#6: "Creativity is a Competitive Advantage" | Azim Akhtar (KFC)

We recently (virtually) sat down with Azim Akhtar who is the Director of Brand Marketing at KFC Canada. For the past few years - his team has struck the perfect balance between respecting KFC’s iconic history while still pushing the brand into new, uncharted territory. His team has been on an incredible run with exceptional work: heartfelt apology to utensils (because KFC is finger-licking good), hosting a funeral for old fries, "fixing" the competition's chicken sandwiches, and tapping into culture moments in basketball. 

In this episode, we chat with Azim about the power of (good) marketing, his humble beginnings, must-hear advice for upstart marketers, and the most underrated menu item at KFC. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to hear the 11 ingredients in their secret seasoning recipe... but we got a few tasty takeaways to chew on.

To skip ahead, here are the topics we covered:

• How would you describe what you do to a new Marketer? (6:27)
• Why do you think Marketing needs to exist? (7:36)
• What was your "Marketing Moment"? (9:45)
• How did you build your love for Marketing? (11:53)
• What have been the chapters of your career journey? (16:28)
• Can you walk us through the time when you transitioned from Hershey to KFC?(23:34)
• What role has community work and mentorship played in your life? (31:21)
• Tell us about what was happening at KFC when you were just joining (34:16)
• What is your view on brand building and how do you think it's differentiated KFC in a highly competitive space? (37:25)
• Can you walk us through how your team stays connected to culture to get the best work? (41:16)
• Can you talk about KFC's "Fry Funeral" campaign? (52:11)
• Rapid Fire: we put Azim in the hot seat! (57:18)