The Brief

Pizza Hut wanted the release of their new ‘Big Box’; a premium, delivery-only, sharing meal to gain prominence in the market. But with over 11,000 restaurants to compete against, and reviews being easily accessible with one of the highest smartphone penetrations in the world, consumers have become even more value-centric, and difficult to keep captive and loyal to one brand. We wanted to enhance the idea of sharing by creating an engaging campaign that encompassed the Pizza Hut idea of ‘sharing’, and would bring people together to eat with the Big Box and engage more with the Pizza Hut brand.

Creative Execution

Accessible online, through online banners, and via a QR code on outdoor, print media, as well as the box, this idea attracted our experience-focused, competitive consumers. It turned the exciting, gourmet food within the BIG BOX into a communal gaming experience that rewards with prizes. The media directed people towards both the product and the app, in order to enhance traffic and interest. Only playable by connecting with other mobile devices, the game encouraged the BIG BOX idea of ‘sharing’. And by populating the game with various elements of the BIG BOX’s contents, teams around Hong Kong not only became familiar with what was inside the BIG BOX, but also discovered the value of dining together.

Describe the creative solution to the brief/objective.

Smartphones are the lifeblood of young professionals in Hong Kong. We saw this as an opportunity to use mobile as the centerpiece of our campaign. We leveraged the cultural insight of Hong Kongers continuously messaging, photographing and playing on their phones in social situations as our key driver. We turned ‘phubbing’, as this mealtime habit is known in Asia, from a distraction into an opportunity. Since Big Box is all about sharing, we created the brand’s first multiplayer mobile game named the BIG BOX Big Party, giving consumers more opportunities to share around mealtimes. The smartphone application ran along side a mix of online and offline communication to enhance the campaign.

Results

In 10 weeks, 50,000 Hong Kongers participated, with one-third coming back to play again. It enticed a new group of Young Professionals to the brand, seeing the number of local Pizza Hut Facebook page fans increasing by 10,000 during the campaign period. Best of all, the BIG BOX produced tangible sales results and proved that we reached our audience: Young Professional segment increased to 29% of our customer base (compared to 2012 average of 23%). Average amount spent per delivery went up 14.5%. And the only result that counts; overall same store sales went up by 8%, from the previous quarter.