Source of article: Universal McCann
Challenge
FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, the most awaited sporting event was finally here, and sports obsessed Malaysians were ready for it!
Brands were poised to ride the football wave. But how could you when we’re not a global sponsor? For KFC, the challenge was even bigger, our biggest competitor WAS a sponsor, ready to take on eyeballs, hearts and tummies, as Malaysians shouted ‘goooooooooooaaaal’ along with their favourite teams.
Some smart, strategic planning was called for to cleverly own and associate ourselves with the biggest sporting event. We looked to see how we could include KFC into every football celebratory occasion, and place the idea of the Colonel as top-of-mind throughout the month.
Objective: Make KFC the most associated fast food brand with Top-of-Mind-Awareness during World Cup to drive engagement and consideration. We were going to turn KFC into a FC (Football Club)!
Solution
The football pundit’s role in every football match is crucial as they aim to excite audiences. Drawing inspiration from beloved Malaysian folk character Pak Pandir, “Pak Pandit” was born – an eccentric, friendly, knowledgeable uncle-like figure with a passion for football and fondness for KFC. Partnering with Astro, one of Malaysia’s official World Cup broadcasters, Pak Pandit appeared across 360 touch points.
Haniff, the ERA drive-time DJ, perfectly portrayed Pak Pandit. He shared lively commentary via 24 customised videos on his social (and Astro’s), each video included product mentions for different football fans. For instance, he shared about match highlights with Spicy Cheese Crunch for the Sports Fans and gave an in-depth yet quirky match review to remind the die-hard fans to grab the nuggets from Dipidap Bucket.
Catering to non-digital natives, Pak Pandit also made appearances on TV talkshows and sports channels, served as radio sports-announcer and attended live football viewing event (ERA Syok Vaganza) alongside famous local football players and listeners.
Results
Overall, we saw positive uplift across YouGov metrics. During the world cup period:
- Ad awareness increased by 4pts while Consideration increased by 4.5pts, Purchase Intent increased by 3.6x.
- Recommendation score & Brand Index increased by +6pts & 6.5pts respectively after the campaign.
- Pak Pandit videos recorded 1,001,088 views on Astro’s social media (82% more views than planned).
- Haniff’s IG Story reached an additional 7,517 NEW unique accounts.
Most importantly, KFC sales obtained 15% growth vs the past year! All with smart hijacking!