How a great culture led to creativity at KFC - Meghan Farren, KFC CMO

Meghan Farren spent 10 years at KFC UK, spending the last 5 as CMO. What does it take to run a marketing department of one of the biggest consumer brands? What do you do when you run out of chicken as a fast food chicken joint? How do you change your strapline when it involves licking fingers during a global pandemic? And how a strong culture is pivotal for all this creativity to happen.

What we covered in this episode

• Going back to KFC after a year - back to school vibe
• The realness of working in a KFC restaurant
• Research vs real world experience
• How Meg got into marketing in the first place
• From finance to marketing
• How to transition industry
• Experience vs action and impostor syndrome
• How to nail a new job
• Importance of culture
• Hiring the best talent
• Being close to the customer
• Marketing week brand of the year
• Power of consistency
• The FCK campaign
• How taking a big risk can pay off
• How humour in a crisis can help
• KFC’s many distinctive assets
• How to do brand innovation well
• Advice for aspiring CMOs