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Pizza Hut heats up marketing efforts via mobile promotion

Pizza Hut is trying to rake in mobile revenue with a new advertising campaign that encourages consumers to order a pizza while they are on the go.

Pizza Hut is using the banner ads to promote the company?s new Big Dinner Box menu item. The ads are running inside the Huffington Post iPhone application.

?We?ve recognized that our mobile user is often drawn in by a deal but likes to see our full menu as well," said Doug Terfehr, director of public relations at Pizza Hut, Dallas, TX. "This is our efficient way of providing that.

The deal is tremendous. And, mobile users are typically on the move. This shares with them a great deal at a great value, which has been successful for us.?

Order on mobile
The Pizza Hut banner ads features clean, bold copy that reads, ?Big Dinner Box ? All your team?s favorites. Just $19.99.?

When users click on the ad, they are directed to Pizza Hut?s mobile site where they can place an order for either delivery or take-out.

Even though the ad is successful in getting consumers to tap with a simple call-to-action, the campaign might have been more successful if it directed users to a specific landing page that promoted the Big Dinner Box.

Users can also find a nearby store, log-in to their account or sign up for deals via Pizza Hut?s mobile site. Each store listing includes a click-to-call feature as well as a map.

Consumers constantly have their mobile devices on hand and are increasingly buying from them, especially for smaller items such as meals.

Users can find a nearby Pizza Hut via the site

Mobile pie
Pizza Hut is no stranger to mobile.

Last year, the company rolled out new apps for iPad and Android devices to let consumers customize their orders. At the same time, Pizza Hut updated its iPhone app to let users order past meals easier (see story).

Additionally, the brand launched an augmented reality app in 2010 to let consumers order by adding a layer of interaction between a user and a physical retail store to drive sales (see story).

Besides Pizza Hut, the pizza space is hot in mobile with competitors including Domino?s and Papa John?s also using mobile to drive digital sales.

The success of the pizza industry in mobile partly has to do with the quick, on-the-go nature of pizza sales.

?Mobile advertising is a major part of our overall marketing strategy. We want to be where our consumers are and we know our consumers are using their phones more and more often for commerce and convenience,? Mr. Terfehr said.

?We know it will continue to grow and we?ll continue to grow our presence within it.?

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is associate reporter on Mobile Marketer, New York