Sometimes innovation scares people, but in this case, it does the opposite. This campaign used innovative, patent-pending technology to re-imagine a famous brand icon as a social robot designed to bring the company’s corporate social responsibility message and purpose to life. This breakthrough idea – My Special Aflac Duck(TM) – solves both a social impact challenge (providing childhood cancer patients social-emotional support, with 69% surveyed in a clinical study reporting it reduced stress during hospitalization) and a brand challenge (reputation and brand positioning, generating 2.5 billion earned media impressions and a 3-point increase in brand reputation score).

A cancer insurance pioneer, Aflac spent 23 years and $123 million supporting the childhood cancer cause. Yet, awareness of Aflac’s philanthropy was lacking, and the company wanted to have a greater impact on children facing cancer.

Aflac needed a tangible innovation, ownable, brand-aligned, emotional, scalable and relevant nationwide. Research revealed an under-met need: emotional support for children facing childhood cancer.

With a $600,000 development budget and four patents pending, My Special Aflac Duck delivers. It’s a breakthrough social robot that adapts Aflac’s beloved brand icon to meet a challenging need:

- Cleaning: patent-pending, removable, washable fur meets infection control standards.

- Durability: 3-motor animatronic system withstands child play, while producing smooth, lifelike movements.

- Sourcing: vibrational speakers sourced from the only factory producing the part replicate heartbeats and purring.

- Context: sensors adapt to in-room lighting, preventing automatic responses from disturbing sleeping patients; the companion app complies with privacy laws.

Childhood cancer changed over 23 years, but Aflac’s giving and reputation hadn’t. With children surviving longer, research revealed an unmet need for emotional support alongside medicine to cope with cancer treatment, which averages 1,000 days. Aflac wanted a high-impact, cost-effective emotional care innovation that easily scaled nationwide. Attracting attention to the cause also required an uplifting, tangible idea – one embodying Aflac’s brand archetype of caring innovation.

Connecting the dots between insights, My Special Aflac Duck is a first-of-its-kind social robot and comforting companion for kids, modeled on Aflac’s brand icon. This patent-pending innovation was created through 18 months of patient-centered, empathy-driven design with 85+ children, families and medical professionals at a top hospital.

This breakthrough helps childhood cancer patients – even those far from treatment facilities – manage stress and communicate with caregivers. It’s also enabling Aflac to lead a national conversation around childhood cancer’s hard and hopeful truths.

- September 2015: After research determined that Aflac’s CSR efforts were not resonating on a national level, the team initiates a national CSR program that includes building the business case for CSR.

- August 2016: Aflac aims to enhance its philanthropy and engages a leading firm in purpose strategy and issue leadership programs to unearth insights, craft a holistic plan (the Aflac Childhood Cancer Campaign[SM]), and come up with an innovative, signature “big idea.”

- August – October 2016: Discovery and ideation phase, including the development of clear criteria and the breakthrough concept.

- November 2016: Aflac’s CEO approves the idea and makes a personal pledge to help underwrite distribution of the comforting companion for childhood cancer patients.

- January 2017: Aflac contracts Sproutel, a patient-centered R&D firm, and development for My Special Aflac Duck begins at the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, a leading pediatric oncology hospital.

- September 2017: Determined to run a well-rounded program, not just debut a product, Aflac launches the Aflac Childhood Cancer Campaign during pediatric cancer month.

- January 2018: Aflac and its partners unveil My Special Aflac Duck at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), winning multiple awards and generating more than 2 billion earned media impressions in five days.

- September 2018: My Special Aflac Duck begins to fly into the arms of childhood cancer patients across the U.S.

- March 2019: 3,100 My Special Aflac Ducks distributed, free of charge, through a growing network of participating hospitals.

Research shows play is invaluable for seriously ill children, who often act out their treatment with toys, gaining familiarity with stressful regimens and regaining a sense of control.

My Special Aflac Duck facilitates nurturing medical play: users feed, bathe and administer treatments. It features lifelike movement (nuzzling, breathing, moving to music), emotions (tap emoji cards to the duck and it expresses the feeling), medical accessories, and a mixed-reality app that encourages children to play and communicate, helping them cope with cancer.

The key was to create an experience for the children, not just a toy.

- Patent-pending removable plush skin allows repeat washing and complex movement while holding its shape.

- Vibrational speaker simulates breathing exercises and “calming” heartbeats.

- 3-motor animatronic system, 5 capacitive touch-sensors for lifelike movement (nuzzles your hand; moves to music).

- Bluetooth connects to a free mixed-reality app.

- Photo sensor detects ambient light and adjusts duck behavior for sleeping children.

- RFID-reader enables feeling cards, catheter accessory and Soundscape spaceship.

- 11 accessories included.

The duck has been donated, free of charge, to 3,100 children, with the goal of reaching the more than 15,000 children newly-diagnosed with cancer each year (ages 3+).

Studies show the way a child copes with cancer can impact distress, chronic stress can complicate cancer, and communication about the illness relates to better outcomes. In Aflac-commissioned, hospital-led research, 69% of patients reported reduced stress after using the duck; 82% of parents recommend it to others.

Interviews with 24 pediatric cancer experts confirmed industry interest and relevance, underscored by partnerships with Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, Children’s Oncology Group, etc.

Scalability was key: the intuitive social robot works out-of-the-box, usable by non-English-speakers and patients far from state-of-the-art facilities. Aflac is exceeding distribution goals, donating 3,100 ducks in 44 U.S. states. Aflac expects to expand to Japan, where it has a significant presence.

The innovation won three 2018 CES Best-in-Show awards, including Tech for a Better World, and is featured on Time Magazine’s 2018 Best Inventions list. This is generating investments, including unsolicited new donations to the Aflac Childhood Cancer Campaign.