Priscilla Rodriguez-Barrett Jared Edelstein Morgan Millovan Katie Gibson Cadee Robertson
TM
Cimarron Group
CONTENTS 1 2 3 4 5
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY INDUSTRY OVERVIEW THE COMPETITION
Research
KEY FINDINGS TARGET AUDIENCE
Strategy 6 7 8
OBJECTIVES & RECOMMENDATIONS
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
CREATIVE BRIEF
Creative
THE BIG IDEA
Executions
EXECUTION STRATEGY WEBSITE MOBILE APPLICATION TV PRINT
SOCIAL MEDIA BANNERS & GAMING PROMOTIONS & PR
Media 17
MEDIA STRATEGY & EVALUATION
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Since it’s founding in May of 1958, Pizza Hut has strived to position itself as the “king” of the pizza industry. With over a 15% share of the market, 16 million+ social media followers, and the highest number of stores nationwide, Pizza Hut has done just that. Yet in a time where technology-based trends like social media engagement, smartphone accessibility, and health-conscious eating become more prevalent each day, Pizza Hut has shifted its efforts to address the ever-increasing consumer demand for online and mobile technology - specifically for ordering purposes - and higher quality ingredients.
Pizza Hut currently derives 43% of its total pizza orders through digital mediums, and presently looks to increase that number to 75% by the end of 2015. However, Pizza Hut has fallen behind fellow industry competitors such as Domino’s and Papa John’s in this respect due to deficiencies in both its online and mobile ordering interfaces, as well as the ways in which the company positions its digital experience and integrates it with promotional incentives and other brand aspects. A major strategy Pizza Hut has always incorporated is the diversification of its menu, with some examples being the Personal Pan Pizza and the Stuffed Crust Pizza. On November 19, 2014, Pizza Hut took substantial measures to get ahead with their “biggest brand evolution ever,” which introduced a menu expansion dubbed “The Flavor of Now,” as well as a new logo, box, and uniforms. Customers can now create their ideal customized pizza by choosing from five new premium ingredients, ten new crust flavors, six unique sauces, and four new drizzles. While this rebranding certainly brings Pizza Hut attention and increases its appeal to the modern audience, a complete revamp of Pizza Hut’s digital experience is still needed in order to increase digital ordering encourage among current Pizza Hut consumers and to win over competitor customers. Cimarron Group took on the challenge to re-design the Pizza Hut digital experience and to position it as the quickest, simplest, most reliable, and most valuable way to order and share pizza with family, friends, and colleagues. Of utmost concern was the digital interface itself, which needed to be optimized to deliver the best experience possible. From there, we created a campaign that positions Pizza Hut’s digital ordering as the ultimate way to make more of what is arguably our target’s most valued commodity: time. By doing so, the consumer will fully understand our key message:
Pizza Hut’s digital experience can not only SAVE you time, but enable you to SPEND more time with loved ones, by enjoying the shared experience of eating Pizza Hut.
Executive Summary 1
Industry overview
Radical changes in consumer preferences continue to drive and manipulate marketing, advertising, and promotional tactics within the pizza industry.
“I WANT PIZZA NOW!” Industry trends indicate an increasing consumer preference for quick-service pizza stores, where pizza can be ordered online, as opposed to traditional sit-down restaurants; this has limited the industry’s growth because quick-service pizza is usually sold at lower price points.
“But it should be (kind of) healthy” Americans have become more concerned about their health and the food they eat, moving away from food high in fat, salt and sugar. Organic, locally grown, and gourmet food have become more popular, and pizzerias are offering a greater array of ingredients and choices to address the fact. Furthermore, as the healthy eating index rises, demand for restaurants with fewer healthy options will decrease. Along with adapting to health consciousness, industry operators are facing more competition from places such as grocery stores and mass merchandisers, whose products have been particularly popular among price-conscious consumers who still want quality pizza but at a lower price.
“and super easy to order” Technology has infiltrated the industry in a big way over the past five years. Large pizza chains have invested in sophisticated web-based ordering systems that allow customers to order and pay for deliveries quickly via their computer, tablet, or smartphone. The ubiquitous adoption of the internet has driven this trend, as younger consumers in particular have an affinity for using online ordering platforms. Customers can create their own online accounts, saving personal preferences for toppings and delivery instructions. This has helped the powerful pizza chains increase their market share and profit due to the fact that the average online consumer typical orders more frequently than and has a larger average total bill than the average phone orderer. However, most independent pizza shops are at a disadvantage because they lack the capital and know-how to compete with this technology.
2 Industry
Key Trends The industry is in the mature stage of its life cycle: long term, low growth The industry is affected by product saturation Constumers are showing an increasing preference for convenience & customizability Technology changes are being implemented to increase business efficiency Increasing sales per store, rather than total number of stores, has become crucial to overall growth Introducing menu items with higher price points or complementary foods, such as chicken and salads, account for this increase in sales per store
The Competition
Main industry competitors include Domino’s, Little Caesar’s, and Papa John’s
Domino’s – with a 9.7% share of the market – underwent a huge revamp in its product line in 2010, including new, fresher ingredients and a larger emphasis on non-pizza products including pasta, chicken, and desserts. With the introduction of the Pizza Tracker in 2008, an app on their website that allows customers to see what phase of the pizza making process their pizza is in, and Dom in 2014, a Siri-like feature of the mobile app that allows consumers to place their order by speaking to the app, Domino’s proves to be a strong contender on the digital front.
Little Caesar’s – with an 8.1% market share – aims to offer pizza priced significantly lower than other industry competitors (around $5 a pie) and in doing so, bases its customer retention approach more on cost leverage than product expansion. Despite this, recent changes to the product line, including the introduction of a Detroit-style pan pizza, reflect a renewed attempt to capture market share. However, Little Caesars seriously lags behind when it comes to digital ordering, with an app rated 1 star and very few franchises even offering online ordering.
Papa John’s – with a 6.5% market share – focuses on providing quality pizza, expressed through the strong tag line “better ingredients, better pizza.” Papa Johns increased emphasis on online and digital ordering by providing a streamlined online ordering experience and by, in 2010, starting their Papa Rewards Program. Customers are able to sign up for the program and receive rewards points everytime they order Papa Johns online, to be redeemed for a free pizza. Papa John’s was also the first to offer SMS text ordering in 2007.
Aside from the major chain competitors, local (or “mom and pop”) pizzerias, as a whole, hold the majority of market share, as customers tend to prefer the authentic flavor, local ingredients, and overall higher quality of pizza offered by local establishments. However, if these chains even offer digital ordering, they struggle to keep up, as they do not have the capital or the technology of the major chains.
Grocery stores have also posed a competitive threat, as well known brands such as DiGiornio and Red Baron have catered to consumers still wanting delicious pizza, but seeking an even easier and faster way to get it. These pizzas are typically frozen, inexpensive, and are increasingly being made with quality ingredients to rival more dominant competitors.
Other quick service delivery restaurants are competition that Pizza Hut needs to consider as well. Even if these restaurants don’t necessarily sell pizza, customers still consider them when deciding what to eat if they want something quick and delivered. Jimmy John’s is a big threat when it comes to lunch, since people sometimes tend to think of pizza as more of a dinner option.
Pizza Hut’s challenge is to take these competitors’ stregnths, weaknesses, and executions into consideration in order to create a digital ordering experience superior to the rest, to promote that digital ordering experience as the best in the industry, and to provide, in general, overall higher quality, better food.
competition 3
RESEARCH
We conducted both primary and secondary research to better understand the desires and perceptions of our target audience in order to develop a campaign to increase digital ordering of Pizza Hut.
We conducted 21 individual interviews and 102 online surveys to discover key insights about where our audience prefers to order pizza from, how they typically order pizza, and why they do or do not prefer to order online. We gathered secondary research from 22 online articles and reports regarding the pizza industry, online ordering trends, and Pizza Hut’s past and current promotional strategies.
KEY FINDINGS
Interviews: 21 4 males age 18-25 5 females age 18-25 3 males age 26-34 4 females age 26-34 2 males age 35-49 3 females age 25-49
People Like People
Technology Distrust
CONTROL FREAKS
Quality over everything
Our audience enjoys the human-to-human interaction that comes with ordering over the phone. They can explain to a living, thinking, speaking human being exactly what they want and get vocal acknowledgement back.
Many people simply don’t trust the computer to get their order correct and to actually process the order. They don’t want to deal with error messages, and they think that ordering over the computer takes longer.
Those in our audience that do prefer ordering online do so because they like seeing all of their options in front of them and being able to pick and choose exactly what they want. They enjoy being the ones in control of their order.
In general, our audience is willing to pay more for better ingredients and a tastier pizza. Our audience claimed that the most important factor in ordering pizza is the quality of the pizza, followed by the value of the price and the speed of the delivery.
AFRAID OF CHANGE
Commitment issues
good ol’ mom & pop
Brings people together
Some don’t base their decisions so much on the quality but more so on what they’ve grown up with and what they are used to. If their parents always ordered a certain brand of pizza over the phone, they grow up ordering that same brand the same way.
Our audience doesn’t like being forced to create an account before they can order online. It takes way too long, they think they’ll forget their username and password, and they often think that they have to create an account to order online.
A large chunk of our audience would rather order from a local “mom and pop” restaurant than from a chain pizza company because they feel that local pizza restaurants provide more authentic and better quality pizza.
Pizza is the simplest thing to order for large groups of people whether for a party celebrating the end of T-ball season, a late night snack between friends, or a work meeting. People enjoy the time that they spend sharing pizza with friends and family.
4 Research
Target Audience Don’t Like Digital:
The Classic Cheese Pizzas
This segment features consumers who range from “so-so” to a complete dislike for digital ordering. They find that the user interface is too complicated, inefficient, or too time consuming. Many also find having to use their time to create customer profiles and accounts online irritating. This segment may also be hesitant to trust that their order has been processed, put their credit card information online, or to put any additional personal information on the internet. Overall, this segment finds the digital ordering experience frustrating, causing them to opt for a more conventional method. “The internet is not that trustworthy, you never know if the order will go through or not. Talking to a real person is more legit” - Danielle Noble (19)
Based on our research, our campaign will target 3 distinct segments based on their unique perceptions and preferences for digital ordering.
Prefer Traditional:
The Old Fashioned Meatbrawls The second segment features consumers who prefer traditional ordering, specifically viewing over-the-phone ordering as the easiest and most convenient method for ordering pizza. They tend to appreciate traditional and authentic forms of communication, such as person-to-person contact, because of the decreased probability of human error and increased accuracy of order processing. This segment has acclimated to the age of the internet, and is capable of partaking in the digital experience, but chooses not to simply because of their conventional ways. “I like the phone cause thats the way my parents did it, i’m familiar with it. And I like that I can talk to a real person.” - Alex Westberry (21)
Digital from competitors: The Other Lovers
This segment features consumers who prefer online ordering because they see it as quick, simple and convenient to do so. By ordering online, it eliminates the need for person-to-person contact, which people view as less complicated. Digital ordering also allow these individuals to feel more in control of their purchase; they like being able to view all of their available options in front of them. These individuals may also prefer competitor’s pizza because of their perceived better quality, brand perception and digital ordering experience. “I like to order Papa John’s online because you can see the entire menu... I can see all of the options I have. - Megan Gibson (18)
While our 3 target segments may differ in their ordering preferences, they have a few things in common... - They are between the ages of 18 and 49, both male and female - They view pizza as a convenient and cheap meal option perfect for social gatherings - They have very busy schedules and are constantly on the go, so they like that pizza is easy and quick - They are tuned into technology; they share experiences through social media
Research 5
Strategy: Objectives & Recommendations objectives
CAMPAIGN RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Position Pizza Hut as the top choice for quality pizza and convenient, reliable digital ordering
BRANDING
2. Provide the best digital ordering experience in the industry
website & app
3. Increase the share of pizza orders that are done online from 40% to 75% by the end of 2015
Develop a creative campaign that portrays the Pizza Hut digital ordering experience as easy, quick, and user friendly. Develop a more interactive, reliable, and convenient digital ordering experience that not only meets, but exceeds the users wants and needs.
traditional Utilize traditional media techniques to promote and increase the use of digital ordering.
social media Promote Pizza Hut’s digital ordering experience through social media outlets in order to engage consumers in conversation.
promotions & PR
Implement promotions & PR events to incentivize the consumer’s exclusive use of Pizza Hut digital ordering methods.
incentive program
Create an incentive or reward program in order to increase online ordering.
6 strategy
Strategy: creative Brief Current Target Perception How does our target market feel about Pizza Hut & its digital experience? Our target market currently views the Pizza Hut digital experience as tedious, unreliable, and of no inherent value when compared to over-the-phone ordering. They believe that fellow industry competitors like Domino’s and Papa John’s have more engaging, user-friendly digital ordering experiences as well as higher-quality ingredients, causing our pizza loving target market to stick with traditional ordering methods, or to not even choose to eat at Pizza Hut at all.
desired Target Perception
What should our target market believe after seeing the creative? Our target market should view Pizza Hut as the “technology king” within the pizza industry, offering a digital ordering experience that is convenient, fast, and reliable. They should also view Pizza Hut as a company that stays culturally and technologically relevant.
Considerations What is the one thing that will promote digital ordering from Pizza Hut? Consumers want their pizza in as timely and hassle-free a manner as possible. Improving the user-friendliness of the interface as well as increasing the degree to which the individual can engage with the order will aid in this regard.
Why should our target market believe our message? Pizza Hut’s expanded menu and improved quality of ingredients caters to an emerging preference for eclectic tastes, health-conscious decisions, and wide range of options
Key Insight
What is the single thought we will communicate?
Pizza Hut is an up-to-date brand that provides a digital ordering experience that is the simplest, quickest, most reliable, & most valuable way to order your delicious, high quality pizza in order to save you time and allow you to spend more time with loved ons.
tone What do we want our target market to think, know, & feel after seeing our creative? Trending: digital ordering should be positioned as the standard of pizza ordering in current society, and thus our target market should view overthe-phone ordering should be viewed as “out-of-date” Trustworthy: consumers need to have confidence in Pizza Hut’s digital ordering, especially during a time in which mobile apps and online websites have a reputation of being “buggy”; consumers should trust that no matter the ordering method, their order has been correctly processed by Pizza Hut and is ready for delivery to the correct location Engaging: consumers should feel engaged with their order every step of the way; they should not experience the uncertainty of waiting for a delivery driver to arrive, as proven from the success of digital ordering trends such as Domino’s “order tracker” and “Dom” voice ordering system
Strategy 7
The Big Idea Our research and overall industry trends suggest that time is the single most important factor when it comes to digital ordering. Users want to be assured that ordering digitally is saving them time and, in effect, is allowing them to focus more on the social setting surrounding their pizza than on ordering the pizza itself. With this in mind, the Pizza Hut digital ordering experience will be positioned as an entity capable of saving users time, and enabling them to spend more of it with friends, family, and co-workers. Emphasizing the sociality of the Pizza Hut product will encourage our target audience to consider the role of Pizza Hut pizza in their social worlds and how using the latest technology to order it is a logical extension of that.
It’s About Time It’s about saving you time by making ordering as quick & easy as possible.
People choose the way they’re going to order pizza by what they perceive is the quickest, easiest way to order. People are busy, whether its balancing classes and a job, driving their kids around, or being swamped with work. By showing them how quick, easy, and reliable ordering Pizza Hut digitally is, our audience will understand that ordering digitally is the way to go and it’s time that they tried it.
It’s About Time It’s about making the most of the time you spend with the people in your life. Pizza brings people together. Social media and technology bring people together. Our audience should use Pizza Hut’s digital ordering to share a tasty meal with their favorite group of people, whether that’s their family, team, coworkers, or friends.
It’s About Time It’s about time Pizza Hut provides the best digital ordering experience yet.
Pizza Hut has what you’ve been waiting for. Pizza Hut’s digital ordering allows you to choose from delicious, unique options to order exactly what you want on your pizza. It’s the easiest, most reliable, most convenient way of ordering, and it’s finally here. The Flavor of Now gives customers the variety and quality they’ve been waiting for, and ordering from the Flavor of Now menu online makes choosing between your 5 new choices of toppings, 10 crust options, 6 sauces, and 4 drizzles, as easy as pie.
It’s About Time 8 creative
Execution strategy In order to maximize reach with innovative executions, reduce wasted coverage and generate awareness throughout our campaign, we selected targeted media vehicles to grab our audience’s attention on platforms in which they are already invested. For traditional media, this means TV commercials placed on entertainment, family and children’s stations nationwide and in the 10 largest DMAs. Social media vehicles included are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat. Online, vertical and horizontal banner ads will be placed on popular webpages utilized daily by our target. These digital ads will be placed in already trafficked sites to encourage online and in-app ordering.
television
Cable: Comedy Central Cooking Channel Food Network ABC Family Disney Channel
E! FX MTV TBS TNT USA
Reader’s Digest Better Homes and Gardens People TIME FamilyCircle O, The Oprah Magazine
Network: ABC NBC CBS
banner ads
Facebook.com Spotify.com Urbanspoon.com Pandora.com FoodNetwork.com EOnline.com
CollegeHumor.com Forbes.com BusinessInsider.com Yahoo.com Amazon.com Ask.com
promoted social media Promoted Facebook statuses Promoted tweets Promoted Instagram posts
execution 9
website The Pizza Hut website and mobile app will both be redesigned to provide the absolute best digital ordering experience to date. Users will be able to see a visualization of their customized pizza as they decide upon premium ingredients and crusts and drizzles. Instead of just being able to see when their pizza is being made, the consumer will also be able to track where the pizza deliverer is so that they can know exactly when their delicious pizza will be arriving at their door. By being the first to provide this feature, Pizza Hut will excite and engage audiences; people will actually want to order online or download the app so that they can try the GPS feature for themselves.
New features GPS TRacker
Users will be able to track their delivery orders via GPS on the delivery vehicle. Both the website and the app will include a map with the route drawn out and a car icon moving along the route.
order countdown
We will include a real-time order countdown which will show an estimated time for when your order will be ready for pick-up or delivery, proving that Pizza Hut is trustworthy and dedicated to completing the order in a timely manner.
facebook log-in
Prior to placing the order, the user will be prompted to either create an account, log in via Facebook, or not create an account at all. The Facebook log in will provide a faster and more simplified way of making an account and placing an order.
10 website
mobile application The Pizza Hut mobile app will display an overall update of the design and user interface, as well as added features. The app will appear sleek and simplified in a black and red color palette that is easy on the eyes. Added features will include the order countdown, Facebook log-in and GPS tracker for delivery, as well as push notifications for quick updates. These changes will create the most reliable and trustworthy digital experience yet.
push notifications
The app will feature push notifications to alert the customer of exactly what is happening with their order. Various push notifications for orders will consist of messages such as “your order has been received”, “your order is being prepared”, “your order will be ready in 5 minutes”, “your order is on its way,” “your order is one mile away,” and “your order is now arriving.”
app 11
TELEvision
Employee orders pizza over the phone. Co-workers talk as employee becomes annoyed. Narration: Your time… (close up of employee, phone pressed to his ear) Employee: What do you mean “your pizza will be ready next week”?
Visuals of the app and website flash Narration: Introducing the all new digital experience from Pizza Hut - the quickest and easiest way to order your Pizza Hut favorites and save time doing it.
12 Television
Our television spot will appeal to a broad age range to promote use of Pizza Hut’s digital ordering in order to provide convenience to our audience and to save them time.
Children play at a kitchen table while their mother prepares dinner. Narration: ...and the people you spend it with... (close up of mother peering down into recipe book & then back at timer) Mother: ok, now remove chicken after 45 min—wait this is saying 15 minutes! (hurriedly removes dish from a smoking oven)
Narration: Build your perfect pizza with our improved ordering system that takes you through a quick and easy step by step process Mother from Panel 2 shown accessing Pizza Hut’s new ordering system through her laptop
Teenage boys play video games. One stands off in the corner, phone pressed to his ear ordering pizza. Narration: …are valuable (Boys scream with excitement) Boy’s friend: let’s go, man we just advanced to the next mission! Boy: (to the phone) wait, small onion & banana peppers?! I said large pepperoni!
Narration: Choose from endless crust, topping, and sauce combinations from our brand new menu and get things right the 1st time Employee from Panel 2 shown browsing through pizza combinations on the mobile app
All 3 scenes converge onto one screen, freezing the individuals at the apex of their frustration. Narration: so why would you waste it?
Narration: And make sure it all goes to plan with our new order tracker Boy from Panel 3 receives notification from app that driver has arrived Narration: all this & more, as part of Pizza Hut’s “Flavor of Now” campaign. Order now online or with the Pizza Hut app on your phone!
print print advertisements The print ads will consist of different scenarios that our target market faces such as losing a level on a video game or getting distracted from work and missing valuable moments with loved ones due to waiting on the phone to place an order. Each print ad will be a call to action for our target market to order digitally so they never have to miss out on what they're already engaged in.
print 13
Social Media
Pizza Hut will use Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram in order to promote online ordering, share deals, and encourage engagement and involvement between the brand and the consumers
instagram twitter
facebook snapchat
We will promote short video clips to our target markets’ Snapchat Stories. The clips will be 20-second bits of various scenarios that our audience faces, such as a teenage boy ordering pizza for his friends at soccer practice and wanting to know how soon it will arrive. These will be short and entertaining while still persuading customers to order digitally.
14 social media
BAnner Ads & gaming
Click here to order NoW!
online Banners
The online banner advertisements will be placed along the side or top of popular websites in order to encourage users to visit the Pizza Hut website and order online. The online banners focus on two themes. The horizontal banner displays Pizza Hut’s exciting new menu items and premium ingredients, while the vertical banner features exclusive deals that can only be claimed by ordering online. Both banners include a vivid “Click here to order now!” button, which will conveniently lead the visitor to Pizza Hut’s welcoming website. The banners fashion black backgrounds in order to coincide with the chain’s new website and mobile app. Banners will appeal to the consumer’s eye with visually stimulating images of Pizza Hut food products.
PS4 Optimization A version of the mobile app will be optimized for use on the Playstation 4 gaming console. The interface will remain the same as the mobile app, but will allow gamers to seamlessly transition between playing their favorite video game and ordering Pizza Hut products. Users will be able to use the app either by directly accessing it via the PS4 system home screen, or through the PS4’s voice command technology.
Click here to order now!
Click here
banners & GAMING 15
PROMOTIONS & PR Buzzfeed
Pizza Hut will partner with BuzzFeed to post a fun article about why you should be ordering pizza online. Reasons will be relatable and humorous such as “no one likes waiting in lines “ and “reading your credit card number outloud is painful.”
contest
In order to encourage people to order digitally, we will run a contest on our website and through social media. Users will be able to create their own pizza online with our new ingredients, sauces, crusts, and drizzles. They will be encouraged to be as creative as possible and to give their creation a fun name.These unique pizza creations will be posted on our website, but users will also be asked to Instagram them including the hashtag #CreateYourOwnFlavorOfNow. The creater of the coolest pizza will win a free year of pizza. Our audience is already connected to technology through social media, so tying social media into using the website shows them that they can transfer this use of technology with social media to ordering pizza.
16 promotions & PR
Philanthropy
In keeping with our idea of promoting the "digitalization" of the pizza experience, our main promotional tactic will be to implement charitable donation options in both the online and mobile app ordering systems. Once the customer is about to submit their order, they will be prompted to select from several charitable organization options to donate a dollar to. These options will vary on a month-to-month basis and reflect topical charitable efforts (ex: breast cancer research in October). Research suggests philanthropy and an overall sense of "good-will" is important to our target audience and will positively influence their purchase decision when ordering from Pizza Hut.
media stategy & evaluation
MEdia Schedule Traditional Media will be front-loaded to establish campaign visibility and recognition at its launch, and maintain a pulsing plan throughout the year to ensure effective frequency and reach. Social media posts will be planned at minimum three times a week, as well as scheduling sponsored posts aimed specifically at our target using vehicle targeting capabilities.
Designated Market Areas: New York Los Angeles Chicago Philadelphia Dallas-Ft. Worth San Francisco-Oak-San Jose Boston (Manchester) Washington D.C. (Hagrstwn) Atlanta Houston
evaluation To ensure our marketing mix is working effectively to meet our objectives, we will measure the impact of the It’s About Time campaign after its launch and throughout the campaign. This will be measured by tracking sales, brand perception, digital experience through sales data compilation, number of visits, frequency and time spent on both the app and website, social media analytics, focus groups and surveys. The media plan will remain flexible in order to optimize media choices of our audience.
media strategy & EValuation 17
MEDIA STRATEGY