In the UK, KFC recently turned a reputational crisis into a marketing coup. The brand’s crisis came about as the result of delivery failures which caused almost all of the 870 KFC outlets in the UK, most run by franchisees, to close their doors. The back story is that logistics company DHL won the account to deliver fresh chickens to KFC outlets around the UK, but that after taking over the account in February it soon became clear that it was not up to the task. The result was that many stores literally had nothing to sell and were forced to close for around two weeks last month. Consumers were up in arms; some even called their local emergency services to complain. KFC responded in what some call the best “sorry” ad every made. The company took out a full page ad, created by its ad agency, Mother, in a number of national newspapers to apologise for the chicken shortage. The ads showed an empty KFC bucket with the brand’s well-known acronym switched around to read “FCK”. Below the ...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.