Photo courtesy of KFC What are we serving up today? Flowers and chocolate may be a popular Valentine’s Day gift, but in February 2019, KFC held a contest for a KFC gift package that included a faux-bearskin rug that looks like Colonel Sanders. In addition to one of the creepiest rugs I’ve ever seen, the package comes with fried chicken pajama onesies, a gift card for KFC for two for a year, and a yearly subscription to an online streaming service. KFC teamed up with Reddit for this campaign to run an online contest with the gift package as the prize. The prize could be won by posting in one of three Reddit threads: A Photoshop battle: “Transform an image of the Colonel Sanders Bearskin Rug into a humorous, outlandish, and possibly even romantic image” (Food & Wine) A storytelling challenge: “Take inspiration from the Colonel Bearskin Rug to write a romantic vignette – perfect for a KFC-centric Valentine’s Day” (Food & Wine) A scene drawing duel: “Sketch a scene of an ideal romantic evening inspired by KFC and the Colonel-Skin Rug” (Food & Wine) Winners were to be chosen “based on humourous and creative, SFW submissions that celebrate Valentine’s Day and best represent the spirit of the Colonel," Needless to say, this is one of the most unique ads I have ever seen or heard of and there’s a lot to say about this one. What’s the theory behind the madness? For starters, this is very on-brand for KFC. If you look up KFC’s marketing campaigns you’ll be hit with a wide range of things from edible KFC-flavoured nail polish to a dating-simulation game with the Colonel himself as the target partner. While other fast-food brands are starting to focus on highlighting healthier options, fancier versions of their food, or going meatless KFC chose a very different positioning strategy. The KFC edible nail polish for the Hong Kong market in 2016. Photo courtesy of KFC HK A positioning strategy is the strategy that’s used to create a certain image or concept in the mind of the consumer when they think about the brand in relation to it competitors. There’s a lot of strategic thinking that goes into developing a positioning statement and positioning strategy. Marketers start by conducting an analysis of the current market and its environment which involves analyzing the target market and its competitors. Based on this analysis, a positioning strategy is created before diving into more details by creating a profile of the consumer for more direct targeting. In most organizations, there is a Marketing team that is given objectives from corporate level, which make objectives for the whole organization. The Marketing team then has to come up with a strategy to reach their objectives. This is where most analysis of the environment and potential target markets is done before moving to the Marketing Communications team where the creative process is handled. There are a variety of appeals that can be used in a creative strategy but the most evident ones in KFC’s strategy here is humorous appeal. This campaign is definitely meant to be different and appeal to consumers' sense of humour. It’s said that talk isn’t cheap and bold ideas are the ones that sell and catch attention. Then KFC U.S. CMO Andrea Zahumensky shard that she received seven ideas before choosing the bearskin rug: “Some of them are so crazy, you can’t even imagine, even if you think the bearskin rug is crazy, there are things crazier than that.” As crazy as this bearskin rug is, maybe it is a blessing in disguise to not be presented with something even crazier, although I'm sure KFC has more crazy stunts up their sleeves. Does it work? From a strategic perspective, KFC’s marketing strategies are sensible. KFC is in what would be considered a mature industry, an industry that has passed its emerging and growth phases of industry growth. The fast-food market is developed and has many players who have tried innovating their products with new flavours or vegan/vegetarian versions. At the end of the day, however, there really is only so much you can do to fried chicken. So, essentially, we are faced with a situation of existing market and existing product, which would entail a strategy termed Market Penetration featuring aggressive marketing. How does one market products to an existing market? KFC already has a presence in the millennial market as most millennial consumers likely grew up eating KFC at some point with their family. What KFC aims to do is strengthen the loyalty and relationship with that consumer by directly targeting them as an individual now that they are away from their family and making their own decisions. Although this is an existing market, KFC is still trying to pull sales and reach new consumers from within this market. Framing the rug and gift set as limited-edition and on a special holiday is also a smart move from KFC. By making the rug something that you have to work and compete for it becomes more desirable and valuable. This is also a clever way of having the consumer engage with the brand in a memorable way and may even create word-of-mouth as contestants may share their creations with those outside of the Reddit community. The choice of media platform was also an excellent choice. The fact that a KFC Reddit community exists means there is an existing fanbase to take advantage of and a great place to meet them at the places they frequent. Millennials as the upcoming generation will make up the majority of KFC’s customer base, and so developing a strong relationship early on with them is essential. With health trends and care becoming more of a priority to this group, establishing some kind of positioning in the millennial consumers’ mind besides “unhealthy fried chicken” is essential to keeping these consumers. Some may wonder why this contest was not on a more popular platform like Instagram. This type of content definitely fits the nature of Reddit and also serves as a test market to observe the response to this type of content before continuing similarly creative campaigns to broader platforms. Another fine example of KFC using non-food products in their marketing campaigns. Photo courtesy of KFC Isn’t it unrelated to food? As much as I hate the Colonel bearskin rug, the Colonel part of the rug is what keeps KFC in the centre of the conversation. The Colonel is a well-recognized icon of the brand and so it makes sense to have him on the most wackiest and notable part of this whole campaign. One way to measure the effectiveness of social media campaigns is how often the ad gets shared; something as polarizing as this KFC rug has definitely generated a lot of conversation. This is definitely one memorable ad and this rug reportedly actually did help sell chicken. What would I have done differently? The concept itself is not bad. Partnering with Reddit is not something I have heard of a lot of companies doing, and it’s a very direct way to reach many consumers who may otherwise be unreachable. The bearskin rug certainly generates conversation but there are a few things that I can think of that I would change: No bearskin rug This one is not a surprise given my hatred of the rug, but I also have logic behind this argument. Many millennials are becoming vegetarians or vegans for animal rights and society in general is becoming increasingly concerned about animal welfare. Considering this, a fake bearskin rug is not the ideal brand association for the consumer to have of KFC. Many consumers found the rug to be creepy and nightmarish which I agree with. The Colonel Sander’s head and hands gives it a Frankenstein-ish psycho-horror movie feel where some mad scientist tries to mess with nature and create their own “creature” by combining the body parts of different creatures together. So what would I replace the rug with? A chicken shaped rug or a chicken bouquet made of wings, drumsticks, or both would have been a much better option. Edible arrangements are becoming a thing now as some people have expressed their preference for edible gifts over flowers. Another option is to play off the romantic theme of Valentine’s day and sponsor a romantic dinner with KFC dishes or even KFC-scented candles for a romantic candle-lit dinner. This is likely to be a success as KFC's 11 herbs and spices scented firewood sold out two years in a row, and candles create a similar cozy romantic ambience. A KFC blanket would also be another great option for a romantic evening, anything to forego the bearskin rug. Let me know your thoughts: What do you think of this rug; would you want it in your home? Do you think KFC is being creatively effective here or did they miss the mark? What would you have done differently? REFERENCES
BBC News. (2016, May 6). Chicken fingers: Trying out the KFC nail polish. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-36220142 Maze, J. (2019, Mar 14). How KFC Learned to Take Marketing Risks and Regain Relevance. Restaurant Business. https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/marketing/how-kfc-learned-take-marketing-risks-regain-relevance Maze, J. (2019, Feb 5). KFC's Latest Concoction: A Colonel Sanders Bearskin Rug. Restaurant Business. https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/marketing/kfcs-latest-concoction-colonel-sanders-bearskin-rug O’Reilly, T (Host). (2020, Feb 27). Search Parties: The Relentless Hunt for New Customers. (S9E09) [Audio podcast episode].In Under the Influence. CBC Radio. https://www.cbc.ca/radio/undertheinfluence/kfc-came-out-with-finger-lickin-good-nail-polish-1.5478141 O’Reilly, T. (Host). (2020, April 30. Talk Ain't Cheap: How Conversations Impact Business. (S9E18) [Audio podcast episode]. In Under the Influence. CBC Radio. https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-70-under-the-influence/clip/15773823-s9e18-talk-aint-cheap-how-conversations-impact Pomranz, M. (2019, Feb 5). KFC Created a Faux Bearskin Rug That Looks Like Colonel Sanders. Food & Wine. https://www.foodandwine.com/news/kfc-colonel-sanders-bearskin-rug Tuckwell, K. 180 day subscription: Canadian advertising in action, (subscription). Pearson Education Canada. Yum Brands. (2020, Oct 26). KFC is ready to ignite your holiday season with the return of its fried chicken-scented firelogs. Yum Brands. https://www.yum.com/wps/portal/yumbrands/Yumbrands/kfc-newsroom/detail/Vertical+Content_3-CW/KFC-Firelogs-Return
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AuthorWelcome to The Ad Diet! My name is Jane and I'm a Marketing student who also loves food. In brief, this is a blog about food marketing and ads from my perspective. If you want more details, check out the intro post What's on the menu? ArchivesCategories
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