Official Model Brand Marketing Starts from the 23rd
Byeon Woo-seok Sweeps Ads for Ediya, Baskin, Paldo, etc.
Kyochon's Sales Drop Alone, Will They Lose the Leading Position?
Kyochon Chicken, which has fallen to third place in sales rankings within the domestic chicken industry, has abruptly appointed actor Byeon Woo-seok as its brand model. Byeon Woo-seok is the rising star who became a blue chip in the advertising world after creating a sensation with the tvN drama 'Seonjae Upgo Twieo'. Kyochon Chicken is bringing back the 'star marketing' card, which it abandoned after actor Lee Min-ho in 2016, with a strategy to surpass bhc and BBQ.
According to industry sources on the 21st, Kyochon F&B, which operates Kyochon Chicken, will launch brand marketing featuring Byeon Woo-seok as the official model starting from the 23rd. Some photos of Byeon Woo-seok have already been revealed on the official Instagram and other platforms as 'the new face of Kyochon Chicken.'
Byeon Woo-seok has been sweeping the advertising world with explosive popularity following the drama 'Seonjae Upgo Twieo,' which aired earlier this year. He is currently serving as a brand model for more than ten brands, including LG Electronics, Ediya Coffee, Physiogel, Paldo, Baskin Robbins, and Albamon.
Kyochon Chicken has traditionally avoided star marketing. After actor Lee Min-ho in 2016, they eliminated brand models and focused solely on strengthening their chicken competitiveness.
The reason Kyochon Chicken has now chosen the Byeon Woo-seok card is to regain its fallen reputation. Kyochon Chicken was once the undisputed number one in the chicken industry. However, in 2022, it lost the top spot to bhc Chicken, and last year, it also lost second place to BBQ.
In fact, among the big three chicken franchises last year, Kyochon Chicken was the only one to experience a decline in sales. Kyochon Chicken's separate sales last year recorded 425.9 billion KRW, down 14.6% from the previous year. In contrast, bhc Chicken and BBQ saw sales increases of 5.5% and 12.8%, reaching 535.6 billion KRW and 473.1 billion KRW, respectively.
Kyochon Chicken explained that the decline was due to "avoiding store openings to solidify internal stability," adding that "if a franchise expansion policy had been pursued, recovering the ranking would not have been difficult," but many evaluations suggest its status has been shaken.
For this reason, it is interpreted that Kyochon Chicken is aiming to recover sales by hiring Byeon Woo-seok as a model, paying advertising fees worth several hundred million KRW. According to the industry, Byeon Woo-seok's advertising model fee is known to be around 700 million to 900 million KRW per year.
The star marketing competition in the chicken industry, which had been quiet for a while, is becoming more intense. Recently, Norang Tongdak appointed actor Cha Eun-woo as its brand model. bhc selected actor Hwang Jung-min and national table tennis player Shin Yu-bin.
An industry insider said, "In the past, star marketing competition in the chicken industry was fierce, but due to the huge model fees increasing the burden on franchise owners, there was a trend to focus more on products than advertising. However, recently, as there have been significant shifts in chicken industry sales, the star marketing competition is reviving."
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