KFC announced today they will unveil plans to award $20,000 toward one high schooler's college tuition for the best tweet it receives. Certainly, tweeting is a lot easier than filling out long applications, which KFC had required for all college scholarships. But this year, it's awarding one of its 75 college scholarships based on a tweet.It's how this generation communicates," says John Cywinski, KFC's marketing chief. "It's a generation used to instant messaging and immediate gratification."
I think this is genius! What better way to get free publicity for something they have done for years. Twitter is a public site and anybody can read these tweets. This approach to marketing worked well for JetBlue in the past. They announced over Twitter that they were giving away 1000 free round trip tickets and certain locations in Manhattan and thousands of followers crowded these locations to receive these freebies.
IT is always evolving and influencing other parts of business practices all the time such as marketing. Just look at what KFC could gain from this free marketing strategy! I mean I am even talking about them on this blog and did not even cost them a cent!!!!
I think this is genius. It's taking KFC to a whole new generation and sparking new life into the company. Being from the South, KFC is usually dominated in marketing and location by Popeye's. This new campaign will introduce KFC to a new generation of chicken lovers and will expand its market base at the same time to a much more technological consumer...all for a fraction of the cost of normal advertising. Brilliant!
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