In 2014, KFC increased the sale of one of their flagship products by 56% using a super simple psychology hack.
They spent weeks working with the team at Ogilvy to crack the code.
I’ll teach you how they did it in just 3 minutes:
They spent weeks working with the team at Ogilvy to crack the code.
I’ll teach you how they did it in just 3 minutes:
KFC used to run a seasonal promotion to the Australian market for their iconic “$1.00 fries”.
Their customer base loved this promotion, but it had been fatiguing in the past few years.
KFC needed to kick things up a notch, so here’s what they did:
Their customer base loved this promotion, but it had been fatiguing in the past few years.
KFC needed to kick things up a notch, so here’s what they did:
They hired the team at Ogilvy to help boost the “intangible value” of their product.
The goal was simple: increase CVR.
But there were some hard and fast rules:
X - they couldn’t change the price.
X - they couldn’t change the product.
X - they couldn’t change the promo dates.
The goal was simple: increase CVR.
But there were some hard and fast rules:
X - they couldn’t change the price.
X - they couldn’t change the product.
X - they couldn’t change the promo dates.
“We couldn’t change the product or the price, we could only change how people saw it.” Says Ogilvy Behavior Strategist Sam Tatam.
“In order to bring the right ingredients into the mix, we looked at the literature and found 18 different principles from psychology most relevant to the perception of value within fast-moving consumer goods.”
“We generated 90 different ways to say $1.00 french fries and cut them down to five core frames (messages) to test.”
Each headline was created to harbor one specific psychology heuristic (mental shortcut or bias):
1. Loss Aversion
2. Reciprocity
3. Value Payoff
4. Anchoring
5. Social Norming
1. Loss Aversion
2. Reciprocity
3. Value Payoff
4. Anchoring
5. Social Norming
With the game in place, Ogilvy set out to test their top 5 psychology-based headlines on Facebook, with unique clicks being the measurement for messaging effectiveness.
It only took a week for the winning creatives to skyrocket to the top. 🚀
Two psychology concepts were clear winners:
🏆 Reciprocity: “You wanted free french fries, but we’ll meet you halfway with our french fries for $1.”
🏆 Anchoring: “A deal so good you can only buy four.”
Two psychology concepts were clear winners:
🏆 Reciprocity: “You wanted free french fries, but we’ll meet you halfway with our french fries for $1.”
🏆 Anchoring: “A deal so good you can only buy four.”
The winners resulted in KFC creating both radio and TV ads around the core psychology concept that resulted in a 56% increase in french fry sales that year.
The Anchored ad was so effective, it increased sales of 4-pack fries by a whopping 84% 🤯
🧠Psychology for the win.
The Anchored ad was so effective, it increased sales of 4-pack fries by a whopping 84% 🤯
🧠Psychology for the win.
Wanna try this for yourself? Next time you run an offer…
❌ Don't say: "Limited time only!"
❌ Don't say: "We sell out fast!"
❌ Don't say: "Overstock sale!"
❌ Don't say: "On sale now!"
Try this instead…
❌ Don't say: "Limited time only!"
❌ Don't say: "We sell out fast!"
❌ Don't say: "Overstock sale!"
❌ Don't say: "On sale now!"
Try this instead…
1 / Always test your offer using psychology heuristics.
Use Anchoring to give your customers a reasonable limit to how much they can buy. This will not only create dopamine and motivate them to buy MORE, it will also signal social behavior - a limit must mean people want it!
Use Anchoring to give your customers a reasonable limit to how much they can buy. This will not only create dopamine and motivate them to buy MORE, it will also signal social behavior - a limit must mean people want it!
2 / Use clicks as your base measurement.
We’re going for VALIDATION before CREATION. The quicker we can get people to stop and click, the faster we’ll make the sale when duplicating the concept everywhere else.
We’re going for VALIDATION before CREATION. The quicker we can get people to stop and click, the faster we’ll make the sale when duplicating the concept everywhere else.
3 / Don’t stop testing until you get it right.
Remember - before they spent a dime on ads, KFC drafted 90 different ways to say $1.00 fries. Testing randomly isn’t gonna cut it. Be thoughtful with your tests and don’t quit until it works.
Remember - before they spent a dime on ads, KFC drafted 90 different ways to say $1.00 fries. Testing randomly isn’t gonna cut it. Be thoughtful with your tests and don’t quit until it works.
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