KFC is doing a send up of gotcha celebrity journalism in its latest attempt to bring some personality to a value-focused promotion.
In a new campaign, the barely incognito Wendy, Ronald McDonald and The King take part in a tabloid-style interview exposé, in which they are shocked by KFC’s $5 “Sandwich deal of the Day” sandwiches.
Katherine Bond-Debicki, CMO at KFC Canada, tells strategy that an entertaining spirit is part of the brand’s DNA, something that goes back to Colonel Sanders, who was not just a chef but a master brander and magnetic personality. “Our goal is to deliver entertainment, to create emotional responses from viewers, but in a way that is not mean spirited,” she says.
The creative is an extension of the “Not Everyone’s Happy” platform that was featured in KFC’s “Twosdays” campaign, in which the Colonel questions the restaurant’s pricing strategy for his beloved chicken recipe. The campaign was also an attempt to change perceptions about value and quality in the QSR space amid a challenging economic environment for many consumers, and bring value-focused messaging together with brand-building.
“The work delivered against brand building value and we absolutely saw the audience resonate with the humour and engage with the creative, reconnecting with the brand,” Bond-Debicki says.
According to Bond-Debicki, KFC has ensured all of its ideas can resonated in both digital and traditional environments.
“One of the other learnings we’ve had from previous campaigns is that because our audience is primarily online, the majority of traction we are seeing to-date is there too,” she says. “However, we’ve also incorporated conventional broadcast TV into this campaign to focus specifically on the value and the quality of the food.”
The new campaign is running in OLV, social and out-of-home, as well as across KFC Canada’s social channels, in-store and in the KFC app and website
Courage, which KFC named its Canadian AOR last fall, did the creative. Wavemaker handled the media buy and Narrative the public relations.
“This creative launches a great retail promotion that is extending through the summer for KFC. It has received similar weighting to comparable promotions of the past,” Bond-Debicki says.
