Add Hope's communications strategy centres on ‘KFC raised Add Hope, customers sustain it’, emphasising collective impact through multi-channel storytelling. Using impact stories, social media campaigns, celebrity partnerships and partner-driven content, Add Hope builds conviction and awareness while tracking sentiment and response metrics. Comprehensive crisis protocols ensure swift, transparent responses across all stakeholder groups, protecting programme integrity and maintaining trust.
Our strategic platform for communication is that while KFC raised Add Hope, customers have enabled its scale. As such, the communication is aimed at bringing to life the essence of collective effort, collaboration and joint impact.
KFC team members are at the heart of Add Hope. Being able to make an impact in the communities where they operate gives them meaning and purpose. Add Hope and the reason it exists are embedded in all KFC’s training and communications to ensure its spirit is never lost.
We do extensive research to measure understanding, awareness and response from consumers for bigger campaigns as well as track sentiment and awareness of Add Hope’s impact on an ongoing basis.
It is all about conviction in the cause, awareness and belief in Add Hope’s collective impact, and an understanding about why South Africa needs this. Beyond awareness, Add Hope also tracks response and sentiment improvement.
The more people feel the tangible impact of Add Hope, the more likely they are to continue donating. This does not influence which partners are recruited. The ethos and integrity of the programme, which is designed for maximum impact, remains paramount.
A calendar of impact stories is built and delivered annually, but there is an opportunity to do this at a larger scale with more impact.
This is handled by the KFC social media team, which is well versed in Add Hope and is guided by a playbook of common FAQs.
A common message is curated and adapted to ensure it is fit for purpose on each platform.
The needs and manner in which information is consumed are taken into consideration when curating messages. For example, Instagram is more image focused and LinkedIn provides more opportunity for thought leadership.
Partners are periodically provided with playbooks to enable and aid their storytelling. In addition to this, they are encouraged to own the process of sharing Add Hope’s impact, which often makes communications more credible and tangible to consumers.
Crises are classified according to operational issues (e.g. partner compliance failures, localised food safety incidents, minor funding delays), programme-wide issues (widespread food safety concerns, significant donation collection disruptions, negative media coverage, data breaches affecting partner/beneficiary information) and existential threats (systematic fraud allegations, major food poisoning outbreaks, regulatory investigations, viral negative social media campaigns, economic crises severely impacting donations).
The crisis response team includes the KFC head of corporate affairs, an external communications consultant, legal counsel and relevant cross-functional managers. The escalation authority is as follows:
Within six hours:
Within 12 hours:
Add Hope has workshopped scenarios and recovery protocols for various crises, and monitoring and early warning systems are in place to ensure swift and transparent responses that protect beneficiaries and programme integrity while maintaining stakeholder trust.