Pizza Hut Extends Online Ads to Mobile Phones
Fast Food Companies Expand Advertising Wars to Social Media
Nov 11, 2008
Pizza Hut and Domino’s have been advertising and taking orders online for years and now they’re using that experience to test their systems with smart phones and social media like Facebook. In the process, they are developing massive customer databases that can be used for even more sophisticated advertising and marketing programs in the future.
Advertising Age reported on Nov. 30, 2008 that other fast food firms were making similar moves.
The Pizza Hut web site is a dynamic, fast-moving multicolored site that advertises special prices, eGift cards, a contest offering a $100,000 car, online and smart phone ordering and free music downloads, as well as the company’s menu, nutritional information, store locations and job openings. It promotes itself with a double-promise line: "Restaurant Quality, Pizza Delivered!"
Wing Street
The site also directs viewers to "Wing Street," a special page offering three types and eight flavors of "award-winning" chicken wings, which may still be surprise products for some of its pizza customers. Like its pizza, each type and flavor of chicken can be ordered online, providing what the company calls "162 ways to wing it."
As the visitor views the chicken choices, an unpleasant voice yells "Do It."
Meantime Pizza Hut announced it will be one of the first companies to allow Facebook visitors to order its products without leaving that social site. The new "Pizza Hut Interface" integrates with Facebook’s main commerce system to accept delivery orders.
In its Oct. 15, 2008 press release, Pizza Hut said the new interface would allow "Pizza Hut fans to stay abreast of the latest news, promotions and deals from Pizza Hut, while posting their favorite Pizza Hut-related stories, photos and videos."
Only National Pizza Chain
For the moment, at least, Pizza Hut could claim it was "the only national pizza chain" to offer that service.
Though it was not launched until May 2007, Facebook already claims more than 90 million active users, most of them young.
In its privacy statement, Pizza Hut acknowledges that it "collects personally identifiable information" that viewers provide when registering on the site. It includes name, address, phone number, email address, text messaging information, credit card information and demographic info such as age.
The company says viewers can choose "whether or not to disclose such personal information." However, it adds, "some parts of the site and some services may be more difficult or impossible to use" if they do not provide the information.
Domino’s Mobile
Domino’s offers much of the same online and mobile ordering information on its website, but with considerably less flair. It asks viewers to enter their cell phone number so that it can send "a text message with a link to Domino’s Mobile." Viewers can also go directly to the Domino’s mobile site on their cell phone browsers.
Its website was promoting the company’s current slogan: "You’ve got 30 minutes," adding in smaller print at the bottom of the page that "because safety is a priority" a 30-minute delivery "is not a guarantee, but an estimate."
At least by mid November, Domino’s had not made any announcements about offering services on Facebook. For the moment anyway, Pizza Hut could justify saying it "gives customers more access options than any national pizza chain."
References:
- Fast Food Chains Experiment, By Emily Bryson York, AdAge.com, Nov. 10, 2008
- Dominos.com, Nov. 11, 2008
- Pizza Hut.com, Nov. 11, 2008
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