We support Aflac – one of America’s most admired brands – in driving business results by leading with Purpose, whether that means integrating HBCU advocacy into its college football partnerships or reaching consumers with dual Purpose-driven and humorous content through the beloved duck mascot. Our work to elevate Aflac’s sports partnerships has supported CMO Shannon Watkins being named one of the top influential women in sports, and to date, the campaign has garnered more than 1.5 billion earned media impressions with key stories in ESPN, Sports Illustrated, Fox Sports 1, FoxSports.com and Ad Age.
More broadly across the full marketing mix and in the timeframe the campaign ran, Aflac saw statistically significant increases at 90% in consumer awareness and 95% in consumer knowledge. We also helped Aflac design and launch its first purpose campaign, Close the Gap, to highlight the health and wealth gaps in America and position the company as a leader in addressing medical debt. The focal point of the multifaceted campaign was the brand’s first animated short film, The Park Bench, scored by Nas and developed by Black creators, where Aflac’s duck brings joy to a family struggling through the father’s sickle cell diagnosis and shows their journey to recovery.
The film was an official selection at Brand Storytelling 2022, an official Sundance Film Festival sanctioned event. The campaign launch was a success with half a billion impressions and counting, with stories in Forbes, Campaign US and AdWeek; film and talent coverage in Essence, Hollywood Life, InTouch Weekly; and live interviews with KTLA and ESPN. Our work has helped support a 35% increase in sales in Q1 of 2022.