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KFC: BECOMING UNCANCELLABLE
How KFC turned a national disaster into the PR campaign of the decade...
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Morning, friends!Over the last couple of weeks, I've been spending my spare time scrolling through the dark depths of marketing Twitter. I must admit, it's a scary place, but the value there is out of this world.On one of my recent casual scrolls, I came across a thread by the great Harry Dry talking about "Anti-Fragile" brands. It piqued my interest... no let me rephrase, I was OBSESSED. It's not something I'd heard of. So, I spent the rest of the week researching these "Anti-Fragile" brands and the benefits of being "Anti-Fragile".
For anyone who has no idea what I'm talking about, you're in for a treat! For my PR people, you're going to love this one!This is how a chicken shop...
Saved their skin.
Became uncancellable.
And gained a bunch of new customers whilst doing it.
They're a prime example of an "Anti-Fragile" brand.This is going to be finger lickin' good!
Company Overview
Est. Valuation: $8.5 billion (Source)
Revenue: $2.79 billion (Source)
KFC is an American fast-food restaurant, that specializes in fried chicken. It is the world's second-largest restaurant chain after McDonald's, with 22,621 locations globally in 150 countries.But let's be honest...
We all know exactly what KFC is. We've all had a bargain bucket at least once in our lives.
So, I'll skip the niceties and get straight into the juicy stuff.
Here's how KFC became "Anti-Fragile" and pulled off one of the best PR campaigns of the decade...
Breaking Down The Strategy
In today's world being cancelled is a very real threat for brands. Seeing #boycott{insert brand here} trending on Twitter when they wake up is every PR rep's absolute worst nightmare.
But it's happened. A lot. To some of the biggest brands on the planet:
L'Oreal
Disney
Hasbro
Uncle Ben's
Have all suffered from being cancelled.
It's a major problem for brands and becoming "Anti-Fragile" is the solution some brands are embodying.
But what is "Anti-Fragile"? Well, honestly Harry put it better than I ever could, so I'm going to steal his definition here:
"In plain language, antifragility is the opposite of fragility.
If you mess with something fragile you do damage. If you mess with something antifragile you make it stronger. Take golf as an example. The fragile golfer loathes the wind. The antifragile golfer uses it to their advantage."
In other words, when sh*t hits the fan most brands crumble and cause a mess. While "Anti-Fragile" brands see the extra eyes as an opportunity to showcase an authentic and relatable brand image.
Hence my comparison to being uncancellable.
Becoming "Anti-Fragile" isn't just a defensive marketing/PR strategy though. It's an offensive strategy too. Yes, being somewhat uncancellable is great for any brand. However, it's important to remember that among the woke culture arising, people love brands that go against the grain. Becoming "Anti-Fragile" is doing just that. There is no greater example of antifragility than KFC back in February 2018...
On the 16th of February 2018, KFC ran out of chicken and was forced to temporarily close 700 UK branches. KFC customers took to social media in an uproar...
The best moment of the last decade was when KFC ran out of chicken and this iconic woman had to go to Burger King like it’s some kind of hardship or something. Peak British culture
— Shirley Carter’s Pussy (@pussy_shirley)
9:38 PM • Dec 6, 2021
The British public was fuming and KFC was becoming a mockery as the news spread online.
It was a "normal" PR team's worst nightmare. But just as a great golfer uses the wind to his advantage, KFC's PR team rubbed their hands together and decided to take advantage of a bad situation. Step 1: An announcement on Twitter
The Colonel is working on it.
— KFC UK (@KFC_UKI)
12:27 PM • Feb 17, 2018
This wasn't just any announcement though. It was the perfect response.Key things to notice:
They didn't apologise.
They flipped it on it's head. They don't have bad delivery service, they have great standards.
Made it funny and human.
Thanked the staff in third person.
Not only did the people love their response. It made people love KFC. They were gaining fans through a disaster - completely unheard of.
Step 2: A nationwide newspaper ad
Yes, the ad featured the famed KFC bargain bucket with "FCK" on it rather than KFC. The message underneath read:
"We're sorry.A chicken restaurant without any chicken. It's not ideal. Huge apologies to our customers, especially those who travelled out of their way to find we were closed. And endless thanks to our KFC team members and our franchise partners for working tirelessly to improve the situation. It's been a hell of a week, but we're making progress, and every day more and more fresh chicken is being delivered to our restaurants. Thank you for bearing with us.Visit kfc.co.uk/crossed-the-road for more details about your local restaurant"Again, another genius response from the KFC team.
Just look at the way the response is written. It's conversational. It feels authentic. It even has grammatical errors in it that would never usually be included in a corporate press release. Not to mention the huge "FCK" across the bucket above.
Now you might be thinking..."So what Niall? They covered their arses on one occasion, yipee?"Oh no. This was not just a campaign that covered up a national catastrophe - although it did do that too. This was one of KFC's biggest PR campaigns of the decade. Just look at these stats (note this is off ONE ad in the newspaper):
- 219,138,216 impressions through social (Source)
- 796,707,795 people reached via editorial coverage (Source)
- Featured in The Guardian, Forbes, The Financial Times, BBC, The New York Times, Fox, The Mirror, The Sun, ITV, CNBC, The Telegraph, Lad Bible, Sky News, Buzzfeed, USA Today, Daily Mail, ABC, Huffpost (Source)
But this isn't just a random coincidence that KFC approached the disaster in this way. This is down to an internal choice from KFC to become "Anti-Fragile". To choose to embrace volatility and thrive when it happens.
KFC didn't prep for a nationwide chicken shortage.
But what they did decide is that when a disaster comes, they would own it.
Own their mistakes and own their flaws.
They decided that they would no longer shy away on a windy day at the course.
They would want for it.And when the wind came? They'd use it to land a hole in one.
How To Implement It
It's easy to pick out a brand and say: "They've done a great job becoming "Anti-Fragile". The hard part is to replicate it with your own company.A lot goes into it. So much so that I'd probably have to write a book on it rather than a quick 2000 word article. However, from the hours I spent researching "Anti-Fragile" brands, I saw two key features they all had in common.
So, let's start with these two:
1. Never pretend to be perfect
Perfect brands (just like perfect people) always get outed. If you position yourself as perfect, that's the standard you set. So, when you slip up (and you will) your brand will come crumbling down. Just be honest and authentic with your audience. You might be great at what you do, but you're not perfect. So don't pretend to be.2. Own your sh*tWhen you do f*ck up, you have to own it. If you shy away and come up with excuses you'll get crucified. You have to embrace your flaws and embrace your mistakes. There's no need for some big corporate statement, just be brutally honest and say it: "We f*cked up". Your audience will appreciate it much more than the corporate jargon.At the end of the day...You will never get bullied for having a big nose if you walk around with a t-shirt saying, “I’ve got a big nose”.
Just as you will never get cancelled if you authentically admit your mistakes first.
And that's how you become uncancellable.
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This has been a breakdown of KFC's "Anti-Fragile" marketing strategy. I hope you have learned something and can implement a similar strategy in your business!
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