The Hindu Business Line : Finger-lickin’ Muralitharan hits the spot for KFC

Chennai, Nov. 19 Not only does he hold the record for taking the highest number of wickets in test cricket, he’s also “the most finger-licking bowler”. KFC India’s latest campaign, which builds on its ‘Finger Lickin’ Good’ proposition, will exploit this habit of Sri Lankan cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan whom it has signed on to endorse the brand.

Speaking to Business Line, Mr Unnat Varma, Marketing Director, KFC, Yum Brands (India) Pvt Ltd, said the campaign, slated to break on TV on Friday, “aims to achieve a big brand feel”. The company considered using celebrities from Bollywood or cricket and plumped for the latter as it was felt more appropriate for the current stage of the business. “This campaign is expected to give the brand a bigger stature,” Mr Varma said.

The TVC shows Muralitharan preparing for a spell of bowling in a match by wetting his fingers (for better grip of the ball), and continuing to do so, stalling the match, much to the bewilderment of the other players and the spectators. The ad continues to a flashback of the cricketer digging into a KFC Zinger burger and enjoying it thoroughly.

KFC India estimates 20 per cent more customers will be attracted to it by the campaign. The company has hiked ad spend by 100 per cent for this campaign as compared with the earlier ones. Muralitharan has been signed on for a year, Mr Varma said. This is a campaign that has potential to be aired in other cricket-loving countries such as Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in which KFC operates, he added. Ogilvy & Mather is the ad agency.

‘Slowdown an opportunity’

On whether the economic slowdown will affect the business, Mr Varma said quick service restaurants (QSR) such as KFC tend to do the best in such situations. People will not stop eating out but will move away from fine-dining restaurants to value-for-money restaurants such as KFC, he said. KFC has not scaled down any expansion plans in India, either. A large part of the expansion is driven by real estate and if it comes cheaper, as it tends to during such times, the slowdown’s actually an opportunity, he said. In the US, however, Yum Brands Inc recently announced it would cut several hundred jobs and sell company-owned KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants to its franchisees as it restructures its business there.

On the QSR business in India, Mr Varma said: “It is set to grow and find relevance in the belly of the Indian market. We believe it will be the fastest growing industry in the next few years as it’s mostly a metro phenomenon now and has not yet gone to Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities and towns.” KFC India now has 42 stores in operation and expects this figure to reach 50 by the end of the year, Jalandhar and Lucknow being the new markets it will enter. It sees 100-120 stores operating by 2010. “Our business has jumped by 60 per cent over last year and we foresee a similar momentum in the next few years,” says Mr Varma.

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