The QSR food business has one core recurring target - promote new flavours and drive sales. KFC is no stranger to that. The challenge is how to break indifference in an overcrowded space when Singapore is also known as a food paradise. In the fried chicken category alone, there are Jollibee, Arnolds, and a host of trendy Korean Fried Chicken outlets all over town. To make things harder, the GoldSpice Chicken flavour pegged to this campaign is a comeback item and not exactly new news. The objective is to drive buzz and incept cravings in a novel way that allows existing and more importantly, non KFC diners, to get into the mood for KFC.

It's a hard one as KFC has been around for a very long time, and not the most gram-worthy food experience anymore. Even tougher was the +3% uplift in sales over the last launch campaign.

First, the science. Mirror Neurons in our brain make you feel what others feel simply by watching them. So we went about in search of the one man/woman who has the best bite. The one who boasts the odd and uncanny ability to incept cravings in our fried chicken. And it wasn't just a gimmick. We put a legit $20,000 contract on the line for the winner to star in our commercials.

The odd and novel job of a Best Biter not only made news. It was also quite possibly the most diverse competition ever. It was literally down to just the way one bites and enjoys KFC's fried chicken, in the most natural way.

The cheeky bit was while the weird and wonderful audition submissions flooded in on socials, the entrants ended up incepting cravings on behalf of us to everyone else.

•The strategic approach for the GoldSpice launch campaign pivoted from being just another flavour creator in the crowded QSR space to becoming a 'craving inceptor.'

•To appeal to the senses and need for a dopamine hit, and abandon logic and pre-existing purchase behaviours.

•Targeting both loyal KFC fans and potential new converts, our aim was to trigger an intrinsic desire for the product. We focused on finding an authentic, relatable individual, not an actor, whose enjoyment of the GoldSpice chicken could evoke a visceral reaction in viewers. This person had to be someone audiences could instantly connect with, someone who epitomises the joy of savouring great-tasting food.

•Backed by a fully integrated call for entry, including PR, the novelty of the job of a Best Biter, worth $20,000, and the simple CTA of simply submitting an audition of yourself biting into KFC made it the most easy-to-qualify competition ever.

• Between 20th April to 3 May, we ran the promo for Best Biter across outdoor, live events, online, socials, TV and influencers.

• To promote it, we first produced a spot that mimicked someone auditioning for the job to challenge all in Singapore to do better. Ran that on TV, digital and socials.

• Next, outdoor buys further amplified the call for entries all over town. To further hype up the seriousness behind the competition, we created a 4-day event with roving DJs providing live commentary, that featured a professional ASMR video booth outside KFC where anyone could use to accentuate their audition submission.

• On socials, 8 key influencers, synonymous with Singaporeans, including a competitive eater further stoked the competitive fire by promoting their own Best Biter auditions. (not that they were eligible to enter). KFC IG too reshared their response to public submissions in real time.

The campaign's impact was measurable and profound.

• $2,932,973.75 sales boost in just over a month

• 652,000 Gold Spice Chicken sold (Singapore has a tiny population of 5.4M people)

• A 72% uptick in IG reach

• $39 million worth of PR value

• 17M impressions

• Brand Consideration* (18-34yo) +3%

• Positive Brand Buzz* +3 points

• Overall Brand Index* +5 points

*From YouGov brand health metrics

The immeasurable value?

Just a couple of months later, in Singapore's closest neighbouring country Malaysia, McDonald's

adopted a similar concept searching for their own Best Biter. Guess that's validation.