AMEC Virtual Summit 2020 session presented by Catherine Hernandez-Blades, SVP, Chief ESG and Communications Officer, Aflac Inc.

‘You can’t have purpose without profit’, says Catherine Hernandez-Blades in a practical and insight-rich presentation about her work at U.S. medical insurance provider, Aflac, “though one is more difficult to measure than the other.”

For Aflac, purpose is driven by the fact that only 4% of U.S. government spending on cancer research is directed towards paediatric cancer, yet it is the number one cause of death by disease among the country’s children.

Describing Aflac’s data-driven strategy, Catherine walks through how a measurement partnership revealed that almost half of reputational influence in the finance industry is based on citizenship, governance and workplace – all CSR-related factors. This led to development of a CSR campaign, but one that could be presented through data relating directly to business objectives, such as financial growth, so that it resonated with C-suites and boards of directors.

Mapping data relating to sales, propensity to recommend, employee satisfaction, and more, the company’s ‘pulse score’ (time-lapse data tracking) could be attributed directly to growth and show return on reputation, which is a very powerful business metric.

The findings led to development of ‘My Special Aflac Duck’, the product of 18 months of research at the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorder Centre, including work with over 100 families of children with cancer. The duck is a social robot, designed to be a caring companion for children throughout their treatment and also designed with protocols in mind that make child cancer life specialists better able to support the journey. Its main function is to help children going through treatment to better express and understand their feelings and emotions, as well as encourage role-play to empower them in a situation where they can feel vulnerable and afraid.

In a heart-warming explanation of the duck’s special features, interspersed with stories of the children that it has helped during their care, she explained how, even though its communications programme depends solely on unpaid social media and events and award activity, data is still critical.

Success metrics are closely aligned with business metrics, and planning begins with the end in mind. After just six months, 15% of the U.S. population has heard of the product and 100% were more likely to buy Aflac insurance as a result of the initiative.

Recounting the key lessons learned, Catherine underlines the need to stay true to the vision for the campaign and remain focused on the metrics. She warns that chasing ‘a bouncing ball’ will impact on results. Ultimately, actions “drive values and earn value”, which are both important to all companies.