With Aussies under 35 watching less TV than ever before, KFC realised it was time to mix up its media strategy. The brand shifted toward planning online video first to reach 18-34-year-old Aussies. The results? Exceeding market category sales over the last 12 months.
KFC’s finger-lickin’ menu entices Aussies of nearly every age. That’s why free-to-air TV advertising has been the brand’s main marketing dish for decades. Sensing a shift in the Aussie media landscape, KFC’s marketing team knew it was time to switch things up.
Younger Aussies’ affinity for online video inspired the brand to experiment with a new approach. In August 2018, YouTube reached 93% of Aussies aged 18-34, who spent more than 34 hours on average watching video content that month.1 Based on that insight, KFC and Mediacom decided to split the brand’s media strategy, keeping their TV ads running while using online video as a primary channel to reach younger audiences.
After resetting its media strategy and planning online video first for an 18-34-year-old audience, KFC ultimately sustained its growth and boosted sales ahead of the category over the last year. Brand Lift surveys showed increased ad recall across surveyed campaigns in H1 2018, and the brand’s quality of media (video completion and viewability) improved by 20% compared to Moat Australian benchmarks.
