Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC): TV TALK

Credits & Description:

Advertiser: AMERICANA
Agency: ENSEMBLE
Category: Retail and E-Commerce, including Restaurants
Advertising campaign: TV TALK
Digital Media Executive: Alexandra De Smet (Initiative Media)
Group Media Director: Amer Shaar (Initiative Media)
Digital Media Supervisor: Saadeddine Nahas (Initiative Media)
Associate Media Director: Samira Ebrahim (Initiative Media/Ensemble)
Media Director: Mahdi Jaber (Initiative Media)
Group Digital Director: Ziad Ghorayeb (Initiative Media)
Media Executive: Anna Sleiman (Initiative Media)

Effectiveness
532,000+ 'KFC-Arabs Got Talent' mobile apps were downloaded throughout the region.Over 30,800 questions for the AGT judges were submitted online – 13 of the trickiest answered on-air (for the answer to what Najwa really thinks of Ali, see video).KFC Arabia Facebook fans increased from 537,000 to over 1 million during the Arabs Got Talent campaign.For the second year in a row, KFC Arabia was recognized as the favourite brand among MENA teens in the 2012 AMRB youth study. Meanwhile, McDonald’s dropped to 3rd in ranking.Traffic/Transactions to stores increased 12%.Sales during the AGT campaign increased by 16%.

Strategy
A 2011 AMRB Youth Study ranked KFC as the number one brand among Arab Teens. Unfortunately, so was McDonald’s. We wanted to retain our number one ranking while seeing the competition drop.TV viewership throughout MENA is growing, fuelled by conversation on social media where 'TV Talkers' comment about their favourite programs. This is especially true among Arab youth who have extremely limited entertainment options. For example, in Saudi Arabia, there are no bars or pubs – not even cinemas!Reality TV talent competitions have swept the region and KFC was to be a key sponsor of Arabs Got Talent’s second hit season. Part of the fun of such programs is for viewers to root for their favourite contestants. But there’s a second judging dynamic occurring where viewers are judging the judges. Judging decisions and tensions between judges are sure fire topics for online conversation. And KFC wanted to take part.

Execution
We expected a lot of friendly friction between celebrity judges Najwa Karam (local singer) and Ali Jaber (media mogul). The two are often compared to American Idol’s Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell. Drama was sure to ensue and we wanted to stir the pot instigating more TV talk on KFC’s online assets.We created a mobile app where viewers could interact with the show. A 'buzz button' linked to Twitter let viewers express dislike during contestant performances. And viewers could use the app to ask judges questions ranging from personal, professional, judging decisions, and even dig for dirt on their opinions of one another.Most questions were answered online, but we saved the trickiest to be answered live during the show in KFC’s segment 'KFC Super Fan Question.' Judges were put on the spot with awkward questions resulting in surprising outcomes. For example – What does Najwa really think of Ali?