• by Tanya Gazdik , February 6, 2015

Aflac is launching what it is calling the largest, most integrated marketing campaign in its history.

The effort introduces consumers to One Day Pay, an initiative in which the company processes, approves and disburses payment to policy holders for eligible claims within one business day.

With the help of the Aflac Duck, the company will bring the initiative to life across a wide variety of media in unique ways. For example, the company plans to skip entire commercial breaks to bring Americans right back to the television events they enjoy most without waiting.

Viewers watching the E! Live from the Red Carpet show from 6-8 p.m. EST prior to the Grammy awards on Feb. 8, will get the first look at this creative execution.

The unique approach, designed to accelerate and enhance the television viewers' experience, will continue throughout the year with special programming such as humorous skits about speed on Jimmy Kimmel Live, reaching the suspenseful endings faster of popular movies such as The Bourne Legacy on FX; and speeding viewers to the finales of major sports events like the Daytona 500.

The initiative is designed to reach current and potential policyholders, business owners, brokers and HR Managers, says Michael Zuna, chief marketing officer at Aflac.

“Our target policyholder is really the heart of America – traditionally moms since females are typically the purchase decision maker in the home,” Zuna tells Marketing Daily “As we try to expand our reach with the growing younger, Millennial audience, we are targeting Millennial moms with young families.”

They are strong social media users, so there’s a heavy digital component to the One Day Pay marketing campaign, he says.

“But the way we really see this campaign attracting millennials is with the speed factor,” Zuna says. “Millennials are a generation of instant gratification, and with this initiative, they are able to get their claims processed and paid within just a day.”

Fans of the Aflac Duck on Facebook and Twitter will get a glimpse of the people behind the claims process through a series of videos in which real Aflac claims specialists share their perspectives on how processing and paying claims quickly positively impacts Aflac policyholders every day. All of these videos, photos and quotes will be aggregated on Aflac's new One Day Pay Tumblr page.

Those who follow the Aflac Duck on social media also will enjoy a special behind-the-scenes look at outtakes and extended scenes from the company's newest commercial, “Eureka! One Day Pay.” The bonus content features the Aflac Duck as well as his new friends: an unassuming mule and two prospectors. The commercial will debut nationally Feb. 8 during the 57th Grammy Awards.

In the new spot, the Aflac Duck and two hikers come across a pair of prospectors who are mining for claims on a riverbank. The trio quickly realizes that the dated characters are on a fool's errand and mention how quickly Aflac processes and pays claims. The prospector characters joke about "some newfangled one-day pay machine;" but, little do they know that SmartClaim technology has made it a reality.

For the past seven years, Aflac has been processing and paying most claims in an average of four days, which is faster than other insurers, Zuna says.

“This trailblazing initiative that allows Aflac to receive, process, approve and disburse payment to policyholders for eligible claims within just one business day is simply the natural evolution of the way we’ve been doing business,” he says. “We’re focused on leading the industry and doing the best we can for our policyholders; and, we believe benefits to the company will be driven by that operating philosophy.”

Aflac is in the business of processing and paying claims, not looking for reasons to deny and delay them, Zuna says.

“We’re the only health insurer to say that we’ll process and pay eligible claims in just a day,” he says. “The revolutionary part of this initiative isn’t the speed of payment — many companies and industries are able to provide customers with their money quickly thanks to technology advancements. But, our differentiator is that we are talking about processing claims within a day.”