Quack attack
March 30th, 2007 | Author: Dave Newbold | PermalinkStand for something. It’s a line you’ve heard before. And it’s a line with great application in the world of advertising and branding.
I happened upon a recent example, packaged in the form of a trade journal article titled, “AFLAC CMO Says: Shut the Duck Up.” You know the AFLAC duck – probably all too well. It’s practically a cultural icon. It shared a couch with Ben Affleck on The Tonight Show. It made a guest appearance in the movie Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. It’s a very famous fowl.
The problem? Few people (myself included) clearly understand what AFLAC is, according to Ad Age. Few comprehend what is sells, or what it stands for. That’s after AFLAC spent about $310 million in media on the duck over the past five years. Big oops.
So the new CMO will make the duck far less visible, and focus more marketing dollars on what AFLAC does. Sounds like a good idea. The supplemental insurance industry is a difficult one for people to comprehend in the first place. Being known isn’t enough. Not even close. You must be understood at a deeper level than, in this case, an iconic duck provides.
It’s a lesson for all of us. The brand/ad idea has to be useful beyond just getting attention. There’s a lot of “art for art’s sake” advertising that snags your attention — without having much, if any, affect on the advertiser’s bottom line. Case studies abound.
A marketer’s job goes far beyond awareness. It is to help your brand stand for something meaningful.
Dave Newbold has spoken to a couple of classes I took at the U and it is obvious that he is one of the great minds in SLC advertising and knows this business inside/out. And, he is absolutely correct about “art for art’s sake advertising” not always fulfilling the client’s endgame.
What he says about AFLAC though, I respectfully disagree. AFLAC was a relative unknown before that duck and since the critter’s campaign began, AFLAC’s earnings have nearly doubled.
Supplemental insurance is not the most straight-forward of businesses and to break it down so that a consumer can understand it after a 30 second TV spot is difficult. Yet, in those spots, I think AFLAC has done a good job at informing the public what it does–”if you get hurt and can’t work, it doesn’t hurt to miss work.” (Maybe Yogi Berra is a better spokesman than the duck.) Though Yogi’s explanation may make AFLAC’s services even more convoluted, I feel the spots convey the gist of supplemental insurance. While they do not provide the info that an AFLAC representative would during a sitdown, the ads do garner attention and might provoke those who may be out of work because of an injury to research the company’s services.
By looking at AFLAC’s bottom line over the last five years, I would say that its $310 million advertising investment has definitely paid off.
[…] Originally Posted by dirty They are everywhere.. On every game you see on TV (except FSN) in Football. If you watch the MLB baseball package every team has a AFLAC Trivia Question. They are on the FOX game of the week in Bases. The Hawks have them on local Telecasts here. They are every where Try 310 million on media advertising the last 5 years Dirty! Quack attack March 30th, 2007 | By Dave Newbold I happened upon a recent example, packaged in the form of a trade journal article titled, AFLAC CMO Says: Shut the Duck Up. You know the AFLAC duck probably all too well. Its practically a cultural icon. It shared a couch with Ben Affleck on The Tonight Show. It made a guest appearance in the movie Lemony Snickets A Series of Unfortunate Events. Its a very famous fowl. The problem? Few people (myself included) clearly understand what AFLAC is, according to Ad Age. Few comprehend what is sells, or what it stands for. Thats after AFLAC spent about $310 million in media on the duck over the past five years. Big oops. So the new CMO will make the duck far less visible, and focus more marketing dollars on what AFLAC does. Sounds like a good idea. The supplemental insurance industry is a difficult one for people to comprehend in the first place. Being known isnt enough. Not even close. You must be understood at a deeper level than, in this case, an iconic duck provides. Its a lesson for all of us. The brand/ad idea has to be useful beyond just getting attention. Theres a lot of art for arts sake advertising that snags your attention without having much, if any, affect on the advertisers bottom line. Case studies abound. A marketers job goes far beyond awareness. It is to help your brand stand for something meaningful. […]