Marketing: Reaching Your Target
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One does not simply celebrate Christmas in Japan without Kentucky Fried Chicken.
To the Christmas dinner traditionalists, fast food might seem a bizarre choice, but in Japan, the Colonel is just as recognizable as Santa Claus—and that’s no coincidence. There’s a Christmas marketing miracle behind KFC’s success and it’s not the work of ol’ Saint Nick.
Marketing: Reaching Your Target
Every company works hard to get its products into the hands of customers. Are you doing everything you can to compete? In this course, you’ll find a winning formula to turn a product idea into real sales. Follow along through the fundamentals of the marketing mix and see how companies successfully bring products to market.
How is Christmas Celebrated in Japan?
Before one can understand why Japanese families beeline for the Colonel’s kitchen on Christmas day, one must understand Japanese Christmas traditions…or really, the lack thereof.
To be clear, Japan is not a Christian nation.
There’s not much significance to the holiday outside of aesthetics and gathering with your loved ones. In fact, Christmas eve is seen as something closer to Valentine’s Day, a chance to spend a romantic evening with your significant other.
And while beautifully decorated Christmas trees and illumination displays can still be found across bigger cities like Tokyo, Christmas day isn’t an officially recognized holiday. So, unless you take matters into your own hands, the 25th of December is a normal day like any other.
In Japan, Christmas Marketing is a Game of Chicken.
The legend goes that back in the early 1970s, Takeshi Okawara, the manager of Japan’s first KFC, had a dream: bring Christmas cheer to Japan. But the truth behind the original inspiration is dubious at best.
The official story goes that a foreign customer came to a KFC on Christmas day and explained that they couldn’t get a turkey, so a bucket of chicken would have to do. This story was then shared with higher-ups and a marketing blitz was born.
Others claim that Okawara hosted a Christmas party dressed as Santa Claus and witnessing the children’s joy gave him the idea.
Cynics simply claim that the chain decided to market KFC as a traditional American Christmas dinner to boost sales during the holiday season.
Mixed messages aside, locals and expats alike still line up weeks in advance to get their fried chicken fix.
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Kentucky For Christmas Made an Impact
Of course, the now-famous slogan ‘’Kentucky for Christmas’’ didn’t catch on from word of mouth alone.
During the holiday season in the 1970’s and 80’s, KFC ran a series of commercials featuring a rendition of Stephen Foster’s ‘’My Old Kentucky Home.’’ While the ballad is far from a Christmas carol, it had the right effect on local viewers.
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Today, KFC sits just behind the golden arches as the second most popular fast-food chain in Asia. But in the past, especially in rural areas of Japan, the Colonel was still hard to come by.
Just like a sushi dinner is considered a luxury in the west, these commercials gave KFC a sense of foreign appeal—a special treat to be enjoyed once or twice a year. Images of happy families gathered around a full spread of KFC and Japanese Christmas cakes piled high with whipped cream linked the idea of celebrating Christmas with luxurious foods.
And while fried chicken is very American, it’s not too foreign to Japanese palettes. Japanese folks have their own version called karaage, which is typically served bite sized in bento lunch boxes or as something to share at the local pub. The bone-in, highly seasoned American version managed to strike the perfect balance of new and familiar flavors for the Japanese market.
Sure, there are plenty of imposters nowadays—all the major convenience store chains have their own versions of a fried chicken Christmas dinner now, but if you want to celebrate the day in Japan, you might as well make it a merry Kentucky Christmas.
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