R3: Resurrecting The Colonel

For the longest time Kentucky Fried Chicken was viewed with a certain level of contempt from consumers. The chicken is dry, the mashed potatoes: soup, the quality in general was very poor; people basically wouldn't want to eat KFC even if it was the only option available. Recently though the company has seen a boost in sales and overall image, all thanks to a strategy they have dubbed "re-colonelization." At the epicenter of this campaign has been the string of "unique" ads featuring the Colonel as played by a number of different actors. 



Launched in May 2015, the campaign is designed to have a very meta feel to it as it plays off of the consumers awareness that the actor portraying the Colonel is not actually him, thus treating the consumer with a certain level of respect. One famous ad featured the Colonel taking a lie detector test to prove once and for all that he was the real Colonel Sanders, only to end up failing. These ads quickly went viral, amassing millions of views on Youtube and an overall positive response from consumers. Yum! Brands CEO Greg Creed "attributed KFC's growth, following what executives have called "decades" of stagnant sales, to 'distinctive and disruptive advertising and positioning,' as well as "breakthrough marketing" (Taylor). 

KFC's string of Colonel ads can be seen as a successful viral marketing campaign as they grab the viewers attention and whenever a new ad of their's launches people actually go onto Youtube to rewatch it. As Kaplan and Haenlein would argue, "if you want your customers to engage with you, you need to give them a reason for doing so." KFC's "re-colonelization" campaign does just that as the majority of consumers seem to have found the bizarre ads quite endearing as evidenced by the boost in sales and KFC is paying attention to this as they further take this style of marketing to heart. 

With each new Colonel the ads have become even more bizarre as the company clearly believes in the mantra that "you can never have too much of a good thing." The changing of the actor who plays the Colonel has itself become part of the company's strategy to keep their ads interesting as each one represents an entirely different embodiment of the chicken chains icon. Product specific Colonels, such as the Extra Crispy and Gold Colonels, have been created just to highlight new menu items and a live WWE promotion was even done just to notify consumers about the company's new chicken little sandwich. 

The Colonel has become so paramount to the company again that after the introduction of the Gold Colonel Sanders, KFC's Twitter account has now begun operating as if it is the Colonel himself behind the keyboard. What KFC has done with this campaign should provide other companies with a blueprint in how they should approach some aspects of social media marketing. Their lighthearted, disruptive approach to marketing and (possible over) abundance of content has translated directly to the company's growing resurgence in the fast food industry. Despite all of the negative press in the past, KFC has recreated its image into one that the majority of consumers have come to enjoy and have begun to give the company a second chance.

Works Cited:

Kaplan, Andreas M., and Michael Haenlein. "Users of the World, Unite! The Challenges and Opportunities of Social Media." Business Horizons 53.1 (2010): 59-68. Print.

Taylor, Kate. "KFC customers hate the Colonel, and the CEO says that's led to the brand's incredible 'breakthrough.'" Business Insider. 6 Oct 2016. Web. http://www.businessinsider.com/kfcs-colonel-sanders-boosts-sales-2016-10. Accessed 6 Mar 2016.