Monica started her journey with KFC in South Africa in 2009, where she was integral in driving step-change advertising through innovative creative work. In 2012, she joined KFC UK&I’s Marketing team in Innovation, before being promoted to Marketing Director. She appointed Mother to build KFC’s creative vision & galvanised the organisation across multiple functions to re-position the brand. Her tenure had a monumental impact across the business in the UK and Ireland, helping to shape the creative vision for KFC and strengthening brand transformation.
With multiple award-winning campaigns including the seminal FCK apology ad, Monica is a passionate advocate for the power of bold, brave creativity to deliver business outcomes. She took on the UK CMO role for KFC in October 2023 at a time when competition in the fried chicken sector has never been fiercer. Her goal coming in has been to elevate the brand “up and out” of the category. To ensure the fast-food chain does just that, she has been working to cement KFC’s brand codes and build a “very distinctive KFC brand world”. As part of this effort, KFC launched its ‘Believe in Chicken’ platform last year, which led to an uplift in brand health metrics. The chain’s consideration, quality, value and index score (a measure of overall brand health) among 18- to 34-year-olds have all increased since the platform’s launch, according to YouGov’s BrandIndex. KFC’s UK sales rose 5% year-on-year in the three months to 30 June, with Yum Brands! CEO David Gibbs calling out successful product launches and “strategic cultural partnerships” as all working well for the brand in the UK.
