers, regarding them as real heroes in life. The police who keep us safe. The firefighters who rescue us. The teachers who shape the hearts and minds of our children and the nurses who care for us. SKM Group brought this to life beautifully with a new corporate tag line for California Casualty: “We Protect American Heroes.” Still photography and video from the SKM shoot is now being used to support the launch of this powerful new brand platform.

Led by executive creative director Mike Mathis, SKM Group brought in a team of talented photographers, art directors, stylists and sound engineers. With 60 customers to move through paperwork, make-up, a still photo session, and an on-camera interview with B-roll shots, the creative team had to be fast and efficient, and the quality of the work was outstanding. It wasn’t easy, but a lot of great customers made this a real labor of love for a terrific client. California Casualty provided a gift card for each customer, and SKM emailed them great still portraits to share with family and friends.

-Mike Mathis, Senior Vice President, Executive Creative Director