#MarketingExcellenceAwards spills: How KFC navigated through COVID-19

When it comes to fried chicken, KFC is one of the first few brands to come to mind for Singaporeans. However, it was also not spared from the negative impact of COVID-19, which caused the company to change its marketing plans almost completely. It had to adapt quickly to adapt to different demands of consumers during different phases of the pandemic, while coming up with innovative strategies to continuously engage with its consumers. KFC's efforts were not in vain, as the company clinched first place in the category "Excellence in gamificiation" at MARKETING-INTERACTIVE's Marketing Excellence Awards 2020. It also won a bronze award for the category "Excellence in event marketing (virtual)". 

In an interview with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, Juliana Lim (pictured), senior director, marketing and food innovation, Kentucky Fried Chicken Management shared the ups and downs of 2020 for the brand, and how it managed to stay agile and adaptive to different circumstances throughout the year. 

This interview is done as part of MARKETING-INTERACTIVE’s winners and finalists’ interview series for Marketing Excellence Awards 2020. To find out more about the awards, click here.

What are some of the expectations your consumers now have for your brand?

Lim: More than just finger lickin’ good fried chicken! KFC has been known to provide comfort and joy with our chicken and innovative food ideas. In the face of stiff competition, shift in lifestyle and the current stressful situation, consumers are looking to the brand for more than just our food. We are looking for opportunities to be distracted from stress and expectations, excitement to spice up with lives and also, as well as to do something good along the way.  

With these in mind, KFC has been innovating to excite our consumers with flavour trendy food and unexpected creations such as Kentaco and Mac N Cheese Zinger. And beyond food, we are looking into ways to do our bit to save our environment and keep our consumers engaged. Some examples of these initiatives include the Straw Removal from KFC, and gamifications on our KFC app that allow our guests to have fun and win prizes while engaging with us.

How has your marketing/your clients marketing plans shifted this year (2020)?

Lim: Running a F&B business is one of the toughest endeavours during this time with social distancing and the various restrictions on dining. When COVID-19 hit in the early part of last year, our plans for 2020 had to change almost completely.  We had to maneuver swiftly with every change in government’s rules and also the changes in consumer’s consumption behavior. Throughout this time, ensuring the safety and well-being of our consumers and our staff became KFC’s number one priority even above sales.     

Our focus in the early stage of the pandemic especially during circuit breaker was to serve our consumers with their favourite fried chicken to offer them comfort, assurance and great value. Introduction of fancy innovations took a back seat as we changed gear to bring back many familiar past innovations that were well received such as the Hot Devil Drumlets, KFC Meltz and Double Down to offer familiarity and excitement. Our communication focus also shifted towards delivery and takeaway, and the use of KFC app for all their orders instead of product and dine-in promotions.

As we moved into phase two of COVID-19 in Singapore, we saw greater consumer demand for value deals and many seeking to put excitement back into their lifestyle.  Thus, in July on International Fried Chicken day, KFC brought to Singapore the first "Virtual Eat Together" event to spice things up.  And in August, we launched our first app gamification, “Spin N Win”, to let Singaporeans can play the game for free and enjoy the thrill of winning cash, vouchers and many delicious food prizes.

What are some of the trends you see carrying on post-pandemic, and how are you readying your workforce to be ready with these trends?

Lim: Throughout this pandemic period, particularly during circuit breaker, more consumers have turned to food delivery. F&B establishments that were previously not delivering have all jumped on the bandwagon to keep their business afloat. With this trend, I believe the food delivery business will continue to grow post-COVID as consumers would have gotten used to the convenience of getting food at their finger-tips. Thankfully KFC has an established delivery business and was already in partnership with key food delivery aggregators. Our focus now is to work closely with our Operation team and Aggregator partners to drive even higher usage for KFC delivery with exciting promotions and menu.

Another notable consumers’ change that took place was the accelerated adoption of digital ordering and e-payments. The rise in demand for delivery has prompted many brands to create their own apps to facilitate ordering. Though KFC also saw an increase in our APP download and usage, we are definitely not going to stay complacent.  Our team is committed to make KFC app a valuable and desired feature on our consumers’ phone; one that they will tap daily and whenever they crave for finger licking good food or fried chicken. The “KFC Spin N Win” game launched in August last year was an example of our first foray into gamification and KFC fans can certainly look forward to more to come.

What do you think makes for great marketing these days?

Lim: For me, great marketing is the ability to combine both science and art together to deliver the desired end results and build a brand that deeply connects with consumers.

With greater accessibility to data and a wider range of data tools at our disposal, marketers are able to make better calculated and predictive decisions these days.  However, these data insights often can only deliver the tangible and functional KPIs. The ability to understand the emotional needs of consumers, create relevant messages to deepen connections with them and possessing the right intuitions are equally important in building a brand and making a campaign successful.

 How are you planning for 2021?

Lim: The resurgence of COVID-19 in many countries are warnings of the highly unpredictable situation we are in.  While cases in Singapore seemed to be more controlled, we should still never let our guard down. At KFC, our priority in 2021 is to maintain our efforts around hygiene and safety for our guests and employees.  We want our guests to have peace of mind each time they chomped into their favourite piece of fried chicken – be it at our place or theirs.

As the leading fried chicken quick service restaurant brand, we will continue to bring great tasting fried chicken, exciting food innovations and attractive value deals to Singaporeans. However, with the many uncertainties ahead and full normalcy to pre COVID-19 days an unlikely possibility in 2021, we are also constantly reminding ourselves to stay watchful and agile, and be prepared to adjust our plans according to the changing situations so that Singaporeans can continue to enjoy their favourite fried chicken.