George Felix, director of advertising for KFC U.S., will keynote the Restaurant Franchising & Innovation Summit in Louisville April 9-11. Early bird registration ends on Friday, Nov. 17.
If you’ve ever wondered how a 65-year-old brand can stay relevant in today’s digital world, KFC’s director of advertising has you covered. George Felix, who has led the brand’s marketing over the past 2 1/2 years, has signed on to keynote the Restaurant Franchising & Innovation Summit, April 9-11 in Louisville. He’ll share with attendees — about 300 executives working in the restaurant franchising industry — his secret recipe on how KFC is resonating with both millennials and Baby Boomers.
Spoiler alert: Sometimes, it involves embracing the weird.
Under Felix’s leadership, working with Wieden+Kennedy, KFC has come up with several unusual ways to connect with younger consumers — including creating chicken-scented sunblock and launching a chicken sandwich into space — but it hasn’t forgotten about its older demographic.
Felix, for example, was instrumental in bringing Colonel Sanders back as an advocate for the brand. Of course, his team has put a modern and funny twist on the character hiring a revolving list of actors, including Billy Zane, Rob Lowe, George Hamilton, Jim Gaffigan, Rob Riggle andNorm Macdonald, to portray the beloved colonel.
“To move KFC forward as a brand, we’ve gone back to our roots, which means the colonel’s way of doing things: ‘The Hard Way.’ We refer to this transformation and re-commitment to Colonel Sanders’ values as re-colonel-ization,” Felix said in an interview with FastCasual. “As part of that larger effort, we’ve re-inserted the colonel — the ultimate chicken salesman – into our marketing over the past few years, both in our traditional advertising and in unexpected places, like in the wrestling ring, comic books, or sending a chicken sandwich to space.”
Felix, who lives in Louisville, is excited to keynote the event in his home state, and he’s not the only one.
Kathy Doyle, president and publisher of Louisville-based, Networld Media Group — the company that produces the summit — said Louisville was an easy location choice.
“With major players in the restaurant industry headquartered in Louisville — Yum Brands, Papa John’s, Texas Roadhouse and Long John Silver’s — along with the city’s welcoming nature when it comes to small business owners, it just made sense,” Doyle said. “We’re also excited to bring the summit to our hometown and about being the very first event to book the new Omni Louisville Hotel. The Bourbon Trail is another part of the culture that we think everyone will be excited to explore.”
Early bird registration ends Friday, Nov. 17. Register here.
Other speakers confirmed for the Summit include:
• Carin Stutz, EVP and COO, Red Robin.
• Travis Doster, senior director of public relations, Texas Roadhouse.
• Peter Boylan, president, Ballard Brands.
• Stacy Brown, founder, Chicken Salad Chick.
• Steve Rothenstein, senior director of franchising, Dippin’ Dots.
• Scott Taylor, president, Walk-Ons.
• Rich Mainzer, chef/owner, The Boneyard Truck.
• Chris Cheek, chief development officer, Newk’s Eatery.
• Doug Hogrefe, senior operator, Amerigo.
• Richard Simtob, president/partner, Zoup.
• Donna Josephson, SVP and CMO, Corner Bakery Cafe.
• Jodie Conrad, VP of marketing, Fazoli’s.
• John Hughes, brand ambassador, Jersey Mike’s.
• Dennie Laney, VP of training and people development, Mooyah Burgers, Fries & Shakes.
• Scott Iversen, VP of marketing, Toppers Pizza.
• Shannon Salupo, corporate beverage manager, Quaker Steak & Lube.
• Chip Hamm, attorney, Kaplan & Partners LLP
About Networld Media Group
Founded in 2000, Networld Media Group is a leading business-to-business (B2B) media communications company specializing in digital media, associations and events in the mobile, self-service, digital signage, retail, food service and financial services industries. Online properties include ATMmarketplace.com, BlockchainTechNews.com, DigitalSignageToday.com, FastCasual.com, FoodTruckOperator.com, KioskMarketplace.com, MobilePaymentsToday.com, PizzaMarketplace.com,QSRweb.com, RetailCustomerExperience.com and BiblicalLeadership.com. Networld event properties include the Fast Casual Executive Summit, CONNECT: The Mobile CX Summit, Interactive Customer Experience Summit, Bank Customer Experience Summit and the Restaurant Franchising & Innovation Summit. Networld also operates the ICX Association. Its newest offering, Networld Press, provides clients with an all-in-one website solution featuring custom website design and ongoing editorial, content strategy and website updates.
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