The difference in brand marketing between KFC and McDonald’s!

Introduction: Whether it is KFC's down-to-earth approach or McDonald's' persistence in individuality, they have undoubtedly found their own development paths in the Chinese market.

If you follow the League of Legends e-sports events and LPL, you will definitely be familiar with "Colonel KI". Colonel KI is an e-sports event prediction AI jointly launched by KFC and LPL. Just recently, Colonel KI won the i-com Global Grand Prize and Content Marketing Category Award, defeating many well-known brands including its old rival McDonald's.

KFC has become a veteran in marketing, while its arch-rival McDonald's has never made any "big news". These two "Western fast food" brands are equally popular in China, but from a marketing perspective, it seems that KFC is better?

Now: Frequent Action vs. Unmoved

KFC has had a very strong presence recently, and it can even be said to be making frequent moves. First, it changed the logo of Colonel Whitebeard to a sexy and handsome uncle, and then on Mother's Day it launched a muscular man dancing commercial with a strong hormone scent. These unexpected moves and style changes made it difficult for many people to adapt for a while and sparked heated discussions. This is not the first time that Colonel KI from KFC has won a marketing award. In March, Colonel KI won several awards including the annual platinum award at the Asia Pacific Media Advertising Festival, becoming a hot case in the marketing industry.

McDonald's, or the Golden Arches, is relatively silent. Apart from the wave of public opinion that was set off when it was renamed "Golden Arches", there seems to be no other topic worthy of discussion so far.

This pair of opponents, one still and one moving, each embodies their own style. As two global fast food giants, KFC and McDonald's are rivals. From a global market perspective, McDonald's has more stores than KFC, but in the Chinese market, McDonald's is slightly inferior. It seems that there are huge differences in the localization process of the two brands.

1. Differences and changes in market positioning

No difference vs. differentiation

McDonald's entered the Chinese market earlier than KFC, but its early arrival did not bring it more advantages. Instead, it suffered from "inadaptability to the local environment". Because in the beginning, McDonald's adopted an undifferentiated market strategy and directly transferred its Western experience to China, such as opening stores near gas stations. This brought McDonald's more than 70% of profits in the United States, but it simply did not work in China. Similarly, in terms of products, McDonald's mainly focuses on hamburgers and beef, which is very consistent with European and American eating habits, but is not so popular in China.

KFC has shown a stronger ability to adapt. It has made differentiated market strategies based on different regions and eating habits. While adhering to the principle of chicken, it has launched soups, porridge, rice and other products that are more in line with Chinese tastes. It also continuously introduces new products with local flavors, such as Old Beijing Chicken Roll, Sichuan Spicy Chicken, etc.

Precisely because the two companies adopted different strategies when they first entered the market, KFC came from behind and McDonald's was clearly aware of this and quickly adjusted its market positioning and made differentiated changes.

Three-yuan family VS "family bucket"

McDonald's initial target group was urban families, but with the changes in global concepts of family and marriage over the past decade or so, singleness, late marriage and childbirth, and DINK families have become prominent social phenomena. While McDonald's takes families as its core group, it also focuses on "pleasing" the children in the family who have the least purchasing power, and therefore launches many unprofitable products to attract children. However, changes in social concepts and the pressure of homogeneous competition have put McDonald's in a difficult situation in this market segment.

KFC's market positioning may seem crude and unreasonable, but it has achieved good results in the Chinese market. It launched the "Family Bucket" series, which has become a classic meal package. It unexpectedly fits the Chinese concept of large families and has entered a multi-level consumer group.

Although McDonald's started off with a bad start, it continued to change and adjust amidst the setbacks. After the "I Like It" series of advertisements, McDonald's abandoned its market positioning for families and turned to the more promising young people's market, taking a successful step towards younger branding while also helping the localization process.

2. Product Differences and Changes

Chicken vs. Hamburger Beef

KFC mainly sells chicken food such as fried chicken, which is more in line with Chinese people's eating habits. This has become an inherent advantage for KFC in entering the Chinese market. On the contrary, McDonald's mainly sells hamburgers and beef products, which are more in line with the tastes of Europeans and Americans, so it is not very popular.

When it comes to product innovation, KFC seems to have spared no effort. Based on the main flavor of chicken, KFC has launched many localized new product categories for the Chinese market, and they are updated frequently and are very down-to-earth.

Although McDonald's has always adhered to the concept of hamburgers and beef, it has not taken many actions to innovate its products. This toughness and persistence seems a bit conservative. However, in order to compete with KFC, McDonald's also launched chicken burgers, and when compared with similar products, such as burgers, children's meals and drinks, the variety and choices are usually richer than KFC.

Although chicken helped KFC gain access to the Chinese market, McDonald's insistence on its individuality was not in vain. As Chinese people's diet has become more inclusive and diverse, McDonald's has also gained a place in China. However, compared with its global sales, it is only a very small part.

Coupon VS Second Half Price

In terms of price, generally speaking, there is not much difference between the two, but in terms of price options, McDonald's has more options than KFC. For example, the lowest and highest prices for hamburgers are both at McDonald's, which satisfies more consumer needs.

McDonald's is ahead of KFC in promotions, especially in terms of price, and many consumers believe that McDonald's offers better value for money. For example, McDonald's was the first to launch activities such as super value breakfast and second cup at half price. The combination discount strategy caused other fast food brands to follow suit, including KFC. Moreover, in terms of tea drinks, McDonald's offers free refills of coffee and tea, but KFC can only refill boiled water.

It can be seen that McDonald's is good at using price promotions to gain more sales, and often carries out low-price promotions and second-serving half-price activities. Its desserts have always been half-price for the second cup. KFC, on the other hand, is not so active in price wars, and usually gives discounts to customers in the form of coupons during holidays.

3. Differences and changes in marketing

Traffic VS Product

KFC is obviously a veteran in marketing, and in the era of traffic, KFC seems to be even more adept at it. Not only is it good at using various popular elements, in addition to inviting popular stars to endorse its products, it also frequently engages in cross-border collaborations, such as the previous "Onmyoji" and "League of Legends" theme restaurants, and Colonel KI's cooperation with the LPL e-sports events, all of which are manifestations of its catering to the preferences of young people. On social platforms, KFC also likes to use buzzwords to interact with netizens, appearing youthful and down-to-earth.

Although McDonald's also attaches importance to traffic, it is obviously much more low-key. Its most massive marketing campaign is still the name change to "Golden Arches". However, later its chairman said that this was actually an "unintentional" marketing. McDonald's marketing is not as varied and pop culture-friendly as KFC's. Instead, it focuses more on the product itself. It can be seen from the updates of the official account and promotional posters that the product is basically in the "C position".

Youth VS style

KFC has done an excellent job in marketing and has integrated well with China's popular trends during the localization process. It follows the footsteps of young people, pursuing youth and change. The playful copywriting, frequent use of emoticons, and changing the old colonel into a handsome uncle all show KFC's catering to the young market. This approach of rejuvenation and increasing exposure has indeed achieved certain success in marketing. But on the other hand, it is easy to overshadow the main product and appear exaggerated. In many cases, gimmicks often overshadow the promoted products, leaving consumers confused and unable to distinguish between the primary and secondary products. For example, the update of the LOGO has caused some controversy.

Although McDonald's is not as good as KFC in marketing, it has also developed a unique style. When it comes to product promotion and publicity design, McDonald's is more thoughtful, conservative and stable, and often creates a certain sense of design and style. For example, McDonald's once launched a set of graphic posters with the theme of "Rain". It invited a special photographer to shoot the posters, selected romantic French street scenes, and used post-processing to present a scene of France in the rain, which was full of romance. It also used the method of embedding scenarios to make consumers have consumption associations. This poster design is not an isolated case. McDonald's has also launched a series of posters with neon lights and late-night lights that are equally artistic, infecting consumers from an aesthetic and spiritual level. It can be seen that McDonald's maintains its style and gives consumers a more "high-end" feeling.

Although KFC and McDonald's have become "enemies" for more than two decades after entering China, the continuous evolution and changes in the brand localization process have allowed them to slowly change from a "irreconcilable" relationship to "moving hand in hand". At least in the competition in the same industry, the smell of gunpowder between the two is not so strong. Whether it is KFC's down-to-earth approach or McDonald's' persistence in individuality, they have undoubtedly found their own development paths in the Chinese market.

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Source: PR Home