Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation?

When 2020 happened, stores closed, people stayed in. While the rest of the world waited for everything to open back again, KFC found a way to simulate the in-store dining experience in an online game people have flocked to - Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Introducing, Kentucky Fried Crossing. Where we launched a store right in the game itself. There were gravy pumps, menu boards, and buckets of KFC. No detail was spared; we even had an 11 secret herbs and spices vault. Players got to interact with the Colonel and enjoy a full KFC dining experience –no social distancing necessary.

Background

In the Philippine Fast Food Wars, KFC only has 1/3 of stores compared to Jollibee and Mcdonald’s. With KFC’s limited stores in the country, foot traffic plummeted when the Philippines went through the longest lockdown in the world. We needed to find a way to bring KFC back on top of the minds of consumers.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

People weren’t allowed to go out in the real world, but started gathering in the virtual world. The most on demand virtual game? Animal Crossing! So if they can’t go out and eat at our stores, we brought the KFC branch straight into the game.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

Our target consisted of people who spent their time playing video games during lockdown. Particularly, we designed the experience for the rapidly growing Animal Crossing community. We were finding ways to be top of mind for our target audience whilst avoiding the pandemic-heavy communications from other brands.

Describe the execution (30% of vote)

We created a KFC branch in 2020’s newest hit game, Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The popular Nintendo Switch game had players decorating personal islands to show off to the public. Using in-game items, we simulated the look and experience of eating in a real store. From June 17 to 22, 2020, players could log in, visit our virtual store, and even meet a digital avatar of Colonel Sanders. Lucky visitors were treated to a free bucket of chicken in real life. “KFC Island” became so popular among Animal Crossing players that it caught the attention of Nintendo, who gave us a notice to suspend the campaign. Although, that did not dampen the impact in the gaming community. Players started creating their own KFC-themed islands and showed the virtual world how much they love KFC.

List the results (30% of vote)

KFC’s virtual island’s week-long stunt increased KFC Philippines sales by 13.3% despite the whole country being in lockdown. At zero cost, it also garnered 62% more mentions from fans versus other fast food giants in the Philippines. 97% of the whole KFC PH fanbase clamored to participate in the limited time event, and publications around the world dug in on the action.