KFC-JAPAN MARKETING STRATEGY : PART TWO
Loy Weston, head of KFC-Japanese executive vice president, planned the company’s entry into the market with great care. As restaurants were added, they continued to run some, but many were run by Japanese franchisees, people who had bought licenses from KFC. From the central office, Weston and Okuhara directed efforts in advertising, training, and adapting to local traditions…
Two devices – one dictated by Japanese custom, the other a brainchild of Weston’s – marked KFC’s on – site promotional strategy. Every restaurant in Japan displays models of the food it serves in glass display cases near the door … Factories specializing in manufacturing the models… provided KFC with a thirteen piece set of chicken for eighty-five dollars each. Every store had to have one.
Every store also got a life-size statue of Colonel Sanders himself to put on the side walk outside the door. These were Weston’s idea… Respected brand names and authenticity are highly valued in Japan, and the move made KFC outlets instantly recognizable.
Kentucky Fried Chicken in Japan spends $5 million alone. The account is handled by a joint venture, this one between Japanese advertising firm and the McCann-Erickson agency.
Another aspect of the company’s marketing effort is its extensive training of employees. When they start, they get nine days of basic operation training and four days of on-the-job training… The purpose of the training is not only to develop skills but also to create company loyalty. Every morning KFC employees all over Japan repeat the company pledge. The franchises, who pay KFC a 10,000 licensing fee plus 4 percent of their yearly gross, are similarly imbued with company spirt, thought in a more relaxed atmosphere. Every year they are invited to an elegant restaurant, at company expense, the night of the annual KFC convention. The $9,000 this event costs is considered a worthwhile expense.
Before opening a restaurant, the Japanese pursue a well-established strategy of personal selling. Capitalizing on the social nature of much of Japanese business, KFC representatives pay calls on local around an outlet. The store’s managers introduce themselves to the other businessmen, offering gifts of smoked chicken and discount coupons for opening day….
Beyond its marketing expertise KFC had one more asset apparently working for it : local superstition. “KFC’s buildings are shaped like pagodas,” Weston explains, “and our company colors are red and white, Japan’s national colors that stand for happiness. And we usually try to open our new stores on one of twelve lucky days in the Japanese calendar. Once, because three is a lucky number, we opened three stores on March 3, the third day of the third month.”