R.E.D. Marketing: The Three Ingredients of Leading Brands

Create breakthrough marketing campaigns by harnessing the power of R.E.D. Marketing: a transparent and flexible methodology straight from marketing powerhouse Yum! Brands.

Sidestep the marketing books, courses, and even TED talks that offer hypothetical explanations that sound sensible and embrace the proven, systematic approach of R.E.D. Marketing, which the recent CEO and current CMO of Yum! Brands applied to lead Taco Bell and KFC to double digit growth.

This book, filled with simple frameworks and engaging stories, will help everyone in your company understand what really works for driving sustainable brand growth and business success.

In 2011, Greg Creed had just been elevated from President to CEO of Taco Bell, a brand in deep distress at the time. It was on his shoulders to turn things around quickly along with co-author and CMO, Ken Muench. Together, they developed the R.E.D (Relevance, Ease, Distinctiveness) method.

It’s simple methodology does not require complicated terms and a PhD to understand, it’s actually quite simple—marketing works in three very different ways:

• Relevance—Is it relevant to the marketplace?
• Ease—Is it easy to access and use?
• Distinction—Does it stand out from competition?

By combining actual examples from Yum! and other recognizable brands of every size around the world with the latest findings in marketing, neuroscience, and behavioral economics, and the author’s own experience marketing three different brands across 120 countries, your brand can set and achieve a truly breakthrough marketing campaign utilizing R.E.D Marketing.

Greg Creed was CEO of Yum! Brands, Inc., and is currently a member of the board, overseeing the world’s largest restaurant companies, including KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell. Each brand is the global leader in their category, with more than 48,000 restaurants in more than 140 countries and territories.

 Creed has over 40 years of experience in marketing and operations. Prior to leading Yum! Brands, he was head of Taco Bell, serving as CEO after a successful run as President and Chief Concept Officer, responsible for driving overall brand strategy and performance of the business. He re-energized Taco Bell with the launch of the “Live Más” brand campaign in 2012; the reinvention of the taco with the revolutionary Doritos Locos Taco; and the introduction of the game-changing Cantina Bell Menu. Previously, he served as Chief Marketing Officer at Taco Bell, spearheading the “Think Outside the Bun” campaign and driving strong sales and profit growth for five consecutive years.

Greg has recently co-founded a small “unconsulting” company called Creed UnCo LLC which focuses on the three things he is passionate about–branding, franchising, and culture.

Ken Muench is the Chief Marketing Officer for Yum! Brands. Unlike a traditional CMO, Ken acts as a master aggregator of marketing discoveries for the entire company, cracking the toughest marketing challenges globally, figuring out what is working around the world and what isn’t, and creating repeatable models to implement everywhere. To get this done, Muench leads the Collider Lab, a think tank made up of social scientists, marketing strategists, cultural trend forecasters, and data gurus. Since Yum! acquired Collider in 2013, marketing effectiveness at Yum has surged globally as the R.E.D. marketing system has been rolled out in over 140 countries.