How can the catering industry achieve better advertising results?

For catering brands, adapting to local customs is nothing uncommon. For example, McDonald's once launched "Szechuan Hot Sauce" and Pizza Hut also launched Chinese pizza.

As a giant in the fast food industry, KFC has been continuously launching traditional Chinese snacks to cater to the tastes of the Chinese people, from fried dough sticks, Old Beijing chicken rolls, sesame cakes, rice balls, to skewers...it is determined to catch all the traditional Chinese food in one fell swoop.

Following the great popularity of the rice balls launched the year before last and the flatbreads launched last year, KFC recently launched improved versions of the rice balls and flatbreads. They are crispy rice balls with tuna sauce and fried meat with fresh and fragrant kelp wrapped in pancakes.

1. Yin Zheng transforms into a "rice ball chef" and a "pancake chef"

I vow to compete with [tuna] and [kelp]

In order to promote the new product, KFC invited the well-known actor Yin Zheng to play the roles of rice ball maker and pancake maker, and released two versions of preview posters on the official Weibo.

KFC used creative techniques to show the catching process of the two raw materials, tuna and kelp. Even though it was against the wind, the rice ball chef vowed to compete with the tuna! Even if the wind blows and the waves beat, the pancake chef will fight with the kelp to the end! The two ingredients finally captured made a delicious breakfast.

In the short film, Yin Zheng is slapped in the face by kelp, which is quite entertaining. Through Yin Zheng's interesting interpretation, the advertisement was spread among fans, and many fans said that they were amused by the advertisement.

Yin Zheng's appearance came with his own BGM, leaving the audience with the impression of a comedian. His personal image fits in very well with the fun tone of this commercial. Netizens said that his style is very middle school style and KFC chose the right role.

The creative expression techniques and celebrity performances have enhanced audience attention and dissemination, thus helping to promote these two new products.

2. Catering to the needs of Chinese consumers

Adapt to local customs and do “localized marketing”

As an old driver in the food world, KFC has always been well versed in Chinese food culture. Therefore, soy milk, fried dough sticks, rice balls and pancakes, which are popular among the public, were successively incorporated into breakfast to create localized marketing.

Then someone may ask, pancakes and rice balls are snacks we often eat, KFC sells them at a higher price than ordinary shops, will there be a market for them?

Regarding this issue, you overlooked an important element: brand effect.

They are the same fried dough sticks and sesame cakes, why do the ones bought from roadside stalls feel cheap, while the ones from KFC feel high-end and classy? This is the blessing of brand effect.

Take fried dough sticks as an example. When KFC first launched fried dough sticks, it promoted the healthy brand of "safe fried dough sticks" that did not contain leavening agents. This effectively differentiated it from the fried dough sticks sold at roadside stalls. As people have higher and higher requirements for food health and hygiene, many people would rather pay a higher price for food with a brand effect.

In addition, KFC has also made innovations in the combination of ingredients and flavors, so there is no need to worry about the lack of a market. However, when KFC launched these traditional Chinese snacks, its competitors were not street shops but branded restaurants, which captured consumers' taste buds through continuous product innovation.

3. To win the hearts of young people

First, we must capture the "stomach" of young people

If a brand wants to continue to ignite consumers' enthusiasm, it must break through the original product structure, constantly innovate, and bring new stimulation to consumers.

The two categories of rice balls and pancakes have expanded KFC's original product line and are more in line with Chinese tastes. By launching new flavors to make the brand more down-to-earth and youthful, it can break through consumers' inherent perception of it, stimulate purchasing desire, and at the same time attract consumers' attention and discussion to the greatest extent.

The "China Catering Report 2019" shows that among China's catering consumers, people born in the 1990s (those born in the 1990s and 1995s) account for 51.4%, far exceeding the proportion of the 1990s in the total population. This shows that the mainstream consumer group in the catering industry is this group of young people.

Wanglaoji sells milk tea, Heytea sells stinky tofu... Capital will flow to wherever young people's consumption trends are.

Young consumers like new and novel things, and hope to enjoy delicious food while being surprised by the food. Delicious and novel food can attract them more. They are willing to try unusual flavor combinations and subvert traditional presentation or eating methods. Interesting combinations can provide young consumers with materials for taking photos and sharing them on WeChat Moments, thus meeting their social needs.

Last year, KFC launched a new breakfast called "Everything in Pancake". The product drew inspiration from Tianjin cuisine, and included Tianjin pancakes, shredded potatoes, Beijing-style sauce, crispy chips, scrambled eggs, cucumber strips and more.

This year, KFC launched new rice balls and new flatbreads, a cross-border combination of rice balls and tuna, and a wonderful combination of flatbreads and fried meat with fresh and fragrant kelp shreds. This mix of ingredients and the contrast in taste make consumers willing to try it, while also prompting brands to constantly look for and try out ways to subvert traditional ingredient pairings.

Young people today have higher requirements for food. KFC has leveraged its own brand advantages to continuously cater to the tastes of young people through mixed tastes and trendy and creative eating methods, successfully capturing the hearts of consumers, and becoming a magic weapon for KFC's continuous development and growth in the fast food industry.