WED APR 20 05

		Colonel Cool. What a relief! From now on, KFC will once again be known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, at least in the U.S., as reported by Bruce Horovitz in USA Today. The name re-change is part of a new marketing strategy designed to re-energize the brand by re-asserting its Southern roots and, with it, a certain authenticity that it seemed to have lost along the way. "It was right under our noses," says KFC's (can we still use it for short?) Michelle Wickman. "We started in the South. Fried chicken is Southern-inspired. So who has more right to be Southern than us?" To that end, the brand last month introduced a new menu item called "Snacker" -- a 99-cent chicken sandwich -- that has been so successful KFC, kfc.com, "plans to evolve (it) into a platform" ... Also on tap are "entree-sized Hot Bowls -- at $3.99 -- that mix chicken with mashed potatoes and corn in a bowl ... Hot Bowls may contain spinach or broccoli" at some point, as well. Other new items include "buttermilk popcorn shrimp ... candied yams, seasoned collard greens and skillet corn ... spicy gravy, too. Then, there are new chicken-wing flavors. One's dubbed Sweet and Spicy Candy Apple." And for dessert, "lemon pound cake and sweet potato pie." Believe it or not, all this great food has produced a slimmer "Colonel Sanders," whose "face has been thinned to make him look younger." His white suit has been replaced by a red apron, too -- a look that is perhaps more consistent with what likely is the linchpin of KFC's plan, a reinvention of its dining experience. The first of 49 new "concept stores" is up and running in Louisville, featuring "cushy furniture -- even ottomans to put your feet up. There's a freebie digital jukebox that constantly spins tunes -- R&B in urban locations and Top 40 in suburban stores." Yes, suburban stores. While most KFC eateries currently are in urban neighborhoods, it's hoped that the new image will play well in suburbia -- a "market that has taken a snobbish pride in ignoring KFC." So far, the changes seem to be hitting the mark: "Sales rose 10 percent in March compared with the same period a year ago," although "only five of the past 17 months have shown any positive same-store sales growth domestically." Globally it's a much better story, though, especially in China, where "KFC remains the most-recognized American brand ... outscoring even McDonald's and Coke." Funny part is, KFC's new image is reserved for America, where its growth potential is relatively limited. That hardly seems to matter to KFC's ceo, Gregg Dedrick, who says: "To me, it's a matter of heart ... This is the essence of KFC." Um, uh, Kentucky Fried Chicken. Tim Manners, editor