Advertising/Marketing

Best Marketing Coup

Pizza Patrón’s Pizza por Pesos™ Program

Pizza Patrón added fuel to the fiery national debate about illegal immigration early this year when it invited patrons to pay with Mexican pesos in addition to dollars at its restaurants. The initiative catapulted the Dallas-based Latino pizza chain into the national spotlight, earning mentions from nearly every major U.S. media outlet as well as some international coverage. According to clipping services, Pizza Patrón received more than 500 million impressions, worth more than $30 million in the U.S. alone. Though the public response included a mix of praise and criticism, the chain experienced a same-store comparative sales increase of more than 30 percent for the first two quarters of 2007. The promotion, initially slated to end in April, has been made permanent, and sales are still soaring. Not bad, especially when you consider that it cost less than $40 per restaurant to implement.

Best Marketing Event

Saladworks Celebrity Chef Competition

Inspired by competitive cooking television show Iron Chef—a favorite of CEO John Scardapane—the Saladworks Celebrity Chef competition pitted three Philadelphia chefs against each other to create the chain’s newest seasonal salad. A panel made up of Scardapane and local media personalities chose Tim Spinner’s Castilian Fig Salad as the winner, but you might say it was Saladworks that ultimately took home the top prize: Approximately 1,500 people attended the competition, another 4.5 million are estimated to have seen the resulting media coverage, and comparative store growth more than tripled in the nine weeks following the launch of the salad in restaurants. Encouraged by the 300 percent return on investment, Scardapane says the company plans to make the contest a yearly event in Philadelphia and other markets throughout the system.

Best Mixed-Media Advertisement

Taco Bell’s TV Me! Avatarsment

While the great debate over where to put advertising dollars—television or Internet—rages on, Taco Bell found an innovative way to integrate both media in a single campaign. With a little help from 3D animation Web site Gizmoz.com, the chain invited fans to create avatars, online representations of themselves similar to computer-game characters, via its Web site. In two weeks, users created more than 17,000 avatars, which were viewed nearly a million times. Three of the best avatars were then chosen to virtually star in a 30-second Taco Bell commercial that debuted during the MTV Video Music Awards. Spurred by a comeback performance by tabloid-staple Britney Spears, 7.1 million viewers tuned into the show, resulting in a whole lot of exposure for Taco Bell in the coveted youth demographic.

Best Piggyback Promotion

Burger King’s Simpsonize Me Web Site

When The Simpsons Movie cruised to box office gold this summer, Burger King went along for the ride. In advance of the movie premiere, the chain debuted SimpsonizeMe.com, a Web site inviting fans to upload headshots to be converted to yellow-skinned caricatures in the style of Springfield’s most famous family. Users could then design screensavers and wallpaper based on the cartoon renderings or purchase memorabilia created with their unique design at an online store. The site, which also featured movie trailers, Burger King ads, and a restaurant locator, received more than 704 million hits and more than 36 million uploaded photos in just two months.

Best Niche Marketing

Jamba Juice’s Partnership with 24 Hour Fitness

It pays to know your customers, and Jamba Juice is reaping the rewards. Throughout 2007, the smoothie chain partnered with 24 Hour Fitness, a chain of health clubs that boasts more than 3 million members, to promote Jamba Juice’s new line of Jamba Light low-sugar, -calorie, and -carb smoothies. Direct mail correspondence, including a coupon to try the new smoothies, reached more than 500,000 gym members, and an ad placed in You24, the club’s lifestyle publication for members, was seen by approximately 700,000 health-minded consumers. As a cross promotion, Jamba Juice also gave any customers that purchased Jamba Light smoothies a free 30-day pass to 24 Hour Fitness, 10,000 of which were redeemed.