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KFC holds free-piece grilled giveaway, El Pollo Loco counters with contest
10/26/09 - Christa Hoyland
KFC is offering customers a free piece of grilled chicken today at participating U.S. stores. Customers are limited to one free piece per person, with the free piece selection the manager's choice.
As it did with KFC's initial free-piece giveaway in April, regional chain El Pollo Loco has fired back with a social media contest in which customers can compete for a year's worth of flame-grilled chicken from El Pollo Loco.
The KFC giveaway follows a 2 percent decline in the chain's U.S. same-store sales for the most recent quarter. David C. Novak, CEO of KFC parent company Yum! Brands, told investors in the company's earning call that the chain will be focusing on driving trial in this quarter. Yum! anticipates a tough quarter for all its brands as unemployment remains high and consumers continue to search for value.
Today's giveaway, known as UNFry Day, is part of KFC's Grilled Nation campaign, which included grilled chicken sampling across from the United Nations building on First Avenue in New York City. The company also launched a digital billboard in New York's Times Square to track the growing number of people who have tried Kentucky Grilled Chicken. The billboard is located on Seventh Avenue between 49th Street and 50th Street. KFC claims that 60 million people have tried the grilled product so far.
KFC's Grilled Nation campaign also includes a new Web site, www.grillednation.com, that will allow KFC fans the chance to recruit new "citizens" and set up their own Grilled Nation embassies.
Today's UNFry Day giveaway is the second for the company and comes six months after the initial promotion and lauch of the grilled product. KFC spokesman Rick Maynard said after that first promotion that the chain gave away 4 million pieces of grilled chicken on April 27.
KFC also participated in the unforgettable Oprah Winfrey-sponsored downloadable coupon for a free two-piece grilled chicken meal deal for which operators were ill prepared. The overwhelming consumer response resulted in Web site overloads, stores running out of product and the company resorting to rain checks. KFC recovered from that public relations fiasco, with Novak telling investors that the product launch has been the company's most successful yet.
El Pollo Loco contest
Today only, El Pollo Loco fans can post comments on the chain's Facebook fan page or on Twitter about how they prefer the chain's flame-grilled chicken to KFC's oven-grilled chicken. A winner will be randomly selected on Tuesday 10 a.m. Pacific time from those postings and will receive 52 gift certificates, each good for one two-piece meal from El Pollo Loco.
