Aflac Incorporated

Aflac is in the business of selling insurance designed to meet needs that most insurance companies ignore. Most Americans are used to seeing a deduction from their paycheck each month that is used to provide health and life insurance coverage. But the rest of the insurance industry has largely neglected the hidden costs of sickness. When people can't work, they almost never still get paid. And many types of work such as sales that operate on a commission basis lose their luster quickly if not enough time can be devoted to keeping up.

Aflac's main differentiation with the rest of the industry is its focus on supplemental insurance policies that pay cash that can be used to cover incidental costs. Given the inherent difficulty of differentiation in the insurance industry, where all policies are essentially the same except for their price, it is astonishing that Aflac has been able to set itself apart.

The secret to Aflac's successful branding efforts has been a major advertising campaign starring an angry duck. The iconic commercials and related line of plush toys have earned a clear space in the nation's cultural consciousness. Unfortunately, Aflac's success will prove difficult to replicate overseas. Aflac's Japanese duck is friendly, reassuring and far less successful. If Aflac's success is the result of a unique cultural connection with its customers, the company is quite secure in the United States but vulnerable everywhere else.