FCK and the importance of owning up to your fuckups.
How KFC turned a nightmare into a viral positive rave—and what we can learn from it.
Last week KFC decided to change supply chain providers to DHL. So far so good. Except that DHL did not deliver the chickens. Literally. Which means that KFC run out of chicken. For real. And chaos ensued.
Those in marketing would be freaking out. But not these guys. They basically went out with a full page spread on the newspaper with a cheeky apology.
So what can we learn?
#1 Own up to it
Apologise. Acknowledge you screwed up. Be upfront. This can not only get you in good graces with those affected, but also ensure those who come late to the party are not surprised (“el que avisa no traiciona”.)
#2 Truly own up to it
Be authentic.
You can see in the CLOSED signed done by store managers the “we are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause”. But we all know that means sweet fuck all. Don’t tell me you are sorry “if” you caused and inconvenience: we all know you did, so just apologise for real.
#3 Let the brand do the talking
As soon as someone asks me to explain what is brand positioning, I ask them: if your brand were a person, what would it be? woman? man? how old? how does she dress? does she swear? what does she stand for? how does she talk?
An apology like this one from PwC would have been ridiculous. But same goes the other way. KFC can actually take the piss out of themselves because their values and personality allow for it.
So when you are going to own up to a fuck up, don’t do it yourself: let the brand do the talking.
All in all, this should serve as a reminder that mistakes happen, but how you handle them is what matters.
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