• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, January 4, 2014

KFC has launched a new, engagement-focused branding and marketing initiative dubbed #HowDoYouKFC. 

That new brand tagline is being deployed across digital and social media, packaging and in-store branding and promotion elements, as well as in new TV ads that were shot with iPhones to resemble social media videos. 

#HowDoYouKFC seeks to inspire consumers to "rediscover" KFC by encouraging KFC fans "to share what they love" about the brand and its food and "how KFC fits into their lives in a relevant, meaningful and personal way," according to KFC U.S. CMO Jason Marker.

The long-term initiative's kickoff is timed to coincide with a specific promotion: KFC's boneless chicken is, for a limited time, being offered in its "Extra Crispy" recipe, and can be purchased in a Go Cup (for $2.49), a 2-piece Combo, or as part of a 10-piece Favorites Bucket (for $12.99). 

The brand's 10 new TV spots, which focus on that promotion, illustrate the new approach's emphasis on leveraging the feel and engagement power of social media. 

The humorous spots, from Draftfcb Chicago, feature improv actors playing customers who are sharing thoughts about their favorite KFC foods. The ads are unscripted, and were shot with iPhones so as to "mirror user-generated content" and capture KFC fans' enthusiasm in a "genuine way," according to KFC.

Examples include spots showing "parents" expressing gratitude that the Favorites Bucket (including the new Extra Crispy Boneless option) brings their family together for quality time; and a teenager suggesting that the KFC chicken variety that people choose in their Go Cups could be used in dating profiles. 

Each spot ends with a lingering screen image of the new #HowDoYouKFC brand tagline, with the icons for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social networks lined up below it.

The TV creative is also designed to encourage fans to shoot and post their own videos showing themselves enjoying KFC items during their day-to-day activities. 

Consumers are being encouraged to upload their own videos via their personal social channels, using the #HowDoYouKFC hashtag, and then share the link on the new #HowDoYouKFC hub within KFC.com.

The brand has also created a series of branded entertainment videos or "episodes," including one showing X Games gold medalist Bryce Hudson doing what's billed as the world's first backflip on a motorcycle while eating lunch, and a "werewolf" made out of a puppet hand devouring a piece of Extra Crispy Boneless.

The videos are viewable on the HDYKFC hub, and both the videos and the TV spots are viewable on KFC's YouTube site. 

The new #HowDoYouKFC brand theme, the videos and other creative are being heavily promoted on KFC's updated social network assets, including Facebook (where the brand has a whopping 6.95 million "likes") and Twitter (currently showing 402,000 followers). 

The hashtag/tagline is also prominently featured on KFC's redesigned packaging, in its in-store POP displays and promotions, and even on employee uniforms. 

Furthermore, employees are now trained to build a variation of the tagline into their greeting to customers: "Welcome! How would you like to KFC today?"