Uniqueness Reigns Success at KFC

Success is more than just a recognizable brand name or a good product, according to Steve Early, vice president of franchise administration for KFC. “You’ve got to have a gimmick – something that’s different from everyone else’s,” Early told an audience of Wharton students during a speech last month. “Otherwise, you will invite the competition and get into a price war.”

For KFC, the unique concept starts with its red and white striped restaurants and continues with the face of its legendary founder Colonel Sanders, the nation’s eighth most-used trademark, that graces everything from eight-foot billboards to eight-piece buckets.

Despite the nationwide trend toward healthier foods and low calorie alternatives, Early contends that Americans still crave their fried chicken. In the early 1990s, the company officially changed its name from Kentucky Fried Chicken to KFC in an attempt to disguise the word “fried.”

Moderator Comment: Will the presence of brand franchises
increase in retail stores? What will this mean to the retailers and franchise
licensors? [George
Anderson – Moderator
]

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