Colonel Sanders out fixing potholes in Louisville, Kentucky? That's right! On March 25th, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) announced: "KFC COLONEL AND ROAD REPAIR CREW TAKE ADVERTISING TO THE STREETS TO RE-“FRESH” AMERICA’S POTHOLE-STRICKEN ROADWAYS"
What an interesting way for an established brand to create news by linking product news that doesn't really seem all that newsworthy ("In Honor of its Freshly Delivered and Prepared Fried Chicken on the Bone...") to an event that gets national pickup by the press.
My Personal History with KFC
In the interest of full disclosure, 90% of my family lives in Kentucky and I've been eating Kentucky Fried Chicken at family picnics and events my whole life. Along with my brother and sister, I actually worked at the KFC in Westport, CT for a few summers while on college break. None of us know the secret recipe which is locked in a vault somewhere. We do know that the recipe never changes and that there's a strict way to cook that chicken so it always tastes the way you expect it to. This is part of why I thought this press release was so interesting. It's a reminder that KFC is still using "fresh chicken on the bone" as it has for 50 years and making the connection to becoming the "first ever corporate sponsor of 'fresh-ly repaired potholes in U.S. Cities."
Cause Marketing
As all of us marketers scramble to pick up social networking skills and promote our products and services out there in cyberspace, it's important to remember the people we market to and what matters to them. Cause marketing has been around as long as public relations has been around. It's the concept of combining the efforts of a for profit business with a non-for-profit business cause for mutual benefit. And, if all goes well, everyone's happy and you get a great story to tell.
According to KFC, they are looking to mayors from cities across the United States to nominate their cities for the Colonel's KFC-branded pothole repair. This marketer sure hopes that Mayor Menino of Boston nominates my town for the program. I'm a loyal fan of Kentucky Fried Chicken who will be buying a couple of buckets for my annual Kentucky Derby party this year. If I get over to my local KFC without losing my car in a pot hole, I'd be mighty appreciative of that!
