--- title: How KFC Turned Fiasco Into Fandom description: How can you grow fandom when your business makes a mistake? UK KFC locations ran out of chicken in the winter of 2018, but used transparency and timely social media responses to keep customers in the loop. Their honesty and humor helped them connect with customers and turn them into fans. image: https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hubfs/KFC%20one%20job.jpg --- [Skip to main content](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/kfc-runs-out-of-chicken-in-uk-apologizes-with-clever-adverts-and-timely-content#maincontent) [ «  View All Posts ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog) # How KFC Turned Fiasco Into Fandom February 24th, 2018 2 min read By [David Meerman Scott](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/author/david-meerman-scott) ![KFC one job](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/KFC%20one%20job.jpg?width=1105&height=590&name=KFC%20one%20job.jpg) *The original version of this post on Feb. 24, 2018, has been edited to highlight the power of fandom.* Trust is essential to building fandom around your business. Without it, customers will have negative experiences with your business and most likely take their business elsewhere. [Wells Fargo and PayPal](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/is-paypal-the-new-wells-fargo) are examples of this principle in action. Being transparent will establish your business as honest and trustworthy, but it will also help you build genuine relationships with your customers. **Beyond the products or services you sell, the relationships with your customers determine how successful your business will be. ** Just look at companies like [Trader Joe's and Wendy's](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/5-businesses-crushing-fandom-right-now) for proof. Transparency and relationship-building have helped these businesses stay competitive in industries with steep competition. In this post, I'll revisit a fiasco in 2018 where UK locations of KFC ran out of chicken. Through transparency and quick-thinking, KFC turned a sticky situation into a fandom-building moment.  ## Building Fandom with Transparency It was a #KFCCrisis. A chicken restaurant without any chicken! [KFC in the UK changed logistics companies](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/feb/24/people-have-gone-chicken-crazy-what-the-kfc-crisis-means-for-the-brand) and the new provider fouled up the fowl deliveries. FCK! But the company did a wonderful job communicating the situation via social networks and advertisements. In UK newspapers, the company ran [full page advertisements ](https://twitter.com/AndrewBloch/status/966957339981918208/)cleverly changing the KFC logo on a chicken bucket to FCK. The ads read: *“We're sorry. A chicken restaurant without any chicken. Huge apologies to our customers, especially those who travelled out of their way to find we were closed. And endless thanks to our KFC team members and our franchise partners for working tirelessly to improve the situation. It's been a hell of a week, but we're making progress, and every day more and more fresh chicken is being delivered to our restaurants. Thank you for bearing with us.”* ![KFC one job](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/KFC%20one%20job.jpg?width=1105&height=590&name=KFC%20one%20job.jpg) KFC created a site at the clever kfc.co.uk/crossed-the-road URL to provide a list of all UK restaurants and the chicken status of each. They also offered rewards to people affected via the company smartphone app. On [social media](https://twitter.com/KFC_UKI), the company was constantly providing updates, many with the fun approach of the ads. Based on what went down on social media, KFC did a good job handling this crisis. They were quick to communicate, they were transparent in telling customers what was happening, and they did so in a fun way. #### And, of course, other fast food companies jumped into the fray with a little friendly newsjacking. > We knew you were out of chicken but didn’t realise you were out of fries too! 😂 [https://t.co/pGFAxhUJjF](https://t.co/pGFAxhUJjF) > > — Burger King UK (@BurgerKingUK) [February 22, 2018](https://twitter.com/BurgerKingUK/status/966634671588167680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)   > Cluck N’ Cleaver is offering free fried chicken to UK residents affected by the [#KFCcrisis](https://twitter.com/hashtag/KFCcrisis?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw). All we ask is that they pay the delivery fee. > [#chickenrelief](https://twitter.com/hashtag/chickenrelief?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) [#cluckncleaver](https://twitter.com/hashtag/cluckncleaver?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) [#foodporn](https://twitter.com/hashtag/foodporn?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) [#friedchicken](https://twitter.com/hashtag/friedchicken?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) [#yyceats](https://twitter.com/hashtag/yyceats?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) [#yycfood](https://twitter.com/hashtag/yycfood?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) [#yyc](https://twitter.com/hashtag/yyc?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) [#uk](https://twitter.com/hashtag/uk?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) [#british](https://twitter.com/hashtag/british?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) [#KFC](https://twitter.com/hashtag/KFC?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) [#calgary](https://twitter.com/hashtag/calgary?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) > > [https://t.co/5QYSIaJdfH](https://t.co/5QYSIaJdfH) > > — Cluck 'N' Cleaver (@cluckncleaver) [February 23, 2018](https://twitter.com/cluckncleaver/status/966829984722575360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) ## Key Takeaway KFC had a crisis to deal with, but instead of trying to hide their chicken shortage behind a canned PR response, they embraced the situation and took ownership of their problems. By emphasizing transparency, KFC responded with authentic and humorous ads and social media posts while offering rewards to their customers affected by the chicken shortage. KFC valued their relationships with customers, so they served honesty and truth when they couldn't serve chicken. That's fanocracy at its best! For the past five years, my daughter and I have been researching how fandom can help any company reach new heights. Our new book, [Fanocracy: Turning Fans into Customers and Customers into Fans](https://www.fanocracy.com/), reveals all you need to know about how fandom can help your business. The book releases on January 7, 2020, but in the meantime, [you can read the first chapter here.](https://www.fanocracy.com/fanocracy-excerpt?__hssc=121728916.3.1575226459248&__hstc=121728916.6ed1bce94eb9ce81804a0c6c94705c4a.1568663326594.1575093214014.1575226459248.76&__hsfp=1483207258&hsCtaTracking=e235acdc-47b3-46b9-9984-a9001658f353%7Cde05dcb9-31c0-4aa0-9fb4-33db6f724672) [![New call-to-action](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/413105/a384ecf0-8527-465a-8578-1840a51d0495.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/413105/a384ecf0-8527-465a-8578-1840a51d0495) [ David Meerman Scott ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/author/david-meerman-scott) David Meerman Scott is a business growth strategist, advisor to clever entrepreneurs who are building emerging companies, and the international bestselling author of a dozen books published in 30 languages. David’s high-energy keynote presentations, masterclasses, and virtual events educate, energize, and inspire. Connect: [mailto:david@freshspot.com](mailto:david@freshspot.com) Topics: [ New Rules of Marketing and PR ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/topic/new-rules-of-marketing-and-pr) [ Case Studies ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/topic/case-studies) [ Newsjacking ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/topic/newsjacking) [ Fanocracy ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/topic/fanocracy) Don't forget to share this post: ## Related Articles [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Stefano%20Paciotti.jpg?width=1500&height=1084&name=Stefano%20Paciotti.jpg) ### The Ham Whisperer of Rome: How Stefano’s Honest Videos Won the World’s Heart June 24th, 2025|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/the-ham-whisperer-of-rome-how-stefanos-honest-videos-won-the-worlds-heart) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/story%20time%20shutterstock_2078659261.jpg?width=1500&height=999&name=story%20time%20shutterstock_2078659261.jpg) ### The Story Customers Tell Themselves May 6th, 2025|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/the-story-customers-tell-themselves) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Facebook%20Live%20no%20more.jpg?width=1352&height=893&name=Facebook%20Live%20no%20more.jpg) ### Meta Focused On Profit Over Users: Now Deletes Facebook Live Videos After 30 Days April 28th, 2025|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/meta-focused-on-profit-over-users-now-deletes-facebook-live-videos-after-30-days) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/shutterstock_2077138888.jpg?width=1500&height=1000&name=shutterstock_2077138888.jpg) ### What Makes a Great Marketer? December 17th, 2024|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/what-makes-a-great-marketer) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Kolkata%20Chai%20Ani%20and%20Ayan.jpg?width=1236&height=858&name=Kolkata%20Chai%20Ani%20and%20Ayan.jpg) ### Brewing Authenticity: How Kolkata Chai Co. Uses Instagram to Reach Interested Buyers November 21st, 2024|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/brewing-authenticity-how-kolkata-chai-co.-uses-instagram-to-reach-interested-buyers) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/LinkedIn-1.jpg?width=1500&height=1000&name=LinkedIn-1.jpg) ### How LinkedIn Profiles Can Make or Break Complex Sales September 9th, 2024|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/how-linkedin-profiles-can-make-or-break-complex-sales) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Live%20Streaming.jpg?width=672&height=464&name=Live%20Streaming.jpg) ### Create and Connect Through Live Video August 26th, 2024|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/create-and-connect-through-live-video) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/B2B%20marketing.jpg?width=1477&height=1003&name=B2B%20marketing.jpg) ### Great B2B Marketing Is About People August 26th, 2024|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/great-b2b-marketing-is-about-people) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/9e%20post.jpg?width=1500&height=1145&name=9e%20post.jpg) ### 9th Edition of The New Rules of Marketing & PR Publishes Today August 20th, 2024|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/9th-edition-of-the-new-rules-of-marketing-pr-publishes-today) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/boring%20robots.png?width=1432&height=899&name=boring%20robots.png) ### Your Original Content Plus AI Equals Sparkle-Darkle August 13th, 2024|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/your-original-content-plus-ai-equals-sparkle-darkle) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AI%20UI%20design.jpg?width=1091&height=732&name=AI%20UI%20design.jpg) ### Companies Have An Obligation To Help Customers By Deploying AI & ML Within User Interfaces July 30th, 2024|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/companies-have-an-obligation-to-help-customers-by-deploying-ai-ml-within-user-interfaces) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/4%20NRMPR%209e%203D%20blog.jpg?width=1259&height=843&name=4%20NRMPR%209e%203D%20blog.jpg) ### New 9th Edition of The New Rules of Marketing & PR Coming in August! June 20th, 2024|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/new-9th-edition-of-the-new-rules-of-marketing-pr-coming-in-august) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Jesse%20at%20Fenway.jpg?width=1256&height=843&name=Jesse%20at%20Fenway.jpg) ### Fans First Banana Ball Delights at Sold Out Fenway Park Game June 10th, 2024|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/fans-first-banana-ball-delights-at-sold-out-fenway-park) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Creativity%20Cannot%20be%20Crushed.jpg?width=569&height=327&name=Creativity%20Cannot%20be%20Crushed.jpg) ### Samsung’s “UnCrush” Video Newsjacking of Apple Fail May 16th, 2024|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/samsungs-uncrush-video-newsjacking-of-apple-fail) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/shutterstock_573409429.jpg?width=1500&height=1000&name=shutterstock_573409429.jpg) ### What’s Your Goal? April 23rd, 2024|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/whats-your-goal) [![Marketing Strategy Diagram](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Marketing%20Strategy%20Diagram.jpg?width=1387&height=976&name=Marketing%20Strategy%20Diagram.jpg) ### Simple Two Page Marketing Strategy Plan March 21st, 2024|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/simple-two-page-marketing-strategy-plan) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/hq720.jpg?width=686&height=386&name=hq720.jpg) ### KOREAZ YouTube Channel Delivers Digital Public Diplomacy as Entertainment January 3rd, 2024|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/koreaz-youtube-channel-delivers-digital-public-diplomacy-as-entertainment) [![Blurred People View from Above](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/shutterstock_631017335.jpg?width=1500&height=843&name=shutterstock_631017335.jpg) ### The End of Mass October 26th, 2023|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/the-end-of-mass) [![Nantucket Island Surf School home page.](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Nantucket%20Surfing.jpg?width=2138&height=1414&name=Nantucket%20Surfing.jpg) ### What Phrase or Word Do You Own? September 29th, 2023|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/what-phrase-or-word-do-you-own) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/blog.jpg?width=1193&height=792&name=blog.jpg) ### Why You Need a Blog in the Age of AI and Social Networking September 5th, 2023|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/why-you-need-a-blog-in-the-age-of-ai-and-social-networking) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/data%20and%20math2.jpg?width=1500&height=998&name=data%20and%20math2.jpg) ### How to Get Found in LLM AI Search Like ChatGPT-Powered Bing August 16th, 2023|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/how-to-get-found-in-llm-ai-search-like-chatgpt-powered-bing) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/W3%20accessability.jpg?width=915&height=595&name=W3%20accessability.jpg) ### Make Your Web Content Accessible To All July 25th, 2023|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/make-your-web-content-accessible-to-all) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/2024%20AI%20election.jpg?width=1197&height=806&name=2024%20AI%20election.jpg) ### Presidential Election 2024: How Artificial Intelligence is Rewriting the Marketing Rules June 29th, 2023|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/presidential-election-2024-how-artificial-intelligence-is-rewriting-the-marketing-rules) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Apple-WWCD23-Vision-Pro-with-battery-230605.jpg?width=1960&height=1102&name=Apple-WWCD23-Vision-Pro-with-battery-230605.jpg) ### Apple Vision Pro Spatial Computer Launch Is PR Done Right June 6th, 2023|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/apple-vision-pro-spatial-computer-launch-is-pr-done-right) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "David Meerman Scott", "url" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/author/david-meerman-scott" }, "dateModified" : "2026-01-13T18:03:48.848Z", "datePublished" : "2018-02-24T19:47:35.000Z", "headline" : "How KFC Turned Fiasco Into Fandom", "image" : [ "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hubfs/KFC%20one%20job.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/kfc-runs-out-of-chicken-in-uk-apologizes-with-clever-adverts-and-timely-content", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hubfs/_Assets/Logo/david-meerman-scott.png" }, "name" : "David Meerman Scott" } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/#person", "@type" : "Person", "description" : "Marketing and sales visionary, international bestselling author of 12 books, keynote speaker in 47 countries, and advisor to emerging companies.", "email" : "mailto:David@DavidMeermanScott.com", "image" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hubfs/DMS-Homepage-Featured.jpg", "jobTitle" : [ "Keynote Speaker", "Author", "Business Growth Strategist", "Marketing Advisor" ], "knowsAbout" : [ "Content Marketing", "Fandom Marketing", "Newsjacking", "Real-Time Marketing", "Public Relations", "Sales Strategy", "Business Growth" ], "name" : "David Meerman Scott", "sameAs" : [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Meerman_Scott", "https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidmeermanscott", "https://x.com/dmscott", "https://www.instagram.com/dmscott/" ], "url" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com" } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/#website", "@type" : "WebSite", "author" : { "@id" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/#person" }, "name" : "David Meerman Scott", "potentialAction" : { "@type" : "SearchAction", "query-input" : "required name=search_term_string", "target" : { "@type" : "EntryPoint", "urlTemplate" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/search?q={search_term_string}" } }, "url" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com" } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "David Meerman Scott", "url" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/author/david-meerman-scott" }, "dateCreated" : "2018-02-24T19:29:59", "datePublished" : "2018-02-24T14:47:35-0500", "description" : "How can you grow fandom when your business makes a mistake? UK KFC locations ran out of chicken in the winter of 2018, but used transparency and timely social media responses to keep customers in the loop. Their honesty and humor helped them connect with customers and turn them into fans.", "headline" : "How KFC Turned Fiasco Into Fandom", "image" : [ "https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/413105/KFC%20one%20job.jpg" ], "inLanguage" : "en-us", "keywords" : [ "New Rules of Marketing and PR", "Case Studies", "Newsjacking", "Fanocracy" ], "learningResourceType" : "article", "name" : "How KFC Turned Fiasco Into Fandom", "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://413105.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/413105/_Assets/Logo/david-meerman-scott.png" }, "name" : "Freshspot Marketing LLC" }, "timeRequired" : "2 minutes", "url" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/kfc-runs-out-of-chicken-in-uk-apologizes-with-clever-adverts-and-timely-content" } ```