KFC Achieves Major PR Score, Misses Mark in Delivery

For those of you who read my blog(s) regularly you know that I harp on one thing....Are you prepared for PR? Are you fully prepared for what can happen to your business virtually overnight with one major national media story?

This week KFC (part of the Pepsi Co. brands) scored BIG TIME when Oprah announced that KFC was giving her viewers the opportunity to get a free bucket of their new grilled chicken two-piece meal by printing off a coupon from her website.

What I deemed a "brilliant" marketing moment for KFC quickly turned into an ugly nightmare of lines, angry customers, TV crews and bad PR for the company. Every company wants to get the attention of Oprah and she obliged, but your business MUST be ready on all fronts for the attention major PR opportunities like that can have on your business.

Here's where KFC missed the mark, and what you can learn from them:

1. Prepare, prepare, prepare - No one goes to battle without a plan, and I can guarantee that if a Colonel were really running the business the battle plan would have been very clear to all. Preparation isn't just for the corporate office but, in this case, all of your "franchises" and spinoffs. Even vendors, retailers and all business partners need to be fully aware of your marketing plans or when a BIG media story might be coming out.
In fact, you might consider doing a video or conference call, webinar or go around to each major store personally to walk them through the program

2. Communication IS THE KEY - Clearly KFC failed to effectively communicate to its stores around the country what the plan with Oprah was, why the company was doing such a HUGE promotion and, most importantly, the steps each business needed to take to manage crowds, additional publicity in local markets and general customer service.
KFC totally blew it! It was easy to see that local stores were completely overwhelmed and TOTALLY under-prepared.

3. Test before implementation - In my industry there are plenty of agencies out there that come up with "brilliant" ideas and then are surprised that the concept flops when they implement to the public. Terrible! Think about every time that you've seen a major company implement a program and watched it flail and then fail. I learned this a long time ago in the radio business and still believe in the importance of testing....ANYTHING - a promotion, product, marketing campaign, anything and everything should be tested before implementing and turning it lose on the public.

4. If you screw up, admit it - It holds true in relationships and with the public. Customers lose faith fast in companies that fail to communicate with them appropriately. At the worst their perception of your brand goes down and so do your sales, until you can regain their faith. KFC should have immediately delivered a statement to their upset customers across the country yesterday, but I believe that they should have contacted Oprah and apologized for being completely under-prepared. I will tell you one thing, I doubt that she'll work with them again any time in the near future.

5. Finally, the most unfortunate outcome of the KFC situation is, in my belief, going to be the strained relationship between the corporate office and local franchise stores. The company now needs to do some serious damage control on the inside to regain the respect of the store owners who make the company what it is. After this debacle....I highly suggest a paid vacation for all to the Caribbean and small group sit downs with executives where they can share their experience and input. It's a band-aid but it's a start.