KFC's screwed-up grilled chicken promo doesn't seem to have hurt the company after all; Yum CEO David Novak told investors and reporters this morning that it's "the best product launch in our history" and has "changed the brand so much for the good." People out there apparently really love the idea of KFC grilled chicken. [AdAge] (Thanks to R!)
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I was able to use my coupon for the free meal and actually found the grilled chicken to be kinda slimy and unappetizing. I do like grilled chicken but it was probably the least appetizing I'd ever had. I just ate the green beans and left the chicken after a few bites.
I didnt have any problems with the promotion, neither did any of my coworkers (there is a KFC next to our buidling). The chicken was OK (no great, but not terrible). I dont go their all that often, but I dont go any more or less becasue of the promotion.
I've had the grilled chicken a few times, but the portions seem to be smaller than the good old fashioned fried pieces.
@JennQPublic: Same. Can't even use the coupon till months after the promotion? Lame. Mine isn't valid for 4 more weeks...
The celiac community really wants to know what posessed them to put wheat on the grilled chicken-Why does a grilled chicken need wheat flour on it? That is what makes it slimy, BTW, extra library paste...
Well, they lost me as a customer for life thanks to this "promotion". At 24, that is a large hit.
I got my 4 KFC Grilled Chicken coupons in the mail about 10 days ago. One good 7/6-7/20, one good 8/3-8/17, and two good 8/17-8/31. I'll use one of the coupons tomorrow (7/16) and let you know how things turn out.
I haven't eaten at a KFC for over 20 years. I'll use the coupons and see if I feel any desire to return when I have to pay for the meals with real money.
@BCK:
The portions might seem smaller because they don't have a thick layer of crust loaded with oil trying to cling to the chicken.
I'd give up quantity for quality. It would be interesting to know if the quality of the chicken pieces used for battered vs. grilled is different. You can hide a lot of ugly under the Colonel's crunchy secret recipe.
If you weren't capable of holding a grudge for years you wouldn't be here; this is Consumerist after all.
I actually love the taste of the new grilled chicken and when they did the promotion in maryland, I was able to get the free chicken.
My only problem is the pieces are very small, almost like kentucky grilled pigeon would be a better name. As for their original greasy, slimy chicken, I've had better from royal farms and mini marts.
@Vanilla5:
Your sample pieces had more than a few bites? Mine was so microscopic it was 3 bites at best, and that was picking the sucker down to the bone.
That being said, mine wasn't very greasy, but it kind of reminded me of rotisserie chicken from Kroger, which I'm fairly sure is better value for the money.
I tried the grilled chicken several weeks ago. My mother believes the white meat is too dry.
@BCK: according to the nutrition information, the serving size is smaller by about 1/4 depending on the item.
They reported all these percentages but didn't give the source of how they came to these conclusions. Just from the comments I've read by you guys, there hasn't been one positive review; even the trolls would have shown up by now..Anyways, I would just discredit this "report" unless they show some evidence.
When I do go to the KFC by my work I get a 2 piece with 1 side, biscuit and drink for 4.29.
Now that they have this new $5 box promotion, the price of my regular meal went up .71 cents.
YUM seems to have learned from the KFC debacle by doing a free fish tacos promotion for Long John Silver's and it went well. Everyone participated, they had plenty, fast service, and the staff were nice and pleasent. It was great, I'm going back! Maybe they realized they shouldn't let Oprah launch a product.... ever.
KFC was at a point where it needed to make a drastic change or risk continuing to lose market share until it just faded into the oblivion. This marketing campaign was genius and in fact, more successful because of the travesty that it was. Oprah gave away free chicken: that alone reached thousands of thousands of people, however I'm sure a majority of us never would have heard about the campaign if it had no been for the fact that is exploded into disaster. I don't watch Oprah, but I read the Consumerist. Not only did they reach the Oprah crowd, but they reached everyone who is conscious of what is going on in the US since just about every newspaper/news station/radio station covered it. And if you are pissed off enough to never come back to KFC, you were probably not one of their loyal customers to begin with so you can't lose what you never really had. And I'm sure they gained more consumer awareness than they lost.
@calquist: And I'm sure at least one person reading this right now will begin to think... 'hey, i'm hankering some chicken' and go there for lunch. +1 for KFC.
MOOOOOOOO.
@calquist: You fail at propaganda 101.
"This marketing campaign was genius"
So if I offer to give away a bunch of stuff then tell people to leave, that makes me a genius?
"And if you are pissed off enough to never come back to KFC, you were probably not one of their loyal customers to begin with so you can't lose what you never really had. And I'm sure they gained more consumer awareness than they lost."
And you base this off of what?
That's because they put an addictive chemical in their chicken that makes ya crave it fortnightly!
Damn Pentaverate!
@riverstyxxx: The failure got the promotion mentioned on like every media outlet in the country. Hundreds of people who would have never heard about Oprah's offer suddenly heard about how KFC now has grilled chicken. I'm sure some of them were like me and thought "hey, i'll wait for this clusterF to calm down and then i'll go try it myself sometime."
And if you eat KFC regularly, I highly doubt you were put off my this. Maybe it would dissuade you for a week or a month, but you will go back. You aren't going to change your chicken preferences because of a couple days where it was too crowded. There is free chicken, of course it is going to be crowded. I don't swear off Target because the day after Xmas it was freaking packed and "they should have anticipated the big crowd and stocked up on the discounted TVs".
In the end, thousands of people have now heard about the grilled chicken and if consumers are not aware of the product, they can't buy it. I realize that the Consumerist audience is more likely to see and actually remember the negatives of the campaign here, but I bet the average fast food eatin' Joe only thinks of chicken when he hears KFC, not epic fail. My comment of this being 'genius' was off. This was a major cluster F, but in the end KFC made out pretty well. I'm sure it is not the last free food debacle that we will see.
It doesn't hurt that the chicken is freaking delicious. I won't even start on the slaw n' mash. :) (My diet relapse of choice)
@calquist: I'm guessing that neither the concept of evidence nor critical thinking are your subjects of expertise. Not to mention you didn't even answer my question, but I had expected that.
My only advice is that you shouldn't assume everything is black and white, people don't have to come back to anything at any time, as you clearly stated not once but twice, not citing any logical reason for any of this other them personal assumption and brash opinion.
Kindly refrain from personal assumptions like "I highly doubt you were" and "you were probably not" in the future if you want to have a serious conversation with anyone that has a legitimate concern. You have no idea what my dietary habits are nor the feedback received from other people regarding this incident.
Here's a little challenge: Add up every negative comment here, then divide them by the total number of comments. Then add up every positive comment, repeat the same step. The percentages you get are as close to reality as you'll find without doing any real research or broadening your horizons. KFC failed and they know it, end of story.
Not that I want to be a jerk or anything, but I still haven't even received my coupon yet. It's kind of annoyed me.
@jezebelseven: You'd better watch your tone, J7. You're going to be accused of being complaining cheapskate!
Really? It hurt them in my eyes. I finally got my coupons in the mail, and they're not even good until August. Absolutely ridiculous.
I refuse to go there until the coupons are good, and I probably won't eat there after I use them. As a consumer, I am capable of holding a grudge for years...