In 2020, livestream shopping was given an unexpected boost, with a growth rate of 129% and expected to go over 1,201billion in 2021 (Source 2). When the Covid-19 pandemic left all kinds businesses with little choice but to go online, livestreaming skyrocketed.

There is no doubt that livestream shopping became the hottest pop culture among Chinese youths. KFC wanted to gain a category first-mover advantage in this emerging channel.

As a young and trendy brand loved by youths in China, it was critical for KFC to understand and stay close with them. Therefore, reaching young people via livestreaming was key for the brand to grab the attention of this demographic and change their mindset about shopping for KFC online, which can thus make a great contribution to KFC’s business.

Source 2: China’s live streaming e-commerce industry in 2020 Report by 36kr research

The idea was brought to life by creating a KFC live stream show full of entertainment programs, named ‘KFC Streaming Stars’. ‘Streaming Stars’ put KFC’s own staff at the heart of an irresistible combo of livestreamed show and finger-licking offers.

KFC co-operated with Taobao Live — China’s #1 live streaming platform — to launch the new model of e-commerce livestreaming, which includes Mukbang, singing, gaming, and other fashionable pop culture elements, but most importantly, selling a whole lot of KFC.

To satisfy our audience’s appetite for social engagement, we created an army of live streamers. A variety show featuring thousands of real KFC employees all competing via live stream for the title of the ultimate ‘Streaming Star’… and a tasty cash prize too!

While everyone thought livestreaming was all about shopping, we found that young people actually treated e-commerce livestreaming as a variety entertainment show, which was replacing traditional prime time TV shows as a new way to beat social stress and relax.

Another study also indicates that variety entertainment shows, in particular talent shows, are most popular with Gen-Z and millennials(TGI*115). The more entertaining and dramatic the content is, the easier it is to grab their attention… and so the same truth applies for live-streaming shopping as well. E-commerce livestreams are not only an effective and trendy way to shop, but also the hottest youth culture trend. To enter the e-commerce livestream field, KFC had to infiltrate into this pop culture by satisfying our audience’s appetite for entertainment.

KFC Approach: to satisfy our audience’s appetite for social engagement, we turned the e-commerce livestreaming into a live show full of entertainment programs.

We thought KFC’s thousands of employees were better at selling KFC than anyone else. So, we invited all staff members, from shop assistants to the CEO, to participate in this livestreaming talent competition. This contest featured KFC thousands of employees, broadcasting to over billion people online over seven days, solely through the live streaming portal, and rewarding the highest performing employees with a 100,000rmb cash bonus!

In addition, we made full use of multi-media touch points to roll out the content and create buzz such as the Taobao app, KFC app, Weibo, WeChat, offline stores, etc. A series of advertisement posters and trailers were published online to help arouse social discussion and drive traffic to the KFC T-mall store. The event was effectively promoted through three phases based on the process of the competition — teaser exposure, staff members and consumers’ engagement, and awards.

• The total sales on the KFC T-mall official store and KFC super APP increased to 100 million RMB in seven days, compared to before 4/20/2020.

• The campaign success brought about a direct sales increase for KFC. The KFC T-mall official store GMV increased by 800%, compared to before 4/20/2020.

• Both the KFC T-mall official store traffic and follower growth exceeded the KPI’s. The KFC T-mall official store traffic increased by 200%, The number of KFC T-mall official store followers by 200%, compared to before 4/20/2020.

(All data comes from T-mall Data Bank and KFC APP)