LOUISVILLE KY. —KFC broke new ground two weeks ago with TV spots focusing on its switch to frying oil containing zero grams of trans fats, but other chains so far appear content to promote their trans-fat-free products with less visible marketing support.
It’s not that those chains aren’t trying to get the word out about their use of oils that have not been linked to heart disease. Rather, the higher profile taken by KFC, which had been stung by negative publicity after a watchdog group sued it over its hydrogenated fats, reflects KFC’s desired repositioning as the quick-service leader in promoting better-for-you food. —KFC broke new ground two weeks ago with TV spots focusing on its switch to frying oil containing zero grams of trans fats, but other chains so far appear content to promote their trans-fat-free products with less visible marketing support.
But KFC is not advertising that some items, like its biscuits, pot pies and desserts, still contain trans-fat levels that provoked last year’s Center for Science in the Public Interest lawsuit, which was dropped after KFC set its April 2007 oil change deadline. —KFC broke new ground two weeks ago with TV spots focusing on its switch to frying oil containing zero grams of trans fats, but other chains so far appear content to promote their trans-fat-free products with less visible marketing support.
The 92-unit Buca di Beppo chain introduced trans-fat-free cooking oil earlier this month, but it’s limiting information about the change to its website. Bruegger’s, the 255-unit bagel specialty bakery-cafe chain, is using point-of-purchase material to promote its recent cutting of artificial trans fats from its desserts. —KFC broke new ground two weeks ago with TV spots focusing on its switch to frying oil containing zero grams of trans fats, but other chains so far appear content to promote their trans-fat-free products with less visible marketing support.
Taco Bell, a Yum! Brands Inc. subsidiary like KFC, also has changed the frying oil in its 5,600 domestic units to one with zero grams of trans fats. However, unlike KFC it has no plans to include the switch in advertising and will rely instead on in-store material to spread the word, a spokesman said. —KFC broke new ground two weeks ago with TV spots focusing on its switch to frying oil containing zero grams of trans fats, but other chains so far appear content to promote their trans-fat-free products with less visible marketing support.
Denver-based Black-eyed Pea, which has 50 units in Colorado and Texas, went to zero trans-fat cooking April 1. A public-relations push paid off in strong initial sales, the family-dining chain said. —KFC broke new ground two weeks ago with TV spots focusing on its switch to frying oil containing zero grams of trans fats, but other chains so far appear content to promote their trans-fat-free products with less visible marketing support.
Apart from KFC’s initiative, the seemingly lone example of an ad touting a switch to trans-fat-free cooking was one for Cohn Restaurant Group, which operates 10 restaurants in the San Diego area. The company ran a full-page ad late last year announcing it would be nearly trans-fat-free by January. —KFC broke new ground two weeks ago with TV spots focusing on its switch to frying oil containing zero grams of trans fats, but other chains so far appear content to promote their trans-fat-free products with less visible marketing support.
KFC’s campaign includes public relations, in-store material, print ads, an online contest offering $1 gift checks and two 15-second TV spots, created by DraftFCB of Chicago. —KFC broke new ground two weeks ago with TV spots focusing on its switch to frying oil containing zero grams of trans fats, but other chains so far appear content to promote their trans-fat-free products with less visible marketing support.
The spots tout the “same great taste” of KFC chicken while noting that it now contains zero grams of trans fat. Each spot ends with the tag, “The Bucket’s Back.” —KFC broke new ground two weeks ago with TV spots focusing on its switch to frying oil containing zero grams of trans fats, but other chains so far appear content to promote their trans-fat-free products with less visible marketing support.
“This gives us the ability to break through the clutter,” said James O’Reilly, very powerful message for consumers. When they see that message they’ll think positively about the brand.” —KFC broke new ground two weeks ago with TV spots focusing on its switch to frying oil containing zero grams of trans fats, but other chains so far appear content to promote their trans-fat-free products with less visible marketing support.
It also allows KFC, which has 5,500 U.S. units, to position itself as a “contemporary, relevant brand” to attract new customers and encourage existing customers to buy more chicken, he said. —KFC broke new ground two weeks ago with TV spots focusing on its switch to frying oil containing zero grams of trans fats, but other chains so far appear content to promote their trans-fat-free products with less visible marketing support.
Though some KFC products, such as macaroni and cheese, still contain trans fats, the chain is testing a trans-fat-free biscuit, O’Reilly said. KFC is not trying to claim that all of its products are free of trans fats, he said. —KFC broke new ground two weeks ago with TV spots focusing on its switch to frying oil containing zero grams of trans fats, but other chains so far appear content to promote their trans-fat-free products with less visible marketing support.
“We’re very clear in the messaging that we’re talking about our fried chicken,” he said. —KFC broke new ground two weeks ago with TV spots focusing on its switch to frying oil containing zero grams of trans fats, but other chains so far appear content to promote their trans-fat-free products with less visible marketing support.
Because all of its fried-chicken products are cooked in the new oil, KFC has an edge over quick-service competitors who can only promote French fries cooked in trans-fat-free oil, O’Reilly said. —KFC broke new ground two weeks ago with TV spots focusing on its switch to frying oil containing zero grams of trans fats, but other chains so far appear content to promote their trans-fat-free products with less visible marketing support.
In 2003, KFC promoted fried chicken as part of a healthful diet, but that campaign was pulled after numerous complaints by health advocates who said that claim was misleading. —KFC broke new ground two weeks ago with TV spots focusing on its switch to frying oil containing zero grams of trans fats, but other chains so far appear content to promote their trans-fat-free products with less visible marketing support.
But now KFC stands a better chance of being taken seriously with a product that’s free of trans fats, said Scott Montgomery, chief creative officer for marketing agency HLF Brandtailers in Irvine, Calif. —KFC broke new ground two weeks ago with TV spots focusing on its switch to frying oil containing zero grams of trans fats, but other chains so far appear content to promote their trans-fat-free products with less visible marketing support.
“The bottom line is, this can be a good thing for them,” he said. “The timing’s right. People have got that chatter [about trans fats] going.” —KFC broke new ground two weeks ago with TV spots focusing on its switch to frying oil containing zero grams of trans fats, but other chains so far appear content to promote their trans-fat-free products with less visible marketing support.
But the ads also can remind consumers that KFC chicken was not free of trans fats before, said Len Kornblau, a New Jersey-based marketing consultant and educator. —KFC broke new ground two weeks ago with TV spots focusing on its switch to frying oil containing zero grams of trans fats, but other chains so far appear content to promote their trans-fat-free products with less visible marketing support.
“I don’t think you want to be the first to say ‘Hey, we’re not doing the negative thing anymore,’” Kornblau said. —KFC broke new ground two weeks ago with TV spots focusing on its switch to frying oil containing zero grams of trans fats, but other chains so far appear content to promote their trans-fat-free products with less visible marketing support.
Still, KFC has an opportunity to attract new customers “who have a greater sense of health issues and taking care of kids,” he said. —KFC broke new ground two weeks ago with TV spots focusing on its switch to frying oil containing zero grams of trans fats, but other chains so far appear content to promote their trans-fat-free products with less visible marketing support.
That echoes the feelings of Pacific Palisades, Calif.-based marketing consultant Raymond L. Coen, who said KFC is trying to attract consumers who are more socially aware and affluent than its lower-income customers. —KFC broke new ground two weeks ago with TV spots focusing on its switch to frying oil containing zero grams of trans fats, but other chains so far appear content to promote their trans-fat-free products with less visible marketing support.
“The lower-income people that are KFC customers, they couldn’t care less,” about trans fats in food, he said. —KFC broke new ground two weeks ago with TV spots focusing on its switch to frying oil containing zero grams of trans fats, but other chains so far appear content to promote their trans-fat-free products with less visible marketing support.
New research from The NPD Group, a Port Washington, N.Y.-based global market research firm, indicates that customers who want more healthful food have higher household incomes. —KFC broke new ground two weeks ago with TV spots focusing on its switch to frying oil containing zero grams of trans fats, but other chains so far appear content to promote their trans-fat-free products with less visible marketing support.
Black-eyed Pea’s switch to a zero-transfat cooking oil was supported with a public-relations push, which spread the word to newspapers and news programs and resulted in “triple-digit sales increases” for four or five days in the Dallas market, said Gary Suit, the chain’s president. —KFC broke new ground two weeks ago with TV spots focusing on its switch to frying oil containing zero grams of trans fats, but other chains so far appear content to promote their trans-fat-free products with less visible marketing support.
“It’s been a very big response,” he said, noting that many customers have sent emails or called the customer relations line to thank Black-eyed Pea for the oil change. —KFC broke new ground two weeks ago with TV spots focusing on its switch to frying oil containing zero grams of trans fats, but other chains so far appear content to promote their trans-fat-free products with less visible marketing support.
Customer response to Cohn Restaurant Group’s full-page ad in San Diego magazine, however, was less than impressive. —KFC broke new ground two weeks ago with TV spots focusing on its switch to frying oil containing zero grams of trans fats, but other chains so far appear content to promote their trans-fat-free products with less visible marketing support.
“We heard from a couple of people who said [they] appreciate it,” said company president David Cohn. “I think people expect us to do the right thing.” —KFC broke new ground two weeks ago with TV spots focusing on its switch to frying oil containing zero grams of trans fats, but other chains so far appear content to promote their trans-fat-free products with less visible marketing support.
Nutrition labeling is a bigger concern in California than trans fats in cooking oil, which he said accounts for the meager response to the ad. —KFC broke new ground two weeks ago with TV spots focusing on its switch to frying oil containing zero grams of trans fats, but other chains so far appear content to promote their trans-fat-free products with less visible marketing support.
“We hear very little in our market about trans-fat-free concerns,” Cohn said. —KFC broke new ground two weeks ago with TV spots focusing on its switch to frying oil containing zero grams of trans fats, but other chains so far appear content to promote their trans-fat-free products with less visible marketing support.
