Essay on Marketing: Advertising and Kfc

An Investigation into how KFC advertisements affect consumer behaviour, and how this affects the perception of the brand

ABSTRACT

KFC is one of the most popular and well established fast food chains in the world. Sales of products in fast food restaurants have continued to rise in the UK in recent years despite economic recession, and it is clear that KFC continues to thrive. This study explores the relationship between advertising, consumer behaviour and consumer perception of the KFC brand to establish precisely why consumers are attract to KFC and why they remain loyal to the brand. Using a combination of literature review and primary and secondary data the study establishes that there is a clear correlation between advertising and brand loyalty in respect of KFC. It would seem that this is largely driven by the effectiveness of the advertising in generating an emotional response in consumers, which in turn serves to reiterate the brand message. The research also determines that the business model of KFC has a significant impact on the marketing mix as demonstrated by the combination of global brand and local knowledge. The findings of the study conclude that whilst it is self evident that KFC is a highly successful brand, and there is a clear relationship between KFC brand awareness and consumer loyalty, further more in-depth research is required to establish whether external variables influence consumer decisions. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 Introduction

1.1 Contextual Background – Marketing and the use of Advertising in the Fast Food Industry 1.2 Aims and Objectives 6
1.3 A Short History of KFC 7
1.4 Report Structure 7

2.0 Literature Review

2.1 Introduction 8
2.2 Marketing in the Fast Food Industry 8
2.2.1 Forms of Marketing – The Marketing Mix at KFC
2.3 The use of Advertising as a Marketing Tool 10
2.3.1 Types of Advertising – Pioneering v Competitive
2.3.2 Measuring the Effectiveness of Advertising in Marketing Communications – Strength of Brand
2.3.3 Advertising in a Contextual Setting – KFC around the World
2.4 Influencing Consumer Perception 14
2.4.1 SERVQUAL Instruments
2.5 Conclusions 15

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Contextual Background – Marketing and the use of Advertising in the Fast Food Industry

According to the UK department for statistics, (2010) consumer spending on fast food restaurants in the last quarter of 2010 rose 2.4% on the previous quarter and up nearly 6% on the like for like period in 2009. Clearly something is encouraging UK consumers into fast food restaurants and given the dire state of the UK economy at the moment it seems unlikely that consumers have suddenly decided they have surplus disposable income. Therefore it can be supposed that other factors such as advertising are in fact influencing consumer decision-making in respect of fast food restaurants such as Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) a popular global chain of fast food restaurants was founded in the US in 1930.

Although KFC has always advertised successfully and the brand and logo are recognised on a global scale, Kentucky Fried Chicken formally changed its name to KFC in 1991 (O’Keegan, 1991) as it sought to improve its fast food image to more of a family restaurant. Despite periods of controversy and criticism KFC has continued to be hugely successful with a turnover in excess of $500 million in 2010 (KFC, 2010). Some critics have argued that restaurants such as KFC which essentially sells unhealthy high-fat foods should be prevented from advertising to children (Bergen, 2004) and indeed fast food advertising has been banned in the UK from children’s’ television since 2007 (Fast Food Nation, 2011). Yet despite these issues and setbacks KFC continues to thrive. Thus this report intends to conduct a study into how KFC advertisements affect consumer behaviour, and how this affects the perception of the

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