Oh No, Say it Ain’t So. Kentucky Fried Chicken Says the Colonel Must Go!
by Susan Davis on 15/06/09 at 3:32 am
Retirement for the Colonel
According to PR Week, one of the public relations industry’s most reliable sources of news and information, Kentucky Fried Chicken is planning to gently move aside the iconic image of its founder, Colonel Sanders, and make room for a more youthful figure that represents what they consider their younger and more health conscious consumers. In order to engage the market segment they’re trying to reach, KFC is partnering with My Space to ask members to “unthink” what they’ve thought about KFC and submit videos that illustrate why they are the chain’s ultimate fan. My Space users have until July 7 to submit their video clips, which will be posted online for initial voting.
The move comes after a bungled attempt to promote the chain’s new grilled chicken through an Oprah Winfrey coupon giveaway that left thousands of consumers frustrated and angry when KFC franchises across the country were unprepared for the onslaught of customers and ran out of chicken meals. Despite this initial PR nightmare, sales of KFC’s new grilled chicken have been on the rise, and this is the chain’s latest maneuver to revive lackluster sales.
The finalists of the My Space competition will be announced July 25, at which point the general public will be asked to vote for who they think should win.
Related Article:
“Let Them Eat Chicken” – How Oprah’s KFC Give-A-Way Became Her Worst Nightmare
