2017’s Most Viewed Viral Brand Video to Celebrate Canada’s 150th Birthday
Insight
While it would've been expected for KFC Canada to come up with the next maple leaf shaped chicken patty to celebrate Canada 150, we knew that we needed to find a more authentic connection for the brand. Instead of shying away from our American heritage, we embraced this reality and turned a weakness into a strength.
Idea
Canadians champion our uniquely Canadian ways and wear those differences like a badge of honour. So instead of attempting to convince Canadians that KFC is as patriotic as they are, we instead directed our message to Americans to teach them about the wonders of Canada and Canada Day.
On June 26, 2017 in honour of Canada’s 150th anniversary we changed KFC’s name to K’ehFC atop the Colonel’s first store in Saskatoon as well as was the company’s website and social media channels. To help spread our message, we partnered with Stratford, Ontario-based content creator Brittlestar, whose previous content spoke to the US/Canada tension in a way that resonated with Canadians. We helped write and edit the video that brought our insight to life in a funny, shareable way.
Impact
Our video generated more than 50 million views across social platforms with 700,000 social media shares, making it the most viewed and shared brand video produced in Canada in 2017. We also delivered over 165 million earned media impressions from 418 stories across print, television, radio and online coverage. But most importantly, brand sales responded positively to our campaign as KFC Canada Day sales were +9% year-over-year.