Papa John’s Pizza is a globally-successful American pizza company. It is the fourth largest pizza delivery restaurant chain in the US and has more than 450 franchises in the UK. Overall, the company has over 5,000 stores across the world.

The requirement 

Papa John’s wanted to raise awareness of the official opening of its 200^th UK store in Glasgow, which was a major UK milestone for the global brand.

The company’s CEO at the time, John Schnatter, was making a special visit to the UK, so that he could attend the 200^th store opening. He wanted his visit and news of the latest franchise to be publicised far and wide.

The solution

A dedicated PR, social and wider marketing strategy was developed and implemented, which promoted the significant achievement on a regional and national level.

This involved producing a mix of ongoing copy for online and offline channels that spanned press releases, national advertising copy and batches of social media messages. Photography/videography was also arranged to capture the day, and local council dignitaries from Glasgow were invited to play a part in the official unveiling, which helped further secure local/regional media interest.

The results

Awareness of Papa John’s UK store opening, involving John Schnatter, and its wider ‘Better Ingredients. Better Pizza’ messaging was communicated on a local, regional and national scale, leading up to, during and after the 200^th store milestone.

From a PR perspective, a key media interview was secured between John Schnatter and The Times at The Savoy Hotel in London, which resulted in sizeable online and in-print coverage:

The 200^th store opening was covered by multiple regional titles UK-wide, including the Glasgow Evening Times:

Meanwhile, a free pizza giveaway was promoted on social media. The first 200 customers to walk through the door of the 200th store on the grand opening day were greeted with a free pizza.

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