Getting to Know the Company Behind The Duck.

How Aflac used the power of discrete choice to reposition its brand.

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Industries

Methods

  • Discrete choice
  • Storytelling

The Challenge

Educate Consumers About the Unique Value Proposition.

Consumers recognized and enjoyed Aflac’s popular spokes-duck, but few knew what The Duck wanted them to do, or even much about The Duck’s product category–supplemental insurance. So, Aflac had a branding challenge: They needed to educate the market about their product category, present a compelling and differentiating value proposition, all while building on the amusing irreverence of the duck and its desire to “pay cash.”

Our Client's goals were to:

  • Optimize brand positioning
  • Provide direction on how to deliver customer experiences that would directly support the new brand position

The Results

Innovative Insights-Based Marketing.

Aflac used the results to establish “guiderails” for Digitas, who worked on the new advertising campaign. These guiderails gave the agency the freedom to be creative, while holding them true to the direction established by the research. The results of this study can be seen in Aflac’s ad campaign that began airing during the fall and winter of 2011.

Our work included:

  • Optimizing the brand positioning across all three audiences, yet still addressed the unique needs of each group.
  • Creating a user-friendly simulator (for use by Aflac and their agency) that identified how specific changes to elements of the brand positioning would increase or decrease each audience’s desire to get more information from Aflac.
  • Providing direction on how to deliver customer experiences that would directly support the new brand position.
  • Deliver an optimized brand position that specified: The overarching value statement, how to address audience’s goals, emotional and functional benefits to highlight, customer experiences to be delivered through internal processes and employee-customer relationships, as well as the most compelling proof points

CMB’s research was fundamental to creating our new ad campaign and renewing our brand positioning. Their innovative quantitative approach provided a basis for reviewing what worked and what didn’t. They provided the agency with a clear direction, while allowing for the creative flexibility to create one of our most successful ad campaigns to date.

Missy Wood

VP of Insights, Aflac

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Our People

Meet our top-notch team who made all the difference.

Amy Modini VP, Practice Leader

About the Client

Aflac provides financial protection to more than 50 million people worldwide.

Aflac is a Fortune 500 company, providing financial protection to more than 50 million people worldwide. When a policyholder or insured gets sick or hurt, Aflac pays cash benefits promptly, for eligible claims, directly to the insured (unless assigned otherwise). For more than six decades, Aflac voluntary insurance policies have given policyholders the opportunity to focus on recovery, not financial stress. Learn more about Aflac here.