2024 Winner

In June 2023, Street Fighter 6 launched in North America, becoming one of the year’s biggest games with over two million copies sold within the first month alone. Leveraging the game’s character creator feature, KFC and Courage incorporated iconic founder and brand figure, Colonel Sanders, into the game as a playable character. KFC encouraged gamers to share their Colonel avatars on social media by performing combos and tagging the brand, with KFC offering promo codes for its chicken in return.

The campaign became the QSR’s most shared video within two hours of launch and attracted attention from major gaming publications, with Twitch streamers joining in to showcase their own versions of the Colonel using Street Fighter 6’s customization options. This creative collaboration generated over $16 million in earned media value and led to an 8% increase in sales. By inflating Street Fighter 6, KFC successfully reinforced its brand presence in pop culture and engaged with the gaming community in an innovative and cost-effective way.

Credits

Agency: Courage
Founder, CCO: Dhaval Bhatt
Founder, CCO: Joel Holtby
Partner, President: Niki Sahni
Partner, CSO: Tom Kenny
Executive Director of Development: Shannon Miller
ACD, Writer: Hemal Dhanjee
ACD, AD: Steve Ierullo
Senior Strategist: Lyndsey Westfall
Group Account Director: Alex Karayannides
Executive Producer: Clair Galea
Editor: Marcus Barrie

PR: Narrative
EVP Managing Director: Cathy Mitchell
Managing Director, Chief Creative Officer: Meredith Klapowich
Vice President: Lauren Baswick
Account Director: Daliah Hijazi Marsons
Account Manager: Sreeja Sasidharan
Account Manager: Holly Wilks

Client: KFC
Chief Marketing Officer: Katherine Bond-Debicki
Marketing Director: Azim Akhtar
Marketing Manager: Jordan Sequiera

Media: Wavemaker
CEO: Nikki Stone
Senior Media Planner: Blanca Gamez
Associate Director: Daniel Balment
Account Manager: Ani Hajderaj
Assistant Media Planner: Marcelyn Tran