The integrated campaign, comprising a new TV and radio commercial, digital, PR, on the ground activations, Shoprite in-store activity and a WeChat partnership, which promises to ‘give Mzansi more’, has seen the Hungry Lion brand quickly winning with South African and African consumers.

“The three month campaign, which has been running for just over a week has proven to us that South Africans love getting more,” says Tashalene Reid, brand marketing manager at Hungry Lion, a Shoprite Holdings company. “We have already seen an impressive 568% increase in consumer engagement in comparison to last year’s campaign.”

Reid explains that the objective of the campaign is to build brand loyalty and get more people to share in the Hungry Lion lifestyle experience. “We will achieve this through multiple touch-points for the duration of the 3 month campaign,” she says.

"The level of redemption on vouchers via digital channels has already been way above industry benchmarks and is delivering against our business objectives.”

Reid attributes the increase in sales and consumer loyalty to Hungry Lion’s new brand image, refurbished outlets, the brand’s proudly South African heritage and a great product in the form of bigger portions of great tasting chicken served up in the brand’s visually appealing branded buckets. “Our Pride Bucket has been iconic to our stores for more than 13 years and this year our lucky bucket mascot is even cooler,” she adds.

The Hungry Lion buckets can be seen doing some of the ‘coolest’ things. “In our TVC, our Mr Lucky Bucket is seen jetting off on a private jet, riding on a Harley Davidson, working out at the gym and running along the beach,” Reid says. “We are bringing our buckets to life by using an on-the-ground mechanic in the form of 80 Lucky Bucket mascots who have been promoting the R10-million ‘spot a lucky bucket’ competition throughout South Africa in a fun and engaging way.”

Reid explains that although Hungry Lion ran a similar promotion last year, this still remains a first for South Africa in terms of utilising these various touch points and in terms of integration. “Already we have seen over nine hundred thousand digital WiCodes already being issued within the first week.”

She adds: “We are pushing social media limits and digital interaction via mobile devices to include WeChat and Mxit as a mechanic for our market, providing a perfect platform for live interaction for all of South Africa and enabling both feature and smartphone users the opportunity to participate, the quality of engagement from our fans has superseded expectation.”

Hungry Lion, which was launched in 1997, by the Shoprite Holdings Ltd Group, has seen a rapid growth trajectory by extending its footprint and now has a network of more than 180 stores in Africa and South Africa with operations in eight African countries.

Over the past two years, the brand has undergone major changes to its management, brand, stores and menu in order to achieve its goal of being a first-world Quick Service Restaurant (QSR). “We are continuously innovating to ensure that our customers get more and 2015 will see the brand undergo further changes and new offerings to make this a reality,” says Reid.

“Our goal is to provide all communities in Africa with tasty chicken in a first-world environment at competitive prices, whilst staying true to our 100% homegrown SA offering,” she adds. “The stores, menu, staff and overall brand offering is working towards bringing our vision to life on a very diverse continent.”

Hungry Lion, which serves over a 1.5 million customers per month across SA and Africa, prides itself on offering ‘sharing more' with the stores and menu being crafted for people who want more, to share more and for lovers of king-sized chicken.

Reid explains; “We offer value for money in a fast and friendly environment, with a strong emphasis on our brand promise.”

“Our integrated campaign for the launch of the ‘Lucky Bucket’ promotion aims to make South Africans aware of our brand promise in a fun, engaging and aspirational way. We have extended our reach and impact to ensure a larger scale of engagement than ever before,” she adds. “To do this we are getting more people to experience Hungry Lion at multiple touch points.”

“We are incredibly excited to offer this campaign to South Africans and our fans can be sure to expect some great surprises in the next two months,” she concludes.

For more information, connect with Hungry Lion South African on Facebook and Twitter using the #LBHarleyRide hashtag.