KFC's campaign, which started in late December and runs through Valentine's Day, blended hot marketing elements of the moment, including a mobile game, offline-to-online experience, shareable selfies, K-pop and a cute boy band.
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Liz Leztirh
I find it interesting to read about companies that are in the lead yet trying to improve and increase their brand even further. KFC's the biggest fast food chain in China, but is going through this evolved campaign. What made KFC choose to expand their brand in China, as opposed to countries where the Yum! brand is not the leader? I also wonder if the band-incorporation strategy could be applied to other nations or if its remarkable success is contained to east Asian countries due to the high value placed in music idol groups and technology there. I've also never seen a fast food chain in the states aim their toy products at older demographics, so that would be another factor to consider if KFC tried to apply the strategy elsewhere. If anything though, the general offline-to-online is something that can and is being utilized on a global level so good job taking advantage of that, KFC.
adage.com
Malory Knutson
KFC’s new campaign truly demonstrates the segmenting, targeting, and positioning principles in action, and shows how essential they are for marketing success. First, KFC segmented their huge worldwide market by geography, demographics, and psychographics (O’Guinn, Allen, & Semenik, 2013). They narrowed down this specific target segment as Chinese millennials, whose interests include collecting cute toys, listening to K-Pop music, and whose lifestyles revolve around entertainment and their smartphones, constituting a substantial population of 40 million potential customers. Then, KFC used self-expressive benefit positioning, creating a distinct, fun brand image that included mobile app games, selfies, and even a boy band (O’Guinn et al., 2013). KFC invited the consumer to join this hip community through many online engagement elements, capturing their attention not only for a split second, but for hours on end. Although this campaign seems to be a recipe for success for this specific target segment, I can imagine it failing miserably if it were marketed to millennials in America, where collecting toys and listening to K-Pop aren’t popular activities. That’s why the STP process works though, because it’s personalized to each distinct market, not one-size-fits-all.
popist.com
