PR Tactics and The Strategist Online
KFC’s grilled chicken launch was the biggest in the chain’s history, but as AdAge.com reports, it could become a marketing case study on what not to do. The company spent millions of dollars on a TV ad campaign that told consumers to “Unthink KFC,” undermining the chain’s main game of fried chicken — but the real trouble started when the marketer brought in Oprah Winfrey, AdAge.com reported today.
On Winfrey’s May 4 show, KFC offered two free pieces of grilled chicken, two sides and a biscuit to anyone who downloaded a coupon within a two-day period. But the company soon realized that it couldn’t accommodate the resulting demand and was forced to rescind the offer. AdAge.com reports that KFC gave away 4 million meals in two days, but there were still 6 million or more outstanding coupons when the chain cancelled the promotion. KFC also issued rain checks to consumers willing to fill out a form and wait for another coupon to arrive in the mail. According to AdAge.com, they’ll be rewarded with a free Pepsi.
As AdAge noted, the promotion strained KFC’s relationships with three core constituents: consumers, the media and franchisees that swallowed the cost of the free food themselves.
“The free-chicken promotion created a sense of enthusiasm within online communities and enhanced KFC’s online reputation,” Al DiGuido, CEO of Zeta Interactive, which monitors blog chatter, told AdAge.com. “However, as soon as KFC decided to halt the promotion, their brand suffered a brutal backlash, plummeting down to 67 percent positive buzz. With this overwhelmingly negative response, KFC did more damage to its brand by running an incomplete promotion than if they had just not launched the campaign in the first place.” — Compiled by Greg Beaubien for Tactics and The Strategist Online
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