Your sleep just got crunchier.
Imagine falling asleep to the sound of fried chicken crackling.
Your eyes are heavy as you scroll through Hatch playlists. You pause on…sizzling chicken. Or is it raining?”
Warning. Reading this article might induce a heavy craving for fried chicken.
In 2024, KFC partnered with sleep aid Hatch to develop a “Kentucky Fried Chicken Rain” content channel. After reading multiple social media posts about the similarities between the sound of fried chicken cooking and the sound of rain, KFC made a calculated decision to use ASMR to its advantage.
ASMR stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response.
The goal was to create a listening channel to fall asleep to by harnessing the sound of cooking chicken.
KFC teamed up with Hatch, a subscription-based sleep sound device, to create a playlist of fried chicken–inspired audio aids. Discount codes for Hatch devices were given to KFC loyalty customers to help eliminate any obstacles to participation.
Why the partnership worked
As strange as the story may sound, KFC and Hatch created something truly awe-inspiring. By using natural sound cues (cooking and rain), the companies demonstrated both of their strengths: Hatch for sleep and wellness through sound, and KFC “finger lickin’ good” fried chicken.
By using natural sound cues, KFC created a sizzling story that was both accessible and genuine to a larger audience.
In the Sounds Worthy Series article Notification Sounds, I talked about sounds role in reaction and response.
To create action in a commercial campaign is ultimately every marketer’s dream. Soothing frequencies have the ability to take a bullet train route to the amygdala (the “I like / I don’t like” part of the brain).
Providing a nonstop trip to recall and reaction through ASMR is a smart idea. The partnership cleverly blended sound and flavor, nudging listeners toward chicken cravings while giving KFC fans a reason to explore Hatch’s devices.
Hatch got to wing it with a larger audience, while KFC drummed up cravings and found its inner piece.
A win-win.
However, there are drawbacks.
Why the partnership may not work
Not everyone is going to love this idea because people are NOT built standard. Everyone has different emotions, and tastes vary.
For some, this partnership would not resonate.
For example, I can’t stand strong engineered smells like perfumes and colognes. So when Abercrombie and Fitch came up with the idea to make their stores “smelly”, they lost me as a potential customer before I even walked in the door.
The other potential downfall is that not everyone will make the connection between chicken frying and KFC. They may only think of fried chicken in general or they may only hear rain.
For some, KFC’s playlist will sound like nothing more than white noise.
The branding takeaway
Hatch and KFC explored visual, auditory, and gustatory identity by focusing on a non-traditional product marketing experience.
This innovative marketing campaign calls for a second act; a follow-up and follow-through that solidifies that the sound of sizzling chicken is synonymous with KFC and KFC alone.
Attributing a brand to a natural sound seems impossible, but it’s been done before. And it’s been done exceptionally well.
Always Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola has dedicated decades and who knows how many dollars to ‘the sound of Coke’.
In reality, the sound of a soda is the sound of every soda. But, because Coke cares so deeply about its product sounds (i.e., the fizz, the pour, the clinking of glass, the “ahh” from the user), and has invested decades in being synonymous with its product sounds, Coke (maybe Pepsi) comes to mind first.
Coca-Cola owns the sound of carbonated beverages without owning the sound of carbonated beverages.
Other companies – take note
Coca-Cola and KFC may have more marketing dollars than the average company, but strategic sound and sensory are relatively inexpensive ways to compete with the Fortune 500 marketers of the world. The trick is to care about how you feel, figure out what makes you feel the strongest, and help others care just as much through a sensory story.
“We wanted to have fun and to create a sense of surprise through an unexpected, but somehow perfectly right, partner.”
— Hatch
Well done, Hatch and KFC. You succeeded.
KFC took a sizzling first step into sonic branding. From there, the world is their biscuit.
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