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Isn’t it great when your business gets some good PR without having to do anything?
KFC might not be to everyone’s tastes, but they have produced some outstanding marketing campaigns recently including their “Chicken Town” campaign, with the all-too-familiar Colonel surveying the streets of chicken shops that populate our towns and cities. He doesn’t comment on quality, provenance or copyright infringement, in fact, he doesn’t say anything. A disembodied voice simply concludes, “There’s only one Colonel in Chicken Town.”
Or their FCK response to a supplier disaster when they had to close restaurants with no chicken available. Being able to respond to negative coverage in a way that relates to people is vital.
Marketing and PR can be as much about opportunism as it is about planning and strategy. Ensuring you are prepared and having a strategy is of course, extremely important, as it is in all aspects of business, but the creativity and speed of thought to respond quickly is vital too.
So it will be interesting to see if the fast food giant takes advantage of the huge opportunity that has just dropped into the Colonel’s lap. A photographer called Jeremy Selwyn has done them an absolute gem of a favour and got the perfect shot of Prince William gazing longingly at a KFC restaurant through the window. Now not everybody will be bothered about what Prince William fancies eating at any point in time, but for others it’s virtually an endorsement – “When one feels peckish, one sends one’s staff to fetch a KFC Bargain Bucket.”
In this case, everyone’s favourite King-in-waiting hasn’t even commented on the qualities of everyone’s favourite long-dead Colonel, let alone endorsed anything but the picture does enough, it connects to any of us who have walked past a KFC and fancied a bite to eat.
Here at Nielsen McAllister, we keep abreast (sorry, not sorry) of trends and topics that affect your business, alongside the plans and strategies designed to keep you in the headlines. Responding to opportunity can be the best chance to be creative and engaging in a way that increases your exposure.
To find out how we can help you elevate your business above your competition, get in touch. We can’t promise royal endorsements, but if one happens we can help you make the most of it!