Earned & PaidYum Brands
Yum Brands spent $134M on advertising and marketing in fiscal 2025, up 19.6% on the year before and +84% since 2019. That's 1.6% of revenue, more than in 2019: leaning in.
Marketing spend by year
Bars: advertising and marketing expense, $B (10-K). Line: spend as a share of revenue. Years where the filing's revenue line isn't comparable are left out of the line.
What they told investors
“Toward the end of the quarter, the team made the strategic move to make breakfast optional for our franchise partners, providing greater flexibility to spend our marketing dollars more effectively on growth drivers such as Cantina Chicken and our cravings value venue.”David Gibbs · 2024 Q3 · transcript
What the 10-K says about marketing
- investing in brand “In 2025, we began a review of strategic options for the Pizza Hut brand. The objective of the review is to create value for YUM, Pizza Hut and its franchise partners by determining the optimal approach to best capitalize on Pizza Hut's structural advantages — strong brand…” 10-K, Feb 20, 2026
- investing in brand “trademarks, many of which are registered in various jurisdictions, create brand awareness and help build goodwill among our customers.” 10-K, Feb 20, 2026
- investing in brand “Our ability to reach consumers and drive results is heavily influenced by brand marketing and advertising and our ability to adapt to evolving consumer preferences, including developing and launching new and innovative products and offerings. Our marketing and advertising…” 10-K, Feb 20, 2026
Say vs do
Yum Brands's management has talked about its marketing budget, but in ways annual filings can't check: one quarter, one brand or channel, or the mix.
What they said
“Toward the end of the quarter, the team made the strategic move to make breakfast optional for our franchise partners, providing greater flexibility to spend our marketing dollars more effectively on growth drivers such as Cantina Chicken and our cravings value venue.”
David Gibbs on the 2024 Q3 earnings call, Apr 22, 2026 · transcript
Can't tell from annual filings Filings don't split brand from performance or report spend by channel.
What they did
| Year | Marketing spend | Change | Share of revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $134M | +19.6% | 1.6% |
| FY2024 | $112M | +38.3% | 1.5% |
| FY2023 | $81M | +3.8% | 1.1% |
| FY2022 | $78M | -7.1% | 1.1% |
| FY2021 | $84M | +23.5% | 1.3% |
| FY2020 | $68M | -6.8% | 1.2% |
Against its peers. Compared with the 5 other Restaurants advertisers we track (Starbucks, Chipotle, Restaurant Brands, Domino's, Wendy's): since 2019 its marketing spend went +84% (peer median +82%); its share of revenue moved +0.3 pts (median +0.2); last year +19.6% (median +9.6%).
In interviews, its leaders made 229 statements about marketing: 7 argued for investing in brand and 0 for cutting.
How we check: a statement gets a verdict only when it's clearly about the size of the whole company's marketing budget over a full fiscal year; we compare it with the advertising and marketing expense in that year's 10-K. Statements about one quarter, one brand or channel, or the mix between brand and performance can't be checked against annual filings.
What they say about media
The marketing channels it talks about using for itself on earnings calls and in its 10-Ks and 10-Qs, since 2019; counts are statements, not spending.
- Creative campaigns “This quarter, we successfully launched personalized AI-driven marketing campaigns that relative to traditional digital marketing campaigns generated significant increases in consumer engagement, leading to increased purchases and a reduction in consumer churn.” Chris Turner on the earnings call · Apr 22, 2026 · source
- CRM, loyalty & first-party data · AI in marketing “Already, our US brands are leveraging AI to execute targeted campaigns with early tests on email promotions resulting in a doubling of consumer engagement compared to traditional approaches.” Chris Turner on the earnings call · Apr 22, 2026 · source
- Sponsorships & athletes · Experiential & events “As an example, the United Kingdom elevated KFC's visibility and appeal with a younger audience through successful launches such as the Dirty Louisiana Burger and strategic cultural partnerships like Limitless Live, the U.K.'s largest free music event, leading to a 5% increase in…” David W. Gibbs on the earnings call · Apr 21, 2026 · source
- Measurement “Kvantum continues to scale its media mix marketing tool, which was recently used in several Pizza Hut International markets to drive incremental sales with a more efficient use of marketing spend.” Chris Turner on the earnings call · May 4, 2022 · source
- Influencers & creators “In the fourth quarter, Pizza Hut received strong recognition for an influencer-based marketing campaign that resulted in Pizza Hut being named a 2021 culture driver by TikTok.” David Gibbs on the earnings call · Feb 9, 2022 · source
What they see in the market
What its leaders and filings say about the ad market: its own ad business, or the channels advertisers use, since 2019; counts are statements, not spending.
- AI in marketing · Measurement “Kvantum is a true innovator in marketing optimization with a proven track record of adding significant value in enabling data-driven decisions to drive return on advertising dollars and sales increases.” David Gibbs on the earnings call · Apr 28, 2021 · source
In the news
- #IMPACTEXCLUSIVE: Hashtag Orange wins Taco Bell's media account, which was with Wavemaker IMPACT Magazine · Sep 29, 2026 · agency move
- KFC Canada’s strategy for localizing the global brand refresh strategyonline.ca · Sep 29, 2026 · brand strategy
- Pizza Hut Turns Its Pizza Box Into A Concert Platform WeRSM · Sep 29, 2026 · campaign
- Pizza Hut Turns Its Iconic Red Roofs into Miniature “Little Hut Libraries” Across the Country Roastbrief US · Sep 29, 2026 · campaign
- KFC "Don't crack" by Mother Campaign UK · paywall · Sep 29, 2026 · campaign
- Pizza Hut delivers free books to neighborhoods with Little Free Library PRWeek · paywall · Sep 29, 2026 · campaign
- KFC and Mandai X are sending little explorers on a wild mission Marketing-Interactive · Sep 29, 2026 · campaign
- KFC forms a boyband for new tenders via Special adnews.com.au · Sep 28, 2026 · agency move
- KFC CMO Melissa Cash shares the importance of sauce for the brand nrn.com · Sep 28, 2026 · marketing
- KFC tests modern restaurant experience as brand launches 'Kentucky Fried comeback' Fox News · Sep 26, 2026 · brand strategy
- Inside KFC’s ‘Open House,’ the Restaurant Built to Win America Back QSR Magazine · Sep 25, 2026 · brand strategy
- Why KFC's brand was on a 'dying planet' and how it escaped Campaign UK · paywall · Sep 22, 2026 · brand strategy
Agency moves
- KFC forms a boyband for new tenders via Special Sep 28, 2026