KFC MY serves up 11 Finger Lickin' Good NFTs to celebrate brand moments

KFC Malaysia has rolled out 11 NFTs inspired by its Original KFC Moments, which the brand believes are shared and resonate with all Malaysians. The NFTs were created by three Malaysian NFT artists - Wilson Ng, Book of Lai, and Arif Rafhan Othman - in honour of KFC's secret recipe. Eight of the NFTs will be open for purchase on digital marketplace OpenSea from 10 May 2022 at 1pm. The remaining three will be up for grabs in a social contest on KFC's Instagram.

CMO Chan May Ling told A+M that KFC Malaysia always strives to be at forefront of the latest in technology and innovation. Like NFTs, Chan said the brand is original, unique, distinct, and irreplaceable, thus, venturing into the world of these non-replicable digital assets is one of the great ways to further express its brand identity: "inspired by Malaysians, made by Malaysians for Malaysians".

KFC worked with Entropia, part of Accenture Song for this project and Chan said the team has been instrumental in the brand's growth in the NFT space. "As KFC strives to remain relevant, we are targeting our fans who are active in the metaverse," she added.

The KFC NFTs are part of the brand's "It's Finger Licking' Good" campaign that aims to reignite Malaysians shared love for Finger Lickin' Good KFC moments. "Through this, we not only wish to champion the local artists, but also expresses these memories in the metaverse which our KFC fans can uniquely own," Chan explained. All proceeds go directly to the artists as part of KFC's initiative to empower local artists.

Meanwhile, April Toh, principal at Entropia, part of Accenture Song, said the team's first drop for KFC represents the brand's stature among Malaysians, emphasising its original flavours and iconic moments, and it is pleased with the results. "This NFT collection has connected and resonated with fans; and we look forward to exploring more in our future campaigns,”​ she said.

When asked about the learning lessons, Toh told A+M that the value of each NFT is subjective, hence it was challenging to attribute the right value to each of the artworks. Also, finding the right artists is key to the success of the NFT drop.

Creative directors, Zaheer Kaisar and Lim Min Tze, added that NFTs offer brands a new world of possibilities, and KFC faces the challenge of creating something meaningful that could benefit both artists and fans. "You're not just asking people to watch your ad, or click follow, or comment anymore, you're asking them to fork out real money. In that way, NFTs are not mere marketing tools. They're products. And that's what makes them unique," Kaisar and Lim explained. 

The NFT drop comes after franchiser Yum! Brands filed for NFT trademarks for KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell globally. According to the US Patent and Trademark Office, trademarks have been filed for those three brands for virtual F&B products as well as downloadable multimedia files containing artwork, text, audio and video relating to restaurants, foods and beverages. It also covers downloadable virtual goods such as NFTs, digital tokens, downloadable loyalty cards, and downloadable video game software featuring NFTs and other virtual goods. In addition, the trademark includes operating a virtual restaurant featuring actual and virtual goods as well as home delivery. 

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