This simple but counterintuitive commerce idea transformed KFC’s app from a sometimes app into a daily app. And the sales that came from it were so significant, it’s changing the way the business thinks about app acquisition.

IDEA

We turned the KFC app into a travel app.

KFC has a world of unique international products out there. From the poutine fries in Canada to the Wafu Cutlet Burger in Japan. So, to boost app sales in Australia, we decided to do something radical.

We secretly dropped some of these weird and wonderful international items into our app and offered them for sale. The twist though – the first person to snap them up was given tickets to go pick them up from the overseas destination. As news spread with each product drop, so did the excitement.

CONTEXT

The Cost-of-Living Crisis that hit Australians in 2023 was said to be the record high in Aussie history. It became THE news headline and infiltrated culture so much that the term ‘Cossi Livs’ became Australian slang for the crisis. The impact on QSR (and most other sectors) saw a decline in growth against the previous year. So, pressure was on to do something to drive app acquisition and transactions.

OBJECTIVES

To meet the business objective of increased sales, we set two KPIs:

1. Increase app downloads – get MORE people onto our app.

2. Increase transactions – to get customers (new and existing) making MORE transactions.

STRATEGY

Our strategy was to tap into Australian consumer desire to travel and explore, in a climate where it feels like an unaffordable luxury. We stepped out of the discounting mayhem and created a brand experience that would offer lifelong memories to customers who found the international menu items in the Aussie KFC app.

But you had to be in it to win it, and to be in it you needed to download the KFC app.

EXECUTION

Kentucky Fly launched with the Japanese Wafu Cutlet Burger. We dropped it into the Aussie app and didn’t tell anyone.

Within minutes a customer called Lisa had found it. The twist - when she tried to pop it in her basket she was told if she wanted it, she’d have to fly to Japan. So that’s what she did. We flew her Business Class to Tokyo, creating a travel adventure in the process. We filmed her adventure and turned it into content within 24 hours, driving the message that there was another product drop coming. People were like…what?! I want in!

So, when the next product dropped people were on the lookout. Josh found this one. Off he went to Canada to pick up his Poutine Fries. More and more products dropped. From destinations including Spain, Mexico and South Africa. With each trip came more content and more buzz.

RESULTS

Kentucky Fly was about driving sales via the app, and it blew our objectives out of the spreadsheet!

Over the four-week campaign it delivered:

43% uplift in new app users

1.84 million app transactions

$40 million in app sales

The uplift in transactions driven by the Kentucky Fly menu across new and existing customer segments resulted in a staggering performance and the highest daily sales record since November 2023.