The Aflac Duck is 10 years old. We probably all remember the first TV ad with the Duck:

The Duck is growing up.

A new campaign has been launched this month called “You Don’t Know Quack.” The goal of the The Zimmerman Agency, Aflac’s new marketing partner, is to drive brand definition and education among Aflac consumers and businesses.

“The Zimmerman Agency is unveiling media executions including three television spots, giant outdoor ‘walls’ in Times Square in New York and L.A.’s Sunset Boulevard, disruptive full page print ads in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and USA Today, and online campaign microsites,” says the CNBC report.

Duck is now a personality on Twitter and Facebook (Aflac Duck on Facebook, Aflacduck on Twitter). And what a personality. Besides posting comments on progress in the Aflac campaign, there are such posts as, “Number one of my new year’s resolutions: clean out the garage. Progress may mean admitting that I’m just not into model trains.” It’s just plain funny. Really.

What marketing tips can we learn from this Aflac campaign?

1. Use the old brand icon in new ways: The Aflac duck is familiar, and now there’s an intrigue to see what he’ll do next.

2. Build a total campaign with traditional and social media: This isn’t a company that is just throwing in a little Twitter. Take your traditional media like TV spots and billboards, and make social media a part of the whole…not a separate part.

3. Advertise big: Why not use the outdoor walls in Times Square? Why not use “disruptive” full page ads in the Wall Street Journal? What? Budget, you say? Perhaps you have a point. But that doesn’t mean you can’t make your advertising larger than life in other ways. Be creative.

4. Involve the consumer: Not only is there social media involved (which nowadays , tends to be the way to “involve the consumer”) but there’s a comprehensive campaign that challenges the consumer’s knowledge about what the product actually is. Who doesn’t love a personal challenge?

Check out the challenge, see how you do, then challenge your current marketing campaigns.

Friday, January 15th, 2010, 8:29 am   |   Advertising, Aflac, Marketing Techniques, Social Media  |  RSS feed |  Respond  |  Trackback