The team at Nick-N-Willy’s Pizza in Park City, Utah is proud to have broken the record for the most pizzas ever tossed, baked, and delivered by a single restaurant in the franchise company’s 21-year history. The record was broken during a 19-day period when the Park City fast-casual restaurant prepared meals to feed nearly 3,000 Sundance Film Festival volunteers. The initiative was part of the franchise company’s in-kind sponsorship agreement to support the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.
From January 12-31, the Park City restaurant pumped out over 700 pizzas to more than 100 locations for a total contribution of approximately $20,000 to the Sundance Institute.
“We were kept very busy during Sundance and I’m so proud of my team of pizza chefs and delivery drivers for being able to keep up with the pace,” says Sonia Bernard-McCall, franchise owner of Nick-N-Willy’s Pizza in Park City, Utah. “Being involved with Sundance has been very rewarding for us. We’ve had nothing but positive feedback from the festival volunteers about our pizza, and we’ve already noticed an increase in traffic into our restaurant as a result of our exposure at the festival.”
The Nick-N-Willy’s in Salt Lake City also contributed to the 2010 Sundance Film Festival with dozens of pizza orders delivered to festival volunteers. Although the Salt Lake City restaurant’s contribution was substantial, it did not break any records.
The Sundance initiative is part of the franchise company’s strategy to support events and organizations in the communities in which it operates. The company leveraged the sponsorship through a variety of marketing and media relations initiatives which included in-store and online branding and press announcements. In addition, the company implemented a 10-day social media campaign that included an account of Nick-N-Willy’s adventure at Sundance on Twitter, Facebook, and on the corporate blog.
In exchange for Nick-N-Willy’s contribution to the festival, the Sundance Institute provided $30,000 worth of marketing at the festival through Nick-N-Willy’s signage, advertising, and promotional opportunities. The overall campaign resulted in numerous articles and interview opportunities, plus a new loyal following on the company’s social media sites. Most importantly, the sponsorship strategy has proven to leverage the profile of the Nick-N-Willy’s brand across the country in an effort to attract new customers and potential franchisees.
