David Menis

PROBLEM
For years, KFC US faced declining sales, an aging user base, and a diminishing footprint. The brand did not have a clear point of view (POV) and was irrelevant to younger QSR users, a key demographic to enable the brand’s success in the future. Competitors were also stealing shares, posing a significant threat to the business. Without immediate action, the $5 billion brand would soon lose its customers, franchisees, and business.

ACTION
I led the effort to reposition KFC, launching the Colonel campaign and bringing back the brand’s famous “Finger Lickin’ Good” tagline. I developed and sold the positioning to all stakeholders and then led its rollout across all touchpoints—advertising (GM/Hispanic), digital, menu boards, merchandising, uniforms, asset design, food POV, hospitality POV, etc.

RESULT
As a result of the repositioning and subsequent rollout, KFC turned the business around, achieving multiple years of positive SSS growth. Franchisees were energized and invested in remodels to better promote the brand. The Colonel campaign was awarded Ad Age’s Campaign of the Year, re-establishing KFC as a leader in the QSR industry.

PROBLEM
With the brand facing declining sales and a franchise base growing impatient, KFC US needed to make changes fast. The brand was struggling to attract key customers—white-collar workers, women, and those with higher incomes. Franchisees were seeing sales slump, with many concerned about the viability of the trade areas in which they operated. We needed to create a new version of KFC that would attract a broader customer base and reinvigorate franchisees’ businesses.

ACTION
I led a skunkworks team of three, reporting to the KFC president to design and build a new fast-casual concept, KFC Eleven. I led all aspects of this initiative—menu development, asset design, operating model, financials, training, and marketing—to bring it to fruition. I secured approval from the Yum! CEO, president, and CFO for the concept and led the opening and operations for the first several months.

RESULT
KFC Eleven was an incubator for concepts that later found their way to the base business, including sauced nuggets. The company generated significant excitement and momentum amongst franchisees and helped rejuvenate an underperforming KFC location.

PROBLEM
Bond Vet, the leading de novo veterinary clinic, had significant revenue goals driven by SSS and unit growth. Unit growth was in good shape when I arrived, but we were not hitting visit targets for our existing clinics. With nearly 80% of our spend in digital, I knew we had to dive deep into what was working and what wasn’t.

ACTION
I developed a plan by assessing our current state—who our customers were, how they make decisions, where and how we promoted the brand, and what results we saw. From this, I could develop a POV on where we were delivering and make changes accordingly. For instance, I found that our conversion rate (CVR) on Meta was low, yet when we removed spending, our organic CVR declined, too. This led to a refinement in Meta strategy to focus on awareness and a playbook for approaching other channels.

RESULT
Based on the changes, I drove an increase of 93% in revenue YoY, 87% of which was from visit volume. I improved our LTV:CAC ratio to an industry-leading 14:1, demonstrating the value of our spending. I created a new approach to measuring our performance. Digital remained our primary spend, but our channel mix changed to drive efficiency and results.

PROBLEM
Chopt had been the original player in the fast-casual salad market. However, an aging asset base coupled with new entrants put its dominant position at risk. The brand needed to refine who it was and how it expressed itself, particularly when it came to the journey that customers experienced. We believed that if we could elevate our customer experience even further, we could win against those with bigger budgets.

ACTION
I led the founder-led organization to refine and develop its positioning and then revise its customer journey, asset design, and tech roadmap to maximize impact. First, I conducted consumer research to understand the current state of affairs and its opportunities. Next, I sought out inspiration from within and outside of the category. Following those efforts, I synthesized our findings into a customer journey map, gaining cross-functional alignment and prioritizing efforts to deliver.

RESULT
The revised customer journey was implemented for both new builds and retrofits. We saw strong revenue performance for new builds, ramping up faster and prompting more loyalty than our earlier restaurants. In retrofits, we saw an increase of 10% in SSS from making investments in the journey.