KFC asks Spaniards to paint its logo on desert-covered cars
The campaign saw over 1,000 people claim free food from drive- thrus as a result
Two weeks ago, a vast dust storm swept across Europe from the Sahara Desert, enveloping several countries, including Spain, in a cloud of dust. Its cities woke up from orange skies, and all parked cars outside were covered in mud. The most remarkable phenomenon of the dust storm was what those car owners had to do every day when they woke up to clean the dust from their bodies.
Spain’s KFC took advantage of the marketing momentum and released an entertaining campaign for all on Twitter, tweeting: “Let’s do one thing: if you stop by any KFC Auto with a ‘breaded’ car and the letters KFC painted with your finger, we will give you two chicken strips with our real breading, This is not a joke, and our restaurants were already notified.”
According to AdWeek, Within 24 hours of the tweet, it generated 5 million views and 300,000 interactions on Twitter. More than 1,000 citizens in Spain allegedly painted the KFC logo on their cars and then drove to KFC Auto to collect their food.
There were also people using bicycles and even baby carriages. The featured campaign capitalized on the weather event everyone was talking about in a fun way, increasing traffic to 76 KFC drive-throughs scattered throughout Spain.
In this case, KFC made good use of Newsjacking marketing techniques.
What is Newsjacking?
Lexico defines Newsjacking as hijacking the news. It is “The practice of taking advantage of current events or news stories in such a way as to promote or advertise one’s product or brand.” to a comment.
Tech Target gives another definition, “the practice of aligning a brand with current events to generate media attention and increase brand exposure.”
Benefits of using Newsjacking for KFC
KFC’s Newsjacking marketing approach significantly increased the brand’s social engagement. Social media can promote conversationalist. People love to share trends and stay up to date on what’s hot.
KFC published its views on breaking news or made it more engaging, significantly increasing its presence on social media. Turning news into content on company’s website or social media is arguably one of the best and most effective way to build the brand and attract more traffic.
This type of marketing strategy simultaneously enhances KFC’s brand reputation and general awareness. KFC’s content successfully navigates the current hot topics and attracts a large numbers of audiences. Its content has the potential to leave a lasting impression on the audiences and may lead to further connections. This strategy can significantly enhance KFC’s brand reputation due to the conversational value of Newsjacking.
