KFC India Builds a Library That is 'So Good' That it's Made of Shares, Likes & Tweets

There’s never a good enough or seasonal time for someone to be Santa Claus. The impersonation is even more desirable when its fast food joint with billions to spend thriftily on the recipient. KFC India has initiated a campaign that revolves around making people happy by gifting them their wishes. This campaign however was a precursor to a greater dream. The dream of building a library for a school in a remote village in Ladakh.

Objective

• Encouraging tweets as well as shares and likes from fans to publicise the construction of the library.
• To publicise their work in association with the 17000ft Foundation to build the So Good Library.

The objective of this campaign is to encourage KFC’s fans and loyalists to actively be a part of their initiative to build a library for a school in a remote village of Ladakh. KFC India, in association with 17000ft Foundation want people to know the work being done by this foundation at such a remote location without any help thus far.

Execution

The campaign works by the visitor using the hash tag or visiting the website to make known their likes, shares and tweets known to the rest of the world. KFC India started this campaign with a Christmas ‘Bucketfull of wishes’ initiative wherein people would send in their wishes. 6000 entries were then picked and granted those wishes.

A campaign for a cause, KFC has managed to rile up the procrastinators within us who all ‘intend’ to do something for our community or world.

A noble cause as it appears to be, one does wonder why KFC requires ‘likes’, ‘shares’ and ‘tweets’ from their fans to build a library in Ladakh. I mean, social media popularity isn’t really tangible. Or is it? Hmm…

Having created an entire website for this campaign the site is made up of a rendered image of the library which is currently being built by all the ‘likes’, ‘shares’ and ‘tweets’ being donated to this cause. As strange as that may sound.

Each social media activity with regard to the #KFCWishBucket adds a little image in the form of a brick on the picture of the library on the website. Which is, well interesting to look at to say the least.

Positives

A noble cause to invoke the procrastinators in us

We all talk about helping the poor, clothing the naked or even sponsoring a meal for the orphans. Has it really materialised though? Chances are that you said “No” to that. Chances are as well that you probably don’t have as much money to spend on these social causes as KFC does. But, as the saying goes, “It’s the thought that counts”. KFC has managed to find the 17000ft Foundation high up in the remote echelons of Ladakh and help them build a library for the children there.

Noble in its intent and touching in its measure, KFC has managed to rile up a large community of people under its wings, not to mention its loyalist fans for the cause they are promoting.

A campaign that promotes a community of social entrepreneurs

It is very rare to find a small community being promoted by a company as large as KFC. The amount of popularity and interest being generated through this campaign for a team of corporate professionals turned social entrepreneurs is outstanding. The 17000ft Foundation setup 100 libraries and been to more than 350 schools to help with the learning. KFC’s hand in promoting their hard work is quite appreciable.

Helping a community that expects no favours and putting them on the forefront of people’s knowledge goes a long way in gaining their interest in the brand name of KFC as well as the cause.

Scope for Improvement

Using social media to popularise the KFC brand

As I mentioned earlier, KFC wants its fans and loyalists and all lovers of their cause to ‘donate’ their shares, likes and tweets to help build the library. I always found it hard to understand how something intangible as a share, like or tweet would really help to construct something tangible like a library. The website seems to support this far fetched plot by hosting an image of a library built thus far with the tweets, likes and shares generated so far. Not quite promising to the foundation of a library. I’d be a worried child if I were reading “The Three Little Pigs” in a building constructed by “tweets”, “shares” and “likes”.

Promoting and generating interest to a cause is one thing but doing that through a means which appears extremely selfish may need to be revisited.

Conclusion

I do think this is a good campaign to have gone through with by KFC. A cause that betters the education of the less fortunate children of Ladakh is extremely commendable. Makes you look up to the brand and kind of sticks with you every time you pass an outlet on the street. If that happens to you too, then their campaign was a sure success. However, using a community that exists purely to help these poor children to self promote a brand too obviously may be something that could be worked on for the future. It may just downplay the entire effect the campaign has had on the audience.