The Metrics of Pizza

Earlier this week, I came across an analysis of the top five American pizza brands in social media. True Social Metrics took a look at the Facebook activity of  Pizza Hut, Domino’s, Papa John’s,  Little Ceasar’s and Papa Murphy’s to evaluate the effectiveness of the brands’ social media campaigns. Here is what they came up with.

These analytics require some explanation and so I’ll give you a brief rundown.

The conversation rate refers to the number of audience comments or replies per post and provides quantitative as well as qualitative data about the audience. The amplification rate refers to the rate at which your followers take your content and share it through their network. The applause rate is the number of likes per post.
These measurements provide unique statistics that indicate what your brand is doing well and where it can improve.

Pizza Hut nailed it, with consistency cross the board and should just keep on keeping on.

Curiously, Domino’s takes the lead in the applause rate. “Liking” a post is the least engaging thing a follower can do, and so one might consider that the applause rate may not be the greatest indication of effectiveness. If the goal is to maximize audience participation, is Domino’s is posting enough engaging material?

Don’t let the graphic deceive you, Little Ceasars‘ is doing well. The brand is consistent in all three categories; the numbers are just smaller. This makes sense, with 6x less fans than Pizza Hut.

According to the study, Papa John’s‘ activity is dangerous because they have many comments but few likes or shares. What would cause this?  A closer look…

Check out a previous post on Papa John’s for more info on this controversy.

Lastly, Papa Murphy’s is doing alright. It might not hurt for them, like Domino’s, to reach out to their fans by posting more engaging content.

I was totally enlightened by these social media metrics and glad to share them with you guys. I think the most important thing to take away from this analysis is that numbers mean very little if the context and meaning behind them are neglected. These metrics are a way to view your campaign comprehensively, but brands should not make the mistake of ignoring the content behind the numbers.

For more information about how to measure a brand’s social media effectiveness, I reccomend Occam’s Razor‘s “Best Social Media Metrics: Conversation, Amplification, Applause, Economic Value”.

NP 4/30

Goodman’s American Pie and Transparency

If you’ve read my previous posts you’ll know all about Domino’s radical marketing strategy called the “Oh Yes We Did” campaign. The strategy was groundbreaking for the industry. Imagine: a multi-national company being honest and transparent in their food products and marketing; it’s unheard of!

Way before Domino’s began to practice the novel concept [hint: sarcasm] of  “transparency”, odds are, your local independently owned pizza shop was doing it first. Take Goodman’s American Pie in my hometown of Ludlow, Vermont for example. Goodman’s American Pie is located less than a mile away from the well known ski resort, Okemo Mountain. On a typical Friday night in the winter “the wait” for a pizza can be up to two and a half hours as mountain-goers process into town from NY, NJ, MA, CONN, etc. This video was shot in the winter of 2011, on a Friday night, before the mayhem, and shows the everybody the pizza making process– from start to finish. How’s that for transparency?

This video is part two of a series called Behind The Bus, which you can take literally, because what separates the kitchen area from the dining area is a extended VW Bus. See the first video here.

Other things GAP does well: The small business has a fairly static website with basic information anyone would need to know to order and pick up a pizza. However, they have a very active Facebook  with new posts almost every day and over 800 “Likes”. They also have a Twitter (@woodfiredza), with fewer posts and fewer followers (about 130).

The best part about Goodman’s American Pie’s marketing strategy: it’s unpretentious. The Facebook page is handled by the owners who post whatever they want: pizza promotions and events–yes, but also family photos, memes, Clint Eastwood pictures, mustaches, car photos–anything of interest. And customers eat it up! Unlike Domino’s “transparency” campaign, Goodman’s American Pie doesn’t have to pay through the roof (over 185.5 million dollars annually) trying to convince customers they run an honest business. Transparency is automatic for GAP, and that’s evident for anyone who follows their Facebook account.

NP 04/16

Pizza Hut Hut Hike

According to NRN Pizza Hut hit a single-day sales record on Superbowl Sunday this year with this commercial, compiled of  crowd sourced clips playing football. Using platforms like Facebook and Twitter, they asked fans to submit videos of themselves playing football and saying  “Hut Hut Hut” to appear in a spot during the Superbowl. They weren’t alone in soliciting user-generated content this football season. Companies like Pepsi, Doritos, and Lincoln also creatively crowdsourced for, what most would argue, the most important advertising day of the year in America.

What is it about crowdsourcing that is so effective? For those of you who are unfamiliar with the phenomena, here is a short video to get you up to speed.

Crowdsourcing in advertising embraces the idea that your customers are not only consumers, but producers as well. They are your target audience, but can also be used to perpetuate your brand identity among greater audiences. ” Such opportunities give consumers the illusion that they’re in the driver’s seat. But the real driver: Advertisers are trying to coax consumers into getting more involved with their brands” (USA Today).

This Pizza Hut commercial was very successful. Users submitted their footage online, voluntarily, with the desire to be in a national ad, maybe without realizing they would become a part of the Pizza Hut brand.

Crowdsourcing, in the case of this Pizza Hut Superbowl commercial, is utilizing “Plain Folks”, a technique that persuades people “by appealing to the common man” (ACME). Often times in advertising, companies spend a lot of time and money to make actors / scenes appear to be normal / typical and relatable to their target audience. The great thing about crowdsourcing for advertisements is that the people who submitted their own user generated videos are already in Pizza Hut’s target audience. Much less manipulation has to go into the production of the commercial this way, aside from choosing and compiling which videos they wish to use.

Crowdsourcing is a trend in advertising for a variety of industries. How long do you think it will be until it runs its course?

NP 3/26

Eau de Pizza Hut

photo from Cooking with Vinny

In December of 2012, Pizza Hut came out with a limited-edition perfume, which smells of “freshly baked, hand-tossed dough,” after joking about it on a Facebook post last August.

The perfume was released to commemorate Pizza Hut Canada reaching 100,000 Facebook fans. Only 110 bottles were produced and shared the first 100 fans to send Pizza Hut Canada a message.

What started as a joke posted by Pizza Hut Canada’s Marketing firm to engage more consumers via Social Media, ended with the company, after much trial and error, creating a scent, Eau de Pizza Hut. Beverley D’Cruz, Marketing and Product Development Director of Pizza Hut Canada says: “What better way to celebrate our Facebook fans than by providing them with a way to enjoy the fresh smell of Pizza Hut pizza whenever they want!”

Eau de Pizza Hut is a perfect example of marketing/advertising in our 21st century media culture, demonstrating a major shift in the way that companies call attention to their products nowadays. This MASS MEDIA  to PERSONAL/PARTICIPATORY shift is evident and a major driving force in the way companies do marketing. Prior to social media platforms like MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter, campaigns were largely one way highways from the production studio to the masses, limiting customer interaction and participation greatly. With the rise of Web 2.0, everyone with Internet access is invited to the conversation.

As silly as the idea of  Eau de Pizza Hut seems to me, it was a successful way for Pizza Hut Canada to form a stronger relationship with it’s customers through Social Media. This perfume is a small way for Pizza Hut’s public to feel important and for this large multinational company to seem reachable.

NP 3/19