Your Money eZine

and Wins Big The Colonel Doubles Down

he controversial and possibly fallacious senti-ment that the Chinese word for crisis repre-sents both danger and opportunity is one that has had its fair share of use since the world-wide recession began. Adaptations, maneu-

verings and general creativity have led to many companies faring better than others. In the United States, the dollar menu option at many fast food restaurants has been a boon to the corporations that own these franchises.

Unlike Jamaica, Kentucky Fried Chicken owned by YUM! Brands in the US and franchised by Restaurants of Jamaica locally struggles mightily in the US due largely to a disconnect between their image and the target crowd and of course the lack of convenient sandwiches. But a brilliant piece of viral marketing and a preposterously unique menu offering has set the internet ablaze and resuscitated KFC’s flagging US presence.

The product is a “sandwich” that sees the bun being re-placed by two pieces of chicken with two different cheeses and bacon in the middle, all weighing in at 540 calories, 32 grams of fat and a whopping 1,380 mg of sodium. Market-ing manager of Restaurants of Jamaica Ltd, Tina Matalon, asserts that while there is no room for the product on their present marketing calendar, they are watching the impact that it has on the international market very closely.

But really aside from the fact that the strange sandwich has an eerily magnetic appeal even in photos, the beauty of this product is how KFC has used public curiosity to fuel new interest in the brand.

“KFC donates unneeded buns to food banks”. This head-line which was for a story about finding homes for newly unwanted buns is the kind of buzz that marketing execu-tives dream about. From internet chatter speculating on whether the sandwich was an urban legend to clever barbs

by late night TV hosts, the Double Down has been gathering a steady momentum leading up to its April 12 nationwide release. Even though the sandwich is on a limited run and is somewhat costly compared to other sandwiches, KFC is hoping that curiosity and new public interest will create a halo effect of sorts leading to customers trying something else and eventually growing to like it.

Gimmicky products at fast food restaurants have been around as long as the restaurants themselves, but it is rare that a single product can captivate the minds and mouths of such a wide cross-section of individuals. It is way too early to claim success of the product itself but KFC has gotten a huge boost in the demographics that it craves and that is undoubtedly worth the risk of ticking of health advocates the world over.

yourmoney ezine

Business lounge

The product is a “sandwich” that sees the bun being replaced by two pieces of chicken with two different cheeses and bacon in the middle, all weighing in at 540 calories, 32 grams of fat and a whopping 1,380 mg of sodium.

“”

T

advertisment

A Tale of Two CountriesGreeCe anD JamaiCa

here is a country with a sovereign debt crisis caused by years of unrestrained spending, failures in finan-cial reform and a bailout plea that investors world-wide feel cannot be repaid. A country with credit

ratings just above “junk”, government debt much larger than the economy and conservative estimates predicting dizzy-ing heights of 120% of Gross Domestic Product in 2010. A country with a new government caught completely off guard by the financial crisis and the status of their inherited finan-cials affairs. Reports of corruption, tax evasion, cronyism and corrupt officials barely illicit a response from the com-mon man in this country. This country is none other than Eurozone problem child, Greece…cue collective sigh of re-lief. Unfortunately for us in Jamaica, our situation is almost a mirror image of Greece sans the tough loving support group that is the European Union.

Of all the similarities that Jamaica and Greece now share, the most stark and the most worrying is the fact both cultures have developed a tolerance for the disregard for public re-sponsibility. This is a disregard that has extended its tentacles into all aspects of our business and economies and is finally showing us just how costly looking the other way really is. The heads of the financial sectors of both countries, despite having very dissimilar surnames, have very similar problems.

The Hon. Audley Shaw said recently that there were at least 200,000 Jamaicans who at present were not paying any in-come tax whatsoever. Greek finance minister George Papa-constantinou said that Greek workers and companies have neglected to declare tax worth 31 billion Euros which is about 10% of the Gross Domestic Product.

You know you have arrived at the holy grail of corruption when even orthodox monks get in on the action. Over 260 suspect land swaps were completed over the better part of a decade which saw a wealth Orthodox monastery trading near worthless lakeside property for prime real estate cost-ing the state an estimated $136 million for that period.

A professor at Greece’s Ionian University, Stavros Katsios, posits that the problem is one that is readily identifiable to us Jamaicans. “In Greece, complying with the rules is a matter of dishonor”, says the professor, “they call you stupid if you follow the rules.”

The average Jamaican can readily recall someone laughing derisively at a person who might have followed due process

and abiding by protocol. Greece may be in the news now because of the fact that their performance or lack thereof will affect the entire Eurozone but their problems with all aspects of corruption is an indicator of where we will be or unfortunately where we might already be.

yourmoney ezine

insights

advertisment

Unfortunately for us in Jamaica, our situation is almost a mirror image of Greece sans the tough loving support group that is the European Union.

“”

T