This weekend was the Kentucky Derby, which is a pretty big deal here locally. It was sponsored by Yum! brands, the parent company to
Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Long John Silvers, and Kentucky Fried Chicken. They also sponsor our new riverside arena, the KFC Yum! center.
Locally, this makes sense to everyone because it is one of the biggest companies in town. However, I have friends outside of Louisville who don’t understand or understand and make fun of it. I took the picture to the right from the TV coverage of the race. You can see that the Yum! logo looks like a cartoon callout of someone saying “Yum!” It seems like someone is saying “yum!” to the Kentucky Derby, which is a little odd.
I know there have already been some blog posts out there about this, but wanted to open it up to my blog readers to see what you think. I know many of you are reading from other states and even other countries. What do you think? Is it confusing? Is it a miss on the brand’s part?
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
To me, it seems as though they are marketing the corporate brand of Yum to potential franchisees and license holders by sponsoring the Kentucky Derby. Especially to the target market on ‘Millionaires Row’ who would have the capital to start franchising. They also have the opportunity then to market their three restaurant brands to the rest of us.
Thanks for the comments Scott. If you watched the Derby on TV, it did seem like they were more interested in getting investors versus promoting their food to consumers.
Jennifer