For Mother's Day, some moms get flowers, and others are taken out to dinner. Last year, courtesy of Basic/Dept, they got both at once with the Kentucky Fried Buckquet.
The agency came up with the idea of linking the fried chicken chain with Pro Flowers, creating a DYI "edible" arrangement. The offer allowed customers to order chicken via KFC's app or online that was designed to be added to a KFC-branded, flower-filled vase using eight included skewers.
The inspired idea was the culmination of a long relationship between the chicken chain and Basic/Dept that began in 2018 with ad hoc projects and events, said Steven Denekas, senior VP of creative at the agency.
After KFC parted ways with Wieden+Kennedy in 2021 before naming MullenLowe in early 2022, Basic/Dept stepped into the breach with the innovative idea. “There was a gap in between them getting another relationship in place, so they threw us an opportunity to come up with a campaign for Mother's Day," he said.
Denekas said the agency's work with KFC began with creating an e-commerce experience for all of their stores within the U.S. "That turned into building out an app, which then turned into us being an incredible partner for them,” he added.
The out-of-the-bucket idea did its job: The effort helped fuel record-breaking sales for the chain's second quarter, reaching $5 billion in digital revenue. The flower/chicken combo drove 1.8 billion earned impressions and 180 earned media stories and was featured on James Corden’s CBS late-night talk show. “He picked it up and just started sort of riffing on how amazing it was,” Denekas said.
According to Denekas, that moment represents what the agency tries to do with all of its work. “The work that we try to do, we really focus on making sure that it's relevant, and that it talks to culture in new and interesting ways, and ultimately creates this moment of delight and surprise,” he said.
Buy your ticket for the Ad Age A-List & Creativity Awards Gala here.
But perhaps more importantly for the agency, it became a breakout moment. Basic/Dept is known "for amazing digital experiences and e-commerce experiences," said Asher Wren, VP of growth at the agency. "But this gave us a chance to take the creativity that our team has and bring it into sort of more traditional territories."
Other work from the agency, which has more than 120 global employees, includes rebranding Southern California clothing company Brixton with the “Done Proper” brand positioning and campaign to establish a look and a voice that was its own. The campaign resulted in a 23% lift in traffic and 14% rise in revenue year-over-year.
“Within brands that are founded in Southern California, it's a sea of sameness. And [Brixton] came to us because they really wanted to transform their identity and their brand,” said Ashley Reichel, Basic/Dept's CEO.
“We basically helped them rebrand completely, with the campaign tagline ‘Done Proper’ with a custom signature,” Reichel said.
Brixton’s “Done Proper” campaign billboard.
