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MARKETING - February 2005 Commonwealth of Colonel Sanders Around the country and internationally, Kentucky’s consumer-product identity has amassed around one concept perhaps more than any other. Hint: It’s not horses. Though many Kentuckians may be reluctant to admit it, the humble restaurant Colonel Harland Sanders began nearly a half-century ago in Corbin may have more profoundly shaped the state’s image than any other single institution. More than two decades after his death, the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken remains one of the most recognizable figures in the world. The Colonel’s image graces more than 11,000 restaurants in more than 80 countries. It’s easy to see how Sanders was building a brand as much as he was cooking chicken. Earning the honorary title of Kentucky Colonel, Sanders branded himself – with his goatee, white suits and string tie. He dubbed his product as “finger lickin’ good,” made with “11 secret herbs and spices.” The Colonel knew how to use humor, too. His early menus in Corbin, Ky., carried the slogan, “Not worth it, but mighty good.” Today, this is brand-building by the numbers. But by 1960s standards, Sanders just came across to others as a bit odd, according to Brown. “He was bold enough to put on a white suit, wear a goatee and a mustache and a bow tie, and walk on the street,” said Brown, who now splits time between homes in Lexington and Florida. “Back in our day, we thought that was a little bit odd. We didn’t know what to think of him back in Kentucky. You know a man is never a prophet in his own hometown.” Brown understood how to capitalize on the Colonel’s persona. He knew the Colonel’s image was as big an asset as the secret recipe. He had no intention of letting it slip away. Instead, Brown employed Sanders as the company’s top pitchman and set out to garner as much national publicity about the Colonel’s story and his chicken as possible. “He’s a brand,” Brown said. “Donald Trump is trying to make a brand out of his name. Everything today is a brand. It gives confidence to the consumer.” Sanders appeared on more than 40 national television programs. The first was “What’s My Line?” Brown credits former Green Bay Packers hall-of-famer Paul Hornung with facilitating that first appearance. The brand started gaining momentum after that. Every time Sanders appeared on national television, Kentucky Fried Chicken’s sales increased by 10 percent, according to Brown. That was priceless for a start-up company that could never have afforded a national advertising campaign. “That’s what launched our company,” Brown said. Once the business was established, Sanders went on a barnstorming tour of Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants all over the world. According to YUM Brands!, which owns KFC today, Sanders logged 250,000 miles a year visiting KFC restaurants. Although these appearances were largely symbolic, Sanders, in somewhat famous fashion, didn’t hesitate to take restaurants to task for not meeting his exacting standards. “Why do you think he lived to be 90 years old?” Brown said. “There’s an old saying that in order to be happy you have to have something to do, someone to love, and something to look forward to. And the Colonel had something to look forward to.” PepsiCo, Inc., then owner of Kentucky Fried Chicken, changed the restaurant’s name to KFC in 1991 in hopes of projecting a more modern image. Does Brown ever envision a day when the Colonel’s image would take a backseat at KFC? “They’d have to be brain-dead if they did that,” he said. “It’s an institution. There will never be a better spokesman than Colonel Standers. They are even bringing back (the late) Dave Thomas at Wendy’s. It’s a jewel.” |
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“The Colonel never got the credit he deserved and I’ve always tried to give it to him,” said John Y. Brown Jr., the businessman and former Kentucky governor who, along with his partner, Jack Massey of Nashville, bought the business from Sanders in 1964 and grew it into a worldwide phenomenon. “It was his idea and his personality. We did a heck of a job building the company, but still he was the entrepreneur who came up with the idea and the concept, and it was extraordinary chicken. There are two things that made this company great. One, is the chicken is extraordinary, and two, he was an extraordinary spokesman, image and salesman. Therein lies the major success of KFC.”