It’s been 71 years since Colonel Harland Sanders took America – and soon after, the world – by storm with his crisp fried chicken, spiced to perfection.
Our brand and trends are like the perfect blend of spices—unbreakable partners. We love stirring our cherished heritage with today’s vibrant tastes, weaving together a cohesive and captivating narrative.
We embrace agility, swiftly tapping into the pulse of Gen Z trends. But there’s no one-size-fits-all formula here – we needed a foundation meticulously built from scratch. An idea that’s dynamic and versatile, a true reflection of our finger-lickin’ good DNA.
This brings us to our all-new platform– The Originals: it’s more than just communication; it’s a symphony of consistency. The result?
A powerhouse of consistency and memorability that we’re taking to the next level. From brand identity and key visuals, to digital, Out of Home (OOH) and the actual, in-store retail experience, all have the same look and feel.
Without a doubt– Always Original runs deep in our DNA. We’re talking about the combination of OG mastermind, the Colonel himself, and our lip-smacking, finger-lickin’ original recipes.
Recipe for success?
Connecting with Gen Z requires much more. We had to speak their language while remaining true to our brand. Leveraging key passion points, such as music and authentic content we delivered a 360-degree campaign, each element of which was thoughtfully crafted to engage Gen Z.
Last year, the MENA region emerged as the fastest-growing music market, particularly in rap and hip-hop genres. We took the lead in capitalising on this trend.
Our quest for the perfect blend led us to collaborate with Egypt’s Abo El Anwar and Saudi sensation Slo Moe, infusing fresh and relatable energy into the KFC experience.
This music-video-style commercial pays homage to Colonel Sanders while acknowledging the pivotal role of our crew members.
By driving executional excellence and creative efficiencies, our strategy extended to owned and earned channels, aligning with our audience’s preferences while driving local relevance.
We engaged influencers, tailored print and digital assets for various regions, fortified our Out of Home (OOH) presence, and amplified media mentions across countries like the UAE, Kuwait, KSA, Qatar and Egypt.
Diverse audience
Both the song and video helped us connect with this diverse audience group– and the results show we succeeded in doing it the Colonel’s way, which our audiences like to see and engage with.
Our campaign scored incredible results with millions of views and with VTR at 22 per cent, which is 340 per cent above the industry benchmark.
Our brand also soared on TikTok where thousands engaged with our branded effect generating their own content to our Originals anthem, between 20 and 25 per cent above benchmarks in UAE & KSA respectively, resulting in a +10.4pt lift in favorability in KSA.
Importantly, we saw our brand health metrics surge on critical marketing aspects such as word-of-mouth exposure.
‘The Originals’ isn’t just a collage of trends; it’s the soul of KFC, celebrated unapologetically. Our retail layer also resonates the same rhythm, and together, we create a symphony that spans all touchpoints to deliver consistency, recognition and trust.
By Ahmed Arafa, Marketing Director at KFC MENAPAKT
