Papa John's eyes slice of British pizza market with text effort

By Giselle Abramovich

June 3, 2008

Top that

Pizza delivery franchise Papa John’s is giving British mobile consumers an opportunity to win a year’s supply of pizza to engender loyalty with its target market.

The mobile marketing campaign asks consumers to text PAPA to the short code 86100 to enter for a chance to win. The “Text the Papa” campaign was created by advertising agency Crossing O’Sullivan and powered by mobile marketing service provider Sponge.

“We power the technology and Crossing O’Sullivan came up with the idea,” said Emma Cotton, group account director at London-based Sponge.  “Our technology sends out all the text communications and lets winners know they’ve won.

“Papa John’s isn’t as well known in Britain as it is in the United States and the goal of this campaign was to drive awareness and engage users,” she said.

Crossing O’Sullivan handles clients such as Virgin Mobile, Pernod Ricard, Panasonic, Marks & Spencer and Comet. It produces integrated advertising, direct marketing and sales promotions campaigns.

Sponge is a mobile marketing service provider. It has powered a number of text-to-win campaigns for brands such as Lucozade, Cadbury and Birds Eye.

There are two calls to action for Papa John’s nine-week text-to-win contest. Consumers in Papa John’s stores waiting for their order are encouraged to text in via signage.

Additionally, flyers encouraging consumers to text in are sent out with every home delivery.

Once consumers text in, they get a confirmation text thanking them for their entry. One winner is picked at the end of each day using Sponge’s technology, which randomly picks winners.

The campaign started in mid-May.

Headquartered in Louisville, KY, Papa John's claims to be the world's third-largest pizza chain.

For eight years straight, consumers have rated Papa John's No. 1 in customer satisfaction among all national pizza chains in the American Customer Satisfaction Index.

Papa John's also ranks first among pizza companies in the 2008 Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index and was named 2007 Pizza Today Chain of the Year.

“Implementing the Text the Papa campaign has given us the opportunity to interact with our customers in a simple and engaging way,” said Simon Wallis, London-based director of marketing at Papa John’s. “It also allows us to develop our database for ongoing mobile communication.”