Though Wendy’s of course left Japan late last year they did not leave by choice — their franchisee just decided not to continue the brand — and they may, like Burger King, make a return. Burger chains, especially market leader McDonald’s, are in fact going strong, with the fast food industry enjoying a 3.1% jump in Japan last year.
Kentucky Fried Chicken had some 86.8 billion JPY ($963 million) in sales for fiscal 2008, and this winter celebrates forty years in Japan with a big, multi-media, Japanese-style campaign.
Alongside TV commercials and product offers, KFC has made a special Flash site to encourage people to “集まれ” (”get together”). Clearly this is a slogan that appeals to the Japanese market, with its group mentality (and food-obsessed) consumers. Users can post onto the site their plans to get together with friends and pop to Kentucky’s. These posts are shown on a map of Japan complete with the number of people going in the group, a short phrase (”My first KFC of the year!”), and sometimes photos.
The campaign rounds out with a lottery applied for by mobile, promising to reward forty people with a cute Ayaka Haruse doll (the actress also appears in the TV CMs).
We do have misgivings about this campaign. It is running right across February and March, thus covering both Valentine’s Day and White Day (March 14). Though getting people to gather and share their KFC love is one thing, it certainly doesn’t have a romantic vibe. This campaign will doubtlessly prove popular with KFC fans but is unlikely to capture the hearts of consumers eager at this time of year to be buying chocolates.
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