The archive · PR & Stunts · Marketing decision · 2026
KFC New Zealand opens a pawnshop where any gold item buys chicken and Liquid Gold
To launch its Liquid Gold dipping sauce, KFC New Zealand ran a two-day pawnshop where Kiwis traded gold items for chicken and a taste of the new sauce.
KFC New Zealand (Yum! Brands)
What it had to solve
KFC New Zealand was launching Liquid Gold, a creamy, peppery dipping sauce that had already 'caused a frenzy' in Australia. Marketing Director Leanne Too wanted to see how far Kiwis would go to try it, and to let fans be among the first to taste it.
How it works
KFC New Zealand was bringing Liquid Gold, a creamy and peppery dipping sauce for its boneless chicken range, to the local market after the sauce had 'caused a frenzy' in Australia. Marketing Director Leanne Too framed the launch in the brand's own logic: if something is that valuable, it deserves its own exchange.
So the launch became The Colonel's Liquid Gold Exchange, a pawnshop-inspired store at 177 Ponsonby Road open for just two days, 4–5 September 2026. Kiwis could swap anything gold — a gold-foil chocolate wrapper, even Grandma's false gold tooth — for chicken and a side of Liquid Gold, with exchanges limited to one per person while stocks lasted. Special PR NZ spearheaded the experiential, media relations, creative and content, and ran an exclusive media and influencer event ahead of the public opening.
The idea did not stop at the storefront. PHD Aotearoa steered paid media including an interactive street poster where passers-by could tear off gold items and redeem them for Liquid Gold, and Bastion Aotearoa led the sauce's creative across social, OOH and ATL. Liquid Gold was also added to the entire menu, making it available for dipping with anything KFC serves. The report records no attendance or sales figures.
Why it lands
- The name gave the idea its mechanics: 'Liquid Gold' got a literal exchange counter where gold really is the currency, so the metaphor became the experience.
- The bar for entry was playful and democratic: a chocolate-foil wrapper counts as gold, so nearly every Kiwi could afford the joke and join the queue.
- A two-day run with one exchange per person created genuine scarcity, giving the launch urgency and a reason for fans to show up in person.
- The activation was designed to travel: a media and influencer preview plus a tear-off street poster carried the stunt beyond the store and into earned coverage.
What it did
The stunt made a new dipping sauce feel like a commodity rare enough to trade gold for, gave Kiwis a tangible reason to queue and be among the first to taste it, and stretched the idea onto the street through a redeemable poster. The Campaign Brief report records no attendance or sales figures.
What you can take
When a product name promises value, literalize the claim: an exchange where the audience trades something real turns a launch into an event people can join — and retell.
Since then
The two-day exchange ran on 4–5 September 2026 as the New Zealand debut of Liquid Gold, which also joined the full KFC menu for dipping. As a launch announcement, the report carries no sales or attendance numbers; the mechanics — the two-day pawnshop, one exchange per person and the redeemable street poster — were how KFC turned a sauce drop into a scarce, newsworthy event.
Sources
spotted an error? The archive wants to know.
Your turn
You just read one. Describe the brief you are staring at, and see who has been given the same problem.
Free account · 3 free questions · no card