Just hours ahead of Super Bowl LI on February 5, Papa John’s debuted an evolved brand platform that highlights what the brand believes sets it apart from the competition.
“Papa John’s didn’t start in a boardroom; we started in a broom closet with John’s dream to make a better pizza. And over the last 32 years, the pizza family has grown to more than 5,000 stores and 100,000 team members worldwide,” says Robert Thompson, senior vice president of global marketing at Papa John’s. “The pizza family campaign is all about celebrating our most important ingredient: our people—from our trusted ingredient suppliers we’ve used since day one, to our pizza makers and delivery drivers, to the customers worldwide who love our pizza.”
With the new platform, Papa John’s unveiled several ads, a new landing page at PapaJohnsPizzaFamily.com, a redesigned pizza box with a new logo, a new social campaign, and the debut of the Halftime Heroes program, which recognizes employees who “go above and beyond to embody Papa John’s core values.”
The inaugural winner for this year’s program was Florida-based delivery driver Lance Tyler, who verified the safety of 87-year-old Claire Olsen after her grandson, Eric, became concerned when he was unable to contact her for three days during Hurricane Matthew.
Papa John’s connected Lance and Eric, giving them tickets to the game and letting them experience the halftime show from the sidelines.
In the new ad spots, Papa John’s takes aim at competitors and highlights its humble roots.
“Gimmicks don’t make better pizza; our people and ingredients make better pizza,” founder and CEO John Schnatter says in an ad showing drones deliver pizza.
“We have been working on this campaign for about a year. The new creative and storytelling efforts brings Papa John’s unique brand position to life and ultimately we believe will really resonate with consumers,” Thompson says. “Through the pizza family campaign, we are sharing stories that are revealing how Papa John’s is more than a pizza company, we are a pizza family. It will continue to build trust and preference with consumers, and set us apart from the competition.”
By Alex Dixon
