Edelman Hong Kong Are Shaking It up With a Unique Concept for KFC
The 'FING FING Cajun Chips' campaign by KFC Hong Kong has taken a playful and interactive approach to engage viewers. With a focus on encouraging customers to remix their chips with Cajun seasoning for a unique flavour experience, this campaign blends traditional billboard advertising with press and media announcements
John Koay, Edelman’s regional executive director, shares insights into the inspiration that led to the campaign, the optical illusion billboards that grab attention, and the significance of 'FING FING' in Cantonese.
John also sheds light on the campaign's alignment with KFC's marketing objectives and the humorous reactions it has triggered among the people of Hong Kong and hints at more engaging and interactive marketing strategies in the pipeline for KFC.
LBB> The ‘FING FING Cajun Chips’ campaign is a playful and interactive approach to engage viewers. Can you tell us more about the inspiration behind this unique concept?
John> The distinctive feature of these chips is the experience of shaking in the spicy Cajun seasoning. So, after hours of over-eating and playing with this product, we thought, “How can we translate this fun-shaking experience into our communications?”
LBB> The billboards use an optical trick that reveals the hidden message when people shake their heads. How did you come up with this creative and attention-grabbing idea?
John> The idea could have been executed in a range of ways. We thought about using AR or lenticulars, but in the end, that made it too easy for the reveal. We pulled the execution back to its simplest form with a printed billboard using an optical illusion, which required people to work a bit for the payoff. It seemed a more fun way to deliver our message with next to no barrier to entry – seeing everyone here trying it out was comical, and so we knew seeing random people all shaking their heads and bodies in the street would be funny.
LBB> What is the significance of the term ‘FING FING’ in Cantonese, and how does it relate to the product?
John> ‘FING FING’ means ‘shake’ in English. The product comes with a sachet of Cajun seasoning for people to add to the bag of chips and shake together.
LBB> Encouraging customers to remix the chips with Cajun seasoning for a unique flavour experience is an interesting twist. How did this idea come about, and what do you hope consumers will take away from this experience?
John> Hong Kongers love customisation, and this experience gives people full control of how much extra flavour they want on their chips. As part of the campaign, we also wanted to give people the choice of as many Cajun sachets as they wanted … but that could have been risky, foreseeing some wildcard shaking in 100 sachets and having a spicy Cajun overdose.
LBB> The campaign combines both traditional billboard advertising and press and media announcements. How does this multi-channel approach contribute to the campaign’s success?
John> Hong Kong is small, but it’s not that small. And so, although we wanted to get people shaking in the street, we knew not everyone would see the billboards. The other media components would help spread awareness and get people shaking at home, at work, on the bus, in the lift… anywhere.
We know that people share content and not ads, so the comical visual of people trying to see the optical illusion made for some funny content, which turned people’s heads from shaking to sharing.
LBB> In what ways does this campaign embody the fun and engaging spirit of the KFC brand?
John> KFC Hong Kong’s brand positioning is ‘Indulge in a Krispy Break’, which is about encouraging people to get the brief escape they need from their everyday grind. This campaign does just that: it interrupts people as they’re navigating the hustle and bustle of the city and delivers the message in a light-hearted, slightly silly and engaging way – which connects with the fun interactive attribute of the product.
LBB> Could you share any interesting anecdotes or reactions from people who have interacted with these billboards and discovered the hidden message?
John> We’ve had some pretty funny reactions. Everyone had their own way of shaking. Some shook their heads, some people looked like they were at a concert, and others were gyrating their whole bodies! Whichever way people chose to shake, all of this attention triggered more laughter in this stressed-out city, which is kind of the whole point.
LBB> How does this campaign align with KFC’s marketing objectives for the FING FING Cajun Chips launch, and what impact do you hope it will have on brand awareness and sales?
John> As with any launch, we want to make people aware of the FING FING Cajun Chips and hungry to try them. And so we hope this launch inspires people to come in and try them, positions the chips to be just as Finger Lickin’ Good as the brand’s famous fried chicken, and continues KFC’s penetration of the QSR market.
LBB> What were some of the technical and creative challenges you faced in bringing this innovative billboard concept to life?
John> Running out of aspirin. Kidding. As fun as the optical trick is, when you’re designing it and testing it non-stop, your neck gets a bit tired and your head feels a bit shaken up. The team had to take turns to test the design or summon other colleagues to do the testing for them – but despite the repetitive action, it was a really funny and fun experience.
LBB> Beyond the launch phase, do you have plans to further engage with consumers through similar interactive and playful marketing strategies?
John> This particular launch is still ongoing, but this is just one of a number of campaigns Edelman Hong Kong and KFC Hong Kong have brought to life over the past year. We are continuing to build the brand with more interactive experiences like this, the KFC Brainwave Bucket and the KFC Bucketverse VR – whether that’s as a continuation of this project to promote their FING FING Cajun Chips or for other products and parts of the business. Creative experiences have a direct link to effectiveness in awareness and conversion, so we plan to continue exploring this type of work.
