Design Exploration: Aflac.com

Aflac, (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) a leading provider of supplemental insurance, had low brand awareness and confusion about what separated it from other companies. So 10 years ago, it hired New York-based Kaplan Thaler Group — www.kaplanthaler.com — an ad agency to help break through this barrier. The result was an irreverent, irascible duck so memorable that is has become an iconic character much like the Energizer Bunny.

Despite a successful early brand awareness campaign, some consumers still weren't sure what Aflac was actually selling. The TV commercials were amusing, but the product got lost in the action.

So in 2009, Aflac hired Firstborn — www.firstbornmultimedia.com — a New York multimedia agency, to redesign Aflac.com. The goal was to provide users a clear understanding of what the duck represents. During the concept process, Firstborn realized that the basic facts about Aflac were their most powerful marketing tool. For example, the fact that Aflac pays you cash benefits to use however you want distinguishes the brand from competitors. To better reflect Aflac's offerings, Firstborn carefully created one vignette for each fact so the appropriate information would be communicated to each audience through engaging animation, interactivity and the Aflac duck himself, who would guide the user through the entire experience.

In January 2010, the entertaining and educational interactive site was unveiled. The revamped Web site now features an intuitive organizational structure, with sections tailored to the needs of consumers, business decision-makers, brokers, and prospective agents.

Each section of www.aflac.com encourages visitor participation as users click through and advance to the next page. In addition to the tools and information found within the site, the Home page provides visitors with the opportunity to manage their own accounts, connect to and interact with the Aflac duck on Facebook and Twitter, find an agent, and obtain claim forms.

After engaging in the site, users should now know exactly how Aflac can work for them.

Also, Aflac boasts an engaging site called www.youdontknowquack.com that poses trivia questions combined with cartoon-type graphics and fun sound effects. The idea is that if you only associate the duck with Aflac, then "You Don't Know Quack" and need to visit the site. This back-to-basics approach goes beyond branding and provides potential customers a clear-cut message on which to act.