Rewards Arcade
View the case- Brand
- KFC
- Year
- 2022
- Objective
- Loyalty
- Industry
- Food & Drink
- Mechanic
- Arcade & Action
- Platform
- App
- Agency
- Rapp
Objective
KFC UK & Ireland's old stamp-card scheme, Colonel's Club, only paid off after three, five or eleven visits, so under a quarter of customers ever bothered with it — and the average diner ate at KFC just twice a year. KFC wanted a reward chance on every single order, not just repeat ones, plus the customer data an app-based program could capture, all wrapped in a tone that felt like a treat rather than a points scheme.
Solution
After paying for an order — at the till, drive-thru, kiosk, online or delivery — a KFC app user links the receipt to their KFC Rewards account. Spend over £3 (€5 in Ireland) and a push notification or an in-app prompt invites them to play. Tapping it opens Hammer Time: the player picks one of three mallets and swings at a strength-tester, sending a weight climbing toward a bell; ring it, and a prize unlocks instantly — a free item such as the 6-piece Bargain Bucket, a burger, a wrap or popcorn chicken. The win drops straight into the app's rewards balance, redeemable in-restaurant or via click-and-collect within 40 days, and the player gets up to two plays a day before the invite resets. A year in, a second minigame, Pinballer — a pinball table set in a CGI cityscape — joined the arcade with the same instant-win format.
Results
1.3 million rewards were redeemed in the program's first four months. App downloads rose 53% and weekly active app users climbed 26%, with 86% of app users now playing on every visit and reward redemption running at 40%. Customers reported buying more often (24%) and using the app more often (25%), matching a measured 31% rise in app usage frequency and a 14.8% increase in tokenized transactions; 70% said they'd recommend the program. Adding Pinballer pushed engagement further versus Hammer Time alone: plays up 61%, rewards won up 69%, rewards redeemed up 107%, and a 60% repeat-play rate.
- 1
Players download the free KFC UK & Ireland app and opt into KFC Rewards; on a purchase, they link the order to their account by showing or scanning their in-app QR code before paying.
- 2
An order above £3 (€5 in Ireland) qualifies the player for a play, calculated on the total spend rather than specific items.
- 3
The invitation to play arrives as a push notification or a banner on the app's home screen; tapping it opens the Rewards Arcade, where the game currently on offer is waiting.
- 4
In Hammer Time, the player picks one of three hammers and strikes a fairground-style strength tester; a 3D animation sends the weight up the tower toward a bell, ending in a freeze-frame that shows whether the bell was rung.
- 5
Ringing the bell unlocks a prize drawn from a rotating pool of twelve menu items — including a Bargain Bucket, burgers, wraps, and popcorn chicken — with the outcome unknown to the player in advance.
- 6
Any prize won lands in an in-app rewards balance, where the player can see it and its expiry, and can redeem it right away in-restaurant or via click-and-collect within 40 days.
- 7
Play is capped at two games per day, and an unclaimed invitation expires the moment a new one is issued, so attempts cannot be stockpiled.
- 8
Since September 2023, an order may instead trigger Pinballer, a CGI pinball table where the player launches and flips a ball around a KFC-branded course for the same instant prizes.
