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Aflac is boosting sales and name recognition with its ubiquitous duck, and now the marketing icon is also reaching audiences in Japan.
In a barber shop, baseball legend Yogi Berra discusses accident insurance with the shop's owner. Outside the window, a white duck quacks "AFLAC!" in response. The amusing scene is one of many commercials from American Family Life Assurance Co. that have not only made the Columbus, Ga.-based insurer a household name, but have also skyrocketed sales since the advertising campaign with the duck began three years ago.
Aflac's pop icon is also now beginning to waddle its way across global borders, particularly in the populous Japanese market. Thanks to an already high brand recognition among Japanese consumers and the growing popularity of its duck campaign, Aflac insures one in four Japanese households, making it the third most profitable foreign company operating in any industry in Japan, the company said.
Creating an Icon
Aflac's duck has done more than generate impressive sales numbers. The mascot has been a feather in the company's cap in terms of making it one of the most recognizable names in insurance.
After its first duck commercial aired in January 2000, Aflac rose virtually overnight from an unknown company to become one of the most recognized brands of insurance today. In fact, after only six days of advertising, Aflac received more hits on its Web site than it did for the prior year.
Nearly 90% of Americans now recognize Aflac's name, the company said, largely because of the duck campaign, which takes a humorous approach to insurance while sending the serious message for its need. Testing by IPSOS-- ASI, an advertising research company, shows that Aflac's commercials scored three times the insurance norm in terms of brand-related recall.
The duck was born after Aflac Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Daniel Amos and his advertising steering committee decided it was time to create a campaign that differentiated the company's ads from other insurers, while increasing the company's name recognition. In addition, because the company name was often mispronounced, Aflac wanted to create a mnemonic device that would reinforce name awareness and recall.
Two members of New York Citybased Kaplan Thaler Group, the advertising agency responsible for creating the duck ads,...