Background information
In this week’s egtabite we spotlight an example of a brilliant long-term collaboration between KFC and Bauer Media Audio UK. As the headline sponsor of a popular afternoon show, KFC was at the forefront of their customers’ mind, especially for those looking to get their fix of fiery chicken fun.
The challenge
KFC want to generate more ‘crave moments’ at the right time, with the right audience, to drive the behaviour of ‘one more visit’. Ultimately, the challenge was to get people to buy more KFC by
- owning the window when audiences crave KFC and turning this craving into a purchase, and
- driving consideration of KFC among 18-34-year-olds through alignment with culturally relevant moments. The perfect solution was a one-year partnership with Bauer Media Audio in collaboration with Mindshare.
The idea
As a partner of Tyler’s show on KISS (4-7pm), KFC owned the craving window every weekday. As well as delivering a high frequency of product and price messaging, the brand was woven into the fabric of the show, putting it at the heart of the conversations Tyler had with his audience.
Throughout the year, KFC have infiltrated cultural moments, bringing listeners great experiences and staying relevant. KISS enabled KFC to bolster their fun, quirky, cheeky tone of voice to further engage core customers, unlocking ways of working together to react to cultural moments that play a part within the KISS audiences’ day to day life.
The execution: Co-creating disruptive, genuine and authentic content
The KFC and KISS partnership was centred around Tyler’s show, who seamlessly integrated KFC into the editorial of his show each week. His ‘Everyday Elite’ featured Tyler celebrating Emily, the Manager of Hounslow KFC, who led the first KFC to reopen after lockdown. During ‘Take on Tyler’, he took on Michael, the Manager of Waterloo, to see who knew the KFC menu better.
Other features included the Chicken Roll Call, bringing as many audience members as possible to air and having them shout out their KFC order, or ‘Wing it Through the Phone’, ‘Cluck off it’s Friday’ and more. Listeners also had a chance to win KFC vouchers via competitions – for example by sharing their favourite KFC orders.
‘Tyler Tries’ was a weekly on-air and digital series, themed around shaking up your week with KFC, featuring Tyler trying something new every week. It included a week-long story arc, integrating KFC with social content and incorporating KFC into key editorial cultural moments.
KFC was also the sponsor of KISSTORY Weekender and KISSTORY Festival – in-person events, taking place over the summer of 2021, offering pre-festival giveaways, at-event upgrades and exclusive VIP access.
Results
The campaign delivered impressive results, 66% of listeners agree the campaign made them want to purchase KFC, with 56% making a KFC purchase after seeing or hearing the campaign. Overall, 21% were buying more KFC than in the last 6 months and there was a 15% increase in KFC brand affinity.
Moreover, these results improved with each wave, demonstrating the power of long-term partnerships. The campaign was awarded the UK Sponsorship Award 2022 in the print, radio and film sponsorship categories.