On 4 September, days ahead of the season kick-off, Pizza Hut launched its first national campaign as the official pizza sponsor of the NFL with a multi-strand approach led by a hero commercial called ‘Lines’, a gaming app and the introduction of the ‘Game Plan’ rewards platform.
‘Lines’ is a unifying national commercial debuting during the first quarter of the NFL season opener between the Atlanta Falcons and the Philadelphia Eagles that promotes Pizza Hut’s brand purpose work.
The spot aims to showcase and share the company values of inclusiveness, unity, fun, and getting people together – with a hint of a ‘societal stand’.
The ad’s narrative arc opens with football scenes and a voice over discussing ‘lines’ (of scrimmage, goal lines and yard lines), before a pizza delivery and social gathering football watching scene and an endline voice-over saying: “If we look beyond the lines, all that’s left is common ground.”
We're more than just pizza, we're the huddle that happens when the lines disappear. pic.twitter.com/AFKEWlumkT
— Pizza Hut (@pizzahut) September 6, 2018
While the parallel ‘Game Plan’ activation strand is a new digital platform that dovetails with the brand’s existing ‘Hut Rewards’ program and which offers football fans the opportunity to access deals, receive notifications about their favourite NFL teams and win football-themed prizes.
‘Game Plan’ is promoted through a new campaign, spearheaded by television work, starring NFL players Antonio Brown and Juju Smith-Schuster.
The campaign’s hero television commercial is amplified across the brand’s online channels: including YouTube,
Twitter,
Game Plan gives you a chance to win Super Bowl LIII tickets and other awesome NFL prizes. This tweet to stay up to date on our weekly offers every Sunday. #PizzaHutHut pic.twitter.com/cvkMcEhR9t
— Pizza Hut (@pizzahut) September 5, 2018
and Instagram.
This activation strand is part of Pizza Hut’s multi-channel new season campaign, crated in harness with new Austin-based agency GDSM, designed to drive awareness, engagement and loyalty among football fans.
It is accompanied by a set of offer promotional spots including ‘Touchdown Dance’
and ‘Fandom’.
Let us fuel your fandom with LARGE 2-topping pizzas for just $7.99! pic.twitter.com/e2WMAl2Euk
— Pizza Hut (@pizzahut) September 4, 2018
(The latter ad echoes Pizza Hut’s ‘Doorbell Dance’ which celebrated its signing up as an official NFL sponsor back in April 2018.)
These ads promote special-edition pizza boxes with NFL team marks.
Plus Pizza Hut is also introducing the Beanbag Blitz app: a re-interpretation of the traditional lawn game ‘cornhole’ or ‘bean bag toss’ which is compatible with its pizza boxes via a AR camera feature on the mobile app.
This AR game aims to help the company drive sales by providing consumers and NFL fans with a unique game experience centred around tailgating.
The brand is also partnering with a set of individual teams – Seattle Seahawks, Pittsburgh Steelers, Los Angeles Chargers and Los Angeles Rams – and it will also host a series of local activations, as well as leveraging its player partnerships and running social impact initiatives too.
“If you look at how we’re approaching our partnership with the NFL, it’s very different from how our previous sponsor approached it,” Marianne Radley, Pizza Hut’s chief brand officer.
“The NFL has the ability like no other league in the world to inspire, excite, and unite people who otherwise may have nothing in common,” added Radley.
Radley also said the company’s objective is to use the opening weekend of the football season as a platform to spread a positive brand message and to deliver a unity message to the 70% of Americans who self-identify as fans of the NFL.
“Let’s keep it simple, it’s about pizza and football,” she says. “We think pizza is something everything can agree on.”
Comment:
This is certainly a pretty a broad and deep debut activation programme: one which suggests that Pizza Hut is really going all out in its first full season as an official NFL sponsor.
It has been reported that Pizza Hut has planned and positioned for the extra exposure its NFL sponsorship could bring after parent company Yum Brands invested as much as $130m in upgraded equipment, restaurant technology, new delivery drivers and advertising strategies and marketing as it aims to regain the top spot among pizza chains.
The campaign also suggests that Pizza Hut’s NFL sponsor activation strategy will take a middle of the road, fee-from-controversy approach: unlike previous category incumbent Papa John’s or Nike’s ‘Dream Crazy’ recent campaign (see case study).
It is worth remembering that Pizza Hut took over as the official NFL pizza sponsor in March when former incumbent sponsor Papa John’s cut league ties after founder John Schnatter blamed poor sales on the NFL’s handling of the player protests.
Links:
Pizza Hut
https://www.facebook.com/pizzahut
https://www.youtube.com/user/pizzahut
NFL
https://www.youtube.com/user/NFL
https://www.instagram.com/nfl/
GSD&M
