Are you working on your Instant Impact entry for the WARC Awards for Effectiveness? Here's something to inspire you! Read on to find out more about 2021 Gold winner, KFC Australia.
KFC Australia: Michelin Impossible
Brand: KFC Australia
Brand owner: Yum! Brands
Entrant company: Ogilvy Sydney
Market: Australia
The challenge: Despite making tasty fried chicken, KFC in Australia consistently battled perceptions of low food quality. Consumers gave KFC credit for making great tasting food, but not necessarily for making good quality food, which impacted the frequency with which consumers purchased it. The brief was to improve the perceptions of KFC's food quality, in order to increase sales.
The insight: Regardless of any legitimate claims they made, no fast-food business was perceived as a credible authority on quality food, so KFC decided to associate itself with an independent symbol of food quality, leveraging its credibility and influence. Social listening uncovered one that was consistently seen as an aspirational pinnacle: Michelin Stars, awarded to restaurants that are considered "very good in their category" and "worth a special journey".
The execution: KFC identified Sam Edelman, the franchisee of the most remote KFC in the world, to become the face of KFC's mission to earn a Michelin Star. Thanks to carefully planned PR, Sam's mission went mainstream and he appeared in multiple high-rating media programmes and publications, before going all the way to Paris to surprise the Director of Michelin himself.
The results: The campaign achieved 564 pieces of media coverage, with a reach of 662,545,320 impressions, and resulted in 65% of people who'd seen it agreeing with: "it improved my perceptions of the quality of KFC's food". It earned KFC an ROI of 16.2:1.
Dive deeper
In partnership with On Strategy Showcase's Fergus O'Carroll, WARC has interviewed Sally Spriggs, Group Marketing Director at KFC South Pacific, and Ryan O'Connell, Chief Strategy Officer at Ogilvy, to uncover behind-the-scenes insights on the work.
Where to listen
The WARC Awards for Effectiveness are open for entries with deadline on 2nd March.
Your Instant Impact entry will be judged by a stellar panel of industry experts, chaired by Zena Srivatsa Arnold, Former Chief Digital & Marketing Officer at Kimberly-Clark.
Our Entry Pack contains all the info you need to enter the Awards. If you still have questions, drop us a line at effectiveness@warc.com.
