American Family Life Insurance Company: How The Duck Becanme an Icon

The company formerly known as, American Family Life Insurance Company, was established in 1955, by the Amos brothers in Columbus, Georgia and is now known as Aflac. The company developed a ground-breaking cancer policy and presented it to employees as a supplemental insurance policy. Aflac ultimately became a household name in Japan, given that fact, that not only one in four households carry an Aflac policy, but 90% of the employers in Japan also offer Aflac to their employees. (Aflac – Japan) Even with their popularity and name recognition in Japan, not many people in the United States recognized the name Aflac. To create a brand for Aflac in the United States meant taking a risk, which no one could have ever imagined this risk would create the icon that it is has become today. In 2000, Aflac hired an advertising company, Kaplan Thaler Group (KTG), to develop its new advertising campaign. “The Aflac’s duck is not only quacking its way into advertising history, but it’s catapulting the company’s insurance sales to record numbers.” (The Mighty Duck) Insurance is one of those businesses that is perceived as a mind-numbing business that lacks any luster what-so-ever. How can a person be entertained by an insurance company let alone remember the name of the insurance company after another one of those boring insurance commercial’s?

In 1974, Aflac becomes the third United States company licensed to sell insurance in Japan, which now accounts for more than 75% of Aflac’s annual revenue. (Aflac – Japan) It did not happen overnight, but eventually, Aflac, became the leading insurance company in Japan, which that title was once held by, Nippon Life, for more than 100 years. (Harvard Business Review) Ninety percent of Japanese companies ...

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...mselves with since we have all seen companies take a risk – then fail. Aflac will go down in the advertising history books, as one of the most successful advertising campaigns and brand awareness strategies.

Works Cited

"." Aflac. aflac, 1 Aug. 2010. Web. 21 Apr. 2014. .

PR, Newswire. "Aflac is Consumers' Top-Choice for Voluntary Insurance." The Business Journal A Division of ACBJ (): n. pag. Print.

Chordas, Lori. "The Mighty Duck: Aflac is Boosting Sales and Name Recognition with it." Best's Review 1 May 2003, sec. Life/Health: Marketing: n. pag. Print.

Hill, Linda. "Growth in Aflac’s Two Key Markets 1999–2008." Harvard Business Review 13 July 2010: n. pag. Web. .

Amos. "A powerful Brand." Aflac. Aflac, 1 Dec. 2013. Web. 21 Apr. 2014. .