What if innovation isn’t about finding the next shiny technology—but using something you already have in a completely new way?
In this episode of SMARTIES Studio, Rohit Dadwal speaks with Mukundi Munzhelele and Galaletsang Kgoathe about KFC’s Block Booked campaign, which turned a simple email and calendar booking tool into an innovative solution to a very real consumer problem: people were losing their lunch breaks to meetings, errands and work.
The insight was simple: people needed their lunch back. The solution was equally simple—and remarkably effective. Consumers could block their lunch calendars for two weeks using bespoke calendar bookings, turning meetings and other lunch-time commitments into protected time. They were then rewarded with KFC vouchers to enjoy their lunch.
The result? An 11% increase in lunchtime sales, alongside 16 million social impressions and significant cultural and earned-media impact. But the bigger story is what this campaign reveals about modern marketing. The key lesson: Innovation isn’t always about inventing something new. Sometimes it’s about seeing something familiar differently.
