What's in a name?

Kentucky Fried Chicken
KFC
Kentucky Grilled Chicken

Turns out that Kentucky Fried Chicken, which not so long ago changed its name to KFC in an attempt to disassociate itself from the word "fried", is going back to being called "Kentucky Fried Chicken".

Not only is it looking to embrace it southern fried food heritage, it's also bringing back its Col. Sanders logo. According to BusinessWeek, a Kentucky Fried Chicken spokesperson recently said: "Consumers tell us they love Kentucky Fried Chicken. And many of our customers never stopped calling us Kentucky Fried Chicken."

So what's the learning here for marketers... before you change your name/branding that you spent millions building, ask your loyal consumers what they think. In this case, KFC realized that even after changing its name, and updating its menu, what was really selling was the "fried stuff" and not the "healthy stuff".

It boils down to consumer insight. Something Coke missed when they launched New Coke...and something KFC should have looked at before they spent millions on rebranding themselves without their middle name.

I did come across a rumor that said that KFC was looking to rebrand itself as Kentucky Grilled Chicken... but that rumor hasn’t been substantiated. Imagine that!

Disclaimer: In no way am I promoting unhealthy fried food at a time when the Center of Disease Control attributed the 400,000 deaths in March 2004 to obesity, poor diet and inactivity.

All I am saying is know your audience… and stay true to them. Something David Kiley says in his BusinessWeek blog may hit the message home "I can't help but draw a comparison between what KFC is doing and what the Republican Party has done so well to galvanize its base. It doesn't pretend to be green. It doesn't apologize for driving SUVs. It has made "liberal" a dirty word and painted the Dems with it until the mass media has basically adopted "liberal" as a four letter word." Amen!