KFC's CMO is grilled about free-chicken fiasco

By Todd Wasserman

Do you think KFC's grilled-chicken giveaway back in May was handled in a haphazard fashion? KFC CMO Javier Benito agrees, but places the blame on Oprah Winfrey—or rather, on the small window of time the show afforded the chain to prepare for its promotion. "In live TV, they give you a call and you're in the studio the next week," Benito said Monday during an Advertising Week panel in which Interbrand CEO Jez Frampton discussed his company's ranking of the top 100 global brands. (KFC was No. 61.) Benito said KFC had less than a week to prepare its franchisees for the free-meal giveaway. "We talked to them Monday and were in the studio on Thursday," he said, noting that the company thought a redemption rate of around 4 million would be high. Instead, within 24 hours, 10 million people had tried to get their free Kentucky Grilled Chicken meal.

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Published on September 22, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (1)
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AOL's Armstrong on evolution of Web content

By Mike Shields

What we've seen to date on the Web, content-wise, is the equivalent of ultimate Frisbee, according to Tim Armstrong, chief executive officer of AOL.
  During a keynote session on Monday at the MIXX Conference here, Armstrong predicted that over the next decade the Internet would enter a new phase during which the quality of content online will reach the medium's potential. In making that prediction, he alluded to an old highlight from the early days of ESPN when longtime anchor Chris Berman delivered the score in an obscure championship game from an ultimate Frisbee event. Of course, since that time, ESPN has become one of the most powerful brands in the world and regularly showcases the top sporting events.

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Published on September 21, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (1)
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