Chiu told Campaign Asia-Pacific that Ren has worked with KFC for a number of small projects with other agencies recently before the client appointed it as creative agency.
Ren Partnership replaces incumbent Grey Group, which has worked on the KFC’s account for few years. Mindshare is the media agency for KFC in Singapore. Grey did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.
Chiu commented that one challenge will be to help the brand, which has been present in Singapore for 37 years, to keep its resonance while appealing to younger Singaporeans.
"KFC is excited to work with the team of passionate people from Ren Partnership," Virginia Ng, senior marketing director, KFC Singapore, said in a statement. "Under the leadership of award-winning advertising veteran Chris Chiu, we are confident that they will be able to harness their regional fast food experience and marry it with a keen appreciation for the local consumer to help take KFC to the next level in Singapore."
Ng added that the ‘freshness’ in tone Ren has delivered—in campaigns for the launch of the KFC Rice Bucket and the reintroduction of the Bandito Pockett—has helped achieve significant sales numbers.
KFC, which has 80-plus stores in Singapore, is under the Yum Group, which also owns the Pizza Hut and Taco Bell brands.
Ren Partnership's clients include Samsung, Great Eastern Life, Super Coffee and MediaCorp.