Yum! Brands CMO on why cultural relevance beats global consistency
The CMO of KFC and Pizza Hut’s parent company talks about the value of decentralised marketing and why brand success nearly always comes down to relevance, ease and distinctiveness.
Yum! Brands chief marketing officer Ken Muench believes in decentralised marketing. As the top marketer of the company that owns brands including Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell, he is adamant that operating with a “sphere of influence” is the best way to get things done, with global and local brand CMOs reaching out rather than the other way around.
He explains: “We are a little bit different compared to other companies, we give a lot of freedom to that local individual. We believe in cultural relevance a lot more than consistency around the world.”
He also believes this ensures Yum! retains top talent.
“We find it is a more exciting place to work, when you’re the CMO of a country and you can do basically whatever you want around the realms of respectability. It’s exciting and everyone is energised,” he says.
