Amid calls to introduce a festive turkey product, KFC cheekily defied its followers and drove leaps in consciousness and gross sales.
KFC confronted a well-known demand in the course of the lead-up to Christmas 2023. As the general public turned their consideration to their favorite festive meals, the model’s followers took to social media suggesting the quick meals chain ought to swap its well-known rooster for a turkey different.
Christmas is a crucial buying and selling interval for KFC, as individuals go to its eating places to refuel throughout festive procuring journeys, for social meet-ups and post-party snacking. In 2023, the model had the goal of each driving gross sales of its limited-edition festive rooster burger, the Stuffing Stacker, whereas additionally establishing a clearer seasonal function for KFC in customers’ minds.
Working with artistic company Mom London, the chain determined to flip the Christmas turkey hype on its head. Every week-long teaser marketing campaign hinted KFC would succumb to calls for for ‘KFT’. Posters appeared showcasing followers’ social media requests for KFC turkey merchandise, alongside the mysterious date ‘13.11.23’.
The teaser was in truth the set-up for a playful rug-pull. A TV advert to launch the Stuffing Stacker confirmed a cook dinner lovingly creating the burger amid visualisations of the social media commentary. Then got here the road: ‘We heard you, and we ignored you. We’re sticking with rooster’.
The strategy of an ‘anti-UGC’ marketing campaign subverted the concept the client is at all times proper and enabled KFC to claim its model place at Christmas with attribute confidence.
KFC’s promoting consciousness in the course of the festive interval rose by 6.8%, whereas Christmas gross sales comfortably beat the unit gross sales forecast by 23%. The marketing campaign returned £0.47 in pure revenue for each £1 spent, serving to KFC scoop the 2024 Advertising and marketing Week Award for Retail and Ecommerce.
