• by Karl Greenberg , June 9, 2009

The ultimate emblem of how social media has seeped into mainstream marketing may be Kentucky Fried Chicken's use of MySpace to find the face of its newest product. The company is looking for a doppelganger of Colonel Sanders, or someone who can demonstrate other reasons that s/he should be tapped to serve as the face of the new Kentucky Grilled Chicken (KGC).

To enter the "Ultimate Kentucky Grilled Chicken Fan Contest," consumers have to submit a video by July 7 at www.myspace.com/ unthinkfc that demonstrates why they deserve the honor of having their mug on buckets or at least in ads as the KGC ambassador. The winner also gets a grand prize of KGC for life -- valued at more than $13,000, awarded in the form of KFC gift checks. The winner may also represent KFC in future KFC advertising.

The company will name the three finalists on July 25, with public voting beginning in August. The top three videos will be on the MySpace site.

People will also be able to watch all the submitted videos and play interactive games, contact others, participate in polls, and enter a promotion to get their faces on KFC buckets.

A company spokesperson said KGC has been the biggest product launch in the brand's history, and it has generated huge consumer interest. "We've heard lots of very positive feedback from Kentucky Grilled Chicken customers, so we thought it would be fun to let them tell their stories about why they're ultimate KGC fans," he said.

He said the MySpace page will host a banner ad, and KFC will do PR outreach to promote the brand ambassador program. "The program is also featured on kfc.com, and we will be reaching out to the more than two million members of the Colonel's Club email list," he said.

In addition to MySpace, KFC is also on Facebook and Twitter, "But," said the spokesperson, "this is the first time we've partnered with an online company like MySpace for a nationally promoted contest supported by paid media." There are three agencies involved in this program: Weber Shandwick Public Relations in Chicago, Draftfcb in Chicago and Mediaedge:cia in New York City.

The subsidiary of Louisville, Ky.-based Yum brands launched the grilled chicken in April with a campaign by Chicago-based Draftfcb. The digital, mobile, print, TV and out-of-home effort -- with the tag "UNThink" and www.unthinkkfc.com -- included an April 27 "UNFry Day" giveaway of 4 million pieces of chicken, then a May 5 reprise announced on "Oprah" that became a PR crisis when responses far exceeded supply.

BuzzStudy.com, which monitors and analyzes trends in Web chatter, said consumer talk on Twitter about KFC since the company's May 7 make-good announcement has been 52% positive and 25% negative. The site also said buzz about KFC spiked above McDonald's -- which generally garners the most Web buzz, per the site -- during the giveaway periods in late April and early May.

Yum Brands reported that same-store-sales declined 2% in the first quarter due to fewer dinner purchases at KFC and Pizza Hut. KFC, which has some 15,000 outlets in more than 80 countries and territories, reported same-store sales down 7% in the U.S. in the first quarter.