Is KFC’s Crowdsourcing Digital Marketing Campaign an Idea for your Business

Digital marketing trends and innovation are always an excellent source for inspiration for small businesses looking to get a leg up on competition. Fast food brands like Burger King and McDonald’s have launched some of the best marketing campaigns in the last fifty years.

KFC’s most recent digital marketing campaigns are some any marketer has got to be impressed by. In recent years, KFC came up with a digital marketing campaign that used influencers, professional wrestlers, and Hollywood celebrities to dress up as the Colonel. This created a sense of anticipation as to who was next in line to take on the Colonel retro look and was a playful manner to create awareness in the marketplace.

Then, a second digital marketing launched involved a live-stream approach, broadcasting four hours of cats climbing Colonel-inspired merchandise ranging from a small cat condo to a rug, pool floatie, fire log, and more. This was, again, a great way to get attention for the brand.

KFC’s latest digital marketing campaign is one that involves crowdsourcing ideas in a company concept known as the ‘KFC Innovations Lab’. As the story goes, customers who have submitted crazy, innovative marketing ideas get to see their ideas played out by KFC. Unexpected ideas – such as a KFC hot tub resembling a KFC bucket, an ice-skating show called ‘Colonel on Ice’, and more – have all played out in promotional videos with the tag, “KFC needs your support to help turn our innovation ideas into innovation reality.”

This campaign has continued the sense of playfulness familiar in KFC’s marketing and invites participation from their audience. Although KFC’s efforts are not inexpensive – the hot tub, for example, requires a crowdsourced investment of $46,683 while the ‘Colonel on Ice’ idea is set at a fundraising goal of $2.2 million – it allows families to put money towards funding marketing ideas they want to see.

So evidently, how does a small business make use of the same strategies KFC is employing – well, you can and you can’t. Although you don’t have the budget to duplicate the sort of expenses KFC can, if you already have a built-in audience, getting them to participate in your brand by asking them their opinion on things – such as what product they’d like to see be put on a promotional discount for a month – can work to generate conversation around your brand. If you have a mascot like the Colonel, you may choose to launch a social media campaign encouraging followers to dress up and utter your catchphrase. If you don’t have a catchphrase, you can still have a successful social media campaign based around participation.

Ultimately, if there are two takeaways from KFC’s digital marketing strategies, it’s that the brand focuses on audience participation and maintaining a playful tone. Although this isn’t necessarily right for every brand, for most, it can be a great way to have a meaningful dialogue between brand and audience. Particularly if you’re aiming for younger consumers who want to have that fun and interaction with their favourite brands, consider the different ways you can do that through video, social media, and digital marketing strategies.

For more information on how to build a successful digital marketing campaign prioritizing brand awareness, profits, and audience participation, contact Unlimited Exposure today.