By Savia Jane Pinto
Media

Emvies 2009: Bringing the KFC 'bucket' closer

The task at hand was to turn around the perception of the fast food chain in India

The annual media effectiveness awards organised by the Ad Club of Bombay will come to a close on Friday, August 21. The shortlisted entries were showcased earlier this week. Mindshare was nominated for KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) in the Best Media Strategy – Services category for 'Halving the distance from home to the KFC store'.

KFC had been facing certain problems in terms of imagery. These problems included being perceived as an expensive place to eat at. Mindshare's task was to bridge the distance between stores and potential consumers.

Emvies 2009: Bringing the KFC 'bucket' closer
The conversation that Mindshare intended to spark needed to eventually lead newer consumers to a KFC store all of this, without increasing the number of stores. KFC wanted to drive up the store sales by about 2 per cent, and this was Mindshare's job. Mindshare collated all the factors that worked for and against KFC and chose the one that would work best for the fast food chain.

Price (average bills, price changes); popularity (on different media such as television, print, OOH); and the type of message the store gave out (newer products, store experience) were the factors assessed. Popularity, decided Mindshare, driven by the right use of media, would drive same store sales.

Emvies 2009: Bringing the KFC 'bucket' closer
Emvies 2009: Bringing the KFC 'bucket' closer
Among the existing products on the menu, the Chicken Bucket and the Zinger burger gave the highest RoI (returns on investment), hence Mindshare picked on these two products to drive them on TV.

The ads that were aired during this phase last year included one in which a group of youngsters in a car are feasting on a KFC bucket. The group is so engrossed munching on chicken drumsticks that the car bangs against a tree but the quartet don't stopped eating. Another ad during the same season showed M Muralitharan of the Sri Lankan cricket team getting nostalgic on the field, after remembering the taste of the Zinger burger he had eaten earlier.

Hence, new advertising was created; print and OOH were used in key markets; the brand associated with the reality show, Roadies, on MTV, where the contestants were given Zing Kong boxes. A KFC outlet was made an audition spot for the show for a day.

At the end of the activity, results provided by Mindshare were as follows: 20 per cent growth in volume was noted; growth values were up by 30 per cent as against the expected 25 per cent; 4 per cent lower media spends were achieved and close to 17 per cent increase in RoI was attained through better use of TV.

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