Analysing the Marketing Mix of KFC with Detailed 4Ps and Company Overview

Updated on: Aug 29, 2023
Marketing Mix of KFC - featured image | IIDE

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My name is Aditya Shastri and I have written this case study with the help of my students from IIDE's online digital marketing courses in India.

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Previously, we had seen the SWOT Analysis of KFC. Today in this blog let us gain insights about the marketing mix of KFC.

Who doesn’t like spicy, tasty, and crispy fries and world-class juicy chicken? I guess we all do, and so I’m sure that we all have heard the name of the famous food joint, KFC. 

KFC’s full form is Kentucky Fried Chicken and it’s an American fast-food giant with its headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky. It was founded in 1952 and has been operating in several countries and is the second-largest food chain after McDonald’s.

In this blog, we will be covering the 4Ps of the Marketing Mix of KFC, that is the product, price, place and promotion strategy, to understand the concept of marketing in a wider manner to be possible. Let’s start by knowing about KFC company.

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About KFC

KFC Brand Logo - Marketing Mix of KFC | IIDE

KFC is considered to be a food joint that was first found in America and then slowly captured all the markets of the world. It became the second-largest food joint in the world after McDonald’s and has more than 25000 restaurants in about 147 countries in the world.

KFC was first opened in Bangalore in 1995 and from there the numbers increased to 300 outlets. Being the first foreign fast-food restaurant chain to enter the Indian market after the introduction of the liberalization policy, KFC was not supported in many parts of India because of the belief in the old customs, traditions, and food habits. But slowly, with time, most of the Indian market grew fond of their famous sandwiches and their special chicken nuggets. Today in India there are more than 200 outlets of KFC and alas, they keep on growing.

What’s new with KFC

Check out some current news about KFC:

  • KFC India’s latest campaign for the limited edition Double Down Burger has one clear message for chicken lovers – ‘Issey samjho mat, bas khao’.
  • KFC Malaysia Initiates 50th Year Celebration With The Unveiling Of An Immersive ‘Kentucky Town’ Experience.
  • FC Youth Foundation is launching Big Boro Big Eats, a food aid and education programme for young people that will run for seven consecutive weeks from the 24th of July to 8th of September
  • KFC announced today that it has named Paul Tuscano Chief Digital Officer of KFC U.S.
  • KFC has launched KFCShop.com, a new merchandise store for all of your finger-lickin’ good fashion needs, in honour of National Fried Chicken Day.

Target Audience of KFC

Both vegetarian and non-vegetarian customer segments are part of KFC’s target market. Young adults and children alike find its items to be appealing. Young and active professionals are included. They cover highly populated cities.

Check out this buyer persona of KFC to understand the target customer:

Buyer’s Persona

Name:

Roshni

Place:

Mumbai

Age:

20 years

Profession:

Student

Motivation

  • Quick, convenient meals.
  • Affordable, tasty fast food.
  • Occasional indulgence.
  • Student budget-friendly choices.
  • Trying new food trends.

Interest & Hobbies

  • Music, instrument (possibly).
  • Creative arts (painting, writing).
  • Hanging out with friends.
  • College events, extracurriculars.
  • Occasional outdoor activities.

Pain Points

  • Study-life balance.
  • Limited dining budget.
  • Balanced diet concern.
  • Dietary preferences.

Social Media Presence

  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Now that we have got insights about KFC. Let us understand the marketing mix of KFC.

Marketing Mix of KFC

Marketing mix means a set of techniques and tactics a company uses to get in touch with its target audience and promote itself. This marketing mix of KFC includes the 4Ps i.e. product, promotion, pricing, and place strategies.

Thus, we can say that a marketing mix is a tool that helps us to understand a company and its reach much better. Let’s get a better understanding of the marketing mix of KFC.

1. Product Strategy of KFC

Product strategy of KFC - Marketing Mix of KFC | IIDE

A product strategy is a brief outline of the list of the products a firm needs to sell and deliver to its customers.

KFC is famous for its world-class chicken, fries and sandwiches, but the list doesn’t end here. KFC keeps on introducing new items to their menu and that fulfils the deed of keeping the customers always on their toes. The fact that KFC keeps on introducing new items in their menu, helps it to build a strong product strategy and hence supports the marketing. 

Some of the well-known and asked-for products of KFC are:

  • Chicken and Veg Zinger Burgers
  • Rice bowls
  • Fiery chicken wings
  • Boneless chicken wings
  • Veg strips
  • Veg longers
  • French fries

2. Promotion Strategy of KFC

Promotion strategy of KFC - Marketing Mix of KFC | IIDE  Promotion strategy of KFC - Marketing Mix of KFC | IIDE

Promotion strategy is concerned with the ways by which the products of a firm can be promoted in the market.

KFC being one of the biggest food giants promotes itself vigorously. The promotion mainly takes place through television ads, newspapers, magazines and commercial hoardings. KFC has sponsored the Big Bash League(BBL) of Australia and also many cricket games.

KFC’s latest ad campaign stars Allu Arjun, a popular actor, alongside the iconic Colonel Sanders. The ad focuses on the challenge of finding the perfect level of spiciness in food, which Allu can relate to. He tries KFC’s new Peri Peri Chicken and is delighted with its crispy, crunchy, and spicy taste, as seen in the ad. The campaign has already generated excitement among fans of both Allu and KFC.

KFC goes by the slogan ‘Its Finger-Lickin’ Good’ to remind its audience about its lip-smacking food products and delicacies. 

3. Price Strategy of KFC

Price strategy of KFC - Marketing Mix of KFC | IIDE

Pricing strategy is the strategy used by firms to set the prices of their goods so that they can capture the attention of the market effectively and efficiently.

KFC uses a discriminating pricing policy with all its products. The products are of different pricing and ratings. The products sold in India are affordable and are highly bought by the Indian audience.

This Is now in front of its audience.

Though KFC indulges in promoting itself through mass media, television and newspapers, it is still short on sponsoring big events and products sold in different countries that have different pricing. KFC used the price skimming technique and the market penetration technique of marketing, This means that when the competitors entered the market, KFC lowered its prices to a huge extent and while introducing new products, KFC kept its prices bare minimum compared to the later stages to grab attention respectively.

4. Place Strategy of KFC

Place strategy of KFC - Marketing Mix of KFC | IIDE

This strategy is concerned with tracking down the places where the firm can find potential buyers for its products.

KFC’s marketing team is highly conventional in chalking out the grounds of their restaurants all over the country. Their audience-winning tactics are the result of KFC being such a big giant today. It has 25,000+ outlets in 147 different countries and KFC and its outlets.

All the outlets KFC have been strategically opened in areas where schools, colleges, offices or any other educational institution lie. This is because the youth is far more indulgent in these fast-food products than the country’s older population.

Online supply 

In this fast-developing world of technology, KFC has also adapted to the online booking system. This benefits all age groups and mostly the working class people as they don’t have to travel to their outlets to pick up their orders.

When you need food from home or any other place you can order online from the website /apps where KFC has tie-ups and you can avail yourself of offers from 10%-30% and free delivery on the first order too.

Digital marketing strategy of KFC

Digital marketing is the need of the hour. Check out some of the digital marketing strategies of KFC in the following section:

SEO Strategy

marketing strategy of kfc

As per SEO ranking, it is said that the number of keywords – below 500 is bad, above 1000 is good, and 10,000+ is amazing. As we can see, https://online.kfc.co.in/ has a total of 52,741 organic keywords, which is regarded as excellent. Hence we can say that the digital marketing strategy of KFC is remarkable.

With a monthly traffic of around 1,152,174, KFC is undoubtedly amazing.

E-commerce Strategy

Regarding its online presence, KFC has a website where users may make purchases. Since the website’s inception, its revenues have dramatically increased. Additionally, it offers lightning-fast delivery on its own. Additionally, it might be found on applications that deliver food.

Content Marketing

Two strategies are used by KFC for content marketing. The first is to develop distinctive chicken meals and garner media interest. Second, produce engaging content for unpaid websites like YouTube. They aim for both of them. They offer succinct, informative content on their many social media channels to draw the audience’s attention. The fact that they dubbed the same video in many languages to increase views is admirable. They disseminate articles, films, and even pictures as their content.

Social Media Marketing

They use Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to promote their business and offer the most latest updates.
In order to engage the audience, they hold contests and award rewards to the winners. Additionally, they consistently post pictures and videos along with the most recent details on specials, along with short, snappy, and attention-grabbing captions that act as a hook to persuade visitors to place an order.
They go on speaking to Genz. Their followers retweet or reply to their amusing and biting tweets.

Top Competitors of KFC

Here is a list of some competitors of KFC:

  • McDonald’s: Perhaps the strongest rival in the fast food restaurant chain industry is McDonald’s. It frequently holds the top spot in most categories related to this industry, such as monthly customers served and sales volume. Understand in-depth about the brand using its marketing mix.
  • Burger King: Since it first began operating in the fast food industry, Burger King has established itself as a major player. Its primary focus on serving burgers provided it a distinct advantage because it allowed it to specialise and provide the best quality.
  • Subway: Subway has been in the fast food industry for half a decade, which is a strong indication that it is a brand you should pay attention to. To reach as many clients as possible, it has continuously grown both locally and internationally. You can get more insights about the brand through its marketing mix.
  • Dunkin Donuts: It came out as one of the top fast-food restaurant chains with the greatest number of franchise locations worldwide. When it first started, its main goal was to provide clients with coffee and donuts. However, as the line grew and new goods were needed, the company opted to expand its primarily coffee-focused menu by adding soft drinks, hot and cold beverages, as well as a breakfast menu.
  • Pizza Hut: After realising that it could also fill the void that other service providers had not exploited, Pizza Hut rose to become one of the top players in the fast-service restaurant chain market. Since it first began doing business, it has been committed to providing the greatest service and effectively attending to the unique demands of its clientele.

The marketing strategy and marketing mix of KFC should be well planned and strategized to sustain the changing market trends and keep up with the competition.

This brings us to the end of the analysis of the Marketing mix of KFC. Let us sum up our understanding in the next section.

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Conclusion

KFC as a chain of restaurants is very powerful and has penetrated almost all the markets of the world. It delivers quality products at very affordable prices and satisfies its audience with timely delivery of its delicacies. 

In the above case study based on the 4Ps of the marketing mix of KFC, we can see that the ideology and the tactics used by KFC are planned and practiced. It is through these tactics that KFC has become what it wants to be held all around the world. The placement of the restaurants is a commendable idea and has worked its way best to win the audience from all over the world.

So in the above case study on the marketing mix of KFC, you saw how companies are marketing digitally, so if you want to learn a digital marketing course after reading this. IIDE offers you various courses.

We hope u have gained some knowledge about the marketing mix of KFC. If you like it please share it with your friends and comment your thoughts on the case study. Also if you wish to read more such case studies check out our IIDE Portal.

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Aditya Shastri

Lead Trainer & Head of Learning & Development at IIDE

Leads the Learning & Development segment at IIDE. He is a Content Marketing Expert and has trained 6000+ students and working professionals on various topics of Digital Marketing. He has been a guest speaker at prominent colleges in India including IIMs......[Read full bio]

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