Aflac earns a blizzard of coverage for its open enrollment survey pitch

During open benefits enrollment, employees are tasked with making decisions about their benefits for the next year. In 2017, the process was complicated by confusion and anxiety around the future of health care in the United States. Seeing a need for better benefits education, information and resources, Aflac sought to reinforce its position as a trusted resource among consumers. Its efforts have won first place in the “Media Pitch” category of Ragan’s 2018 PR Daily Awards.

The company’s 2017 Aflac Open Enrollment Survey provided the opportunity to share data and insights on getting the most out of the benefits enrollment experience. The survey revealed that a majority of consumers had a false sense of confidence when it came to benefits enrollment.

Aflac set two key objectives for its campaign: Position the company as a thought leader through top-tier business and consumer media coverage, and increase awareness of the importance of decisions consumers would make by engaging them in conversations about benefits.

The company employed a range of tactics to earn its coverage, including a press release, a media pitch that appealed to a well-defined subset of reporters, a satellite media tour, matte releases, articles and infographics, social media outreach and communication directly through agents and brokers.

The effort produced 79 placements, including The New York Times and the Washington Post. Impressions went through the roof for earned and paid media efforts, with 67 posts across social media producing nearly 65 million impressions, along with a high level of engagement.

Congratulations to Darcy Brito and Brent Curry.