What happens when a nostalgic brand brings a classic idea to the front burner? 'Newstalgia'
Here's a summary of how a 63-year-old brand, Pizza Hut, took a nostalgic jab at their consumers by merging two American classics: Pizza and Pac-Man, in a recent campaign.
2. February 2021
Pizza Hut, an American multinational restaurant
chain and international franchise founded in
1958, rekindled a flame for their brand with
their Dots commercial for the 2021 Super
Bowl.
3. For Context,
Pizza is very popular among consumers and
probably American’s number one dinner choice,
with each person eating an average of 10 kg
every year. Among the many chain pizza
businesses in the country, market share is
concentrated among the top ten with 43.8% of
the total market belonging to the big 4: Pizza
Hut, Dominos, Little Caesars, and Papa John
4. A glance of the
big four’s 2020
gross annual sale
Pizza Chains Gross Annual Sale
Dominos $12.25 billion
Pizza Hut $12.03 billion
Little Caesars $4 billion
Papa John’s $3.695 billion
Source: Zippia.com
5. The 63-year-old brand took a nostalgic jab at their consumers
by merging two American classics: Pizza and Pac-Man, in a
56 seconds ad featuring Craig Robison.
6. The rippled effect proved their campaign was an
ingenious one.
The combination of a quaint pizza hut restaurant, a
well-known actor eating his pizza and playing
Pac-Man in a man cave highlighted and celebrated
things pizza lovers associate with and love most
about their brand.
7. In case you didn’t kn0w
The game Pac-Man was
inspired by Pizza.
8. QUICK STORY
One day in the early 1980s, the
Japanese video game designer Tohru
Iwatani went out to dinner with friends
9. He was experiencing a creative crisis because he was
desperate to invent a game that would revolutionalise the
market
10. Pizza came, and for a while, he and the
pizza were engaged in a stare
showdown.
While in thought, he mindlessly ordered
Pizza.
11. One of his friends, who noticed he had
not touched his pizza, took a slice that
was the birth of his Eureka moment
13. Okay, let’s
focus So, back in the day, American pizza tradition consisted of
a family driving into Pizza Hut on a Friday night to enjoy
a meal together. But it was more than a meal. It was an
experience. Inside that 'Red Roof' restaurant were arcade
games, including the famed Pac-man. That was the
experience Pizza Hut leveraged, transporting people to
simpler and happier times, in turn, providing them with
some comfort and stability- amidst the current
uncertainty the world faces.
14. Pushing the envelope
further,
Pizza Hut merged these enduring elements with
modern innovation using Augmented Reality
(AR) to bring the Pac-Man game to life on their
Pizza boxes. Talk about a technology-enabled
level up!
15. The team came up with limited edition Pizza Hut
boxes that let you play Pac-Man in AR. The new
packaging featured QR codes that, when scanned,
allowed customers to play an AR version of a classic
game. Players who shared their scores on Twitter
were entered to win a custom Pac-Man game cabinet
16. Can you see what’s happening
here?
Let me break it down:
17. Limited edition
boxes createD FOMO
(Fear Of Missing
Out)
making consumers buy hurriedly to avoid
missing out. FOMO marketing refers to
messaging that appeals to consumers’ desire to
latch on to every opportunity before it slips
through their fingers. Many people would
rather make an impulse purchase than regret
failing to act later. You know that ‘ just in case
it’s no longer available feeling’ right?
18. New Packaging
promotes Brand differentiation, Increases Brand
Recognition, Attracts and Increase sales, and
Generates a Buzz
19. Pizza Hut boxes that let you
play Pac-Man in AR
explores Nostalgia Marketing. This is simply an attempt
to capture consumers attention by helping them
remember the best memories from their past. It could
be in the form of traditions, music, celebrities, historical
events, old trends, etc.
20. Players who shared
their score on
Twitter were entered to win a custom Pac-Man game
cabinet: The brand leveraged User Generated
Content (USG) strategy to improve engagement
and create a viral sensation.
21. The idea
Pizza Hut's team wanted to create an experience
everyone could benefit from, young and old, tech-
savvy or not
22. ACCORDING TO Pizza Hut's chief
marketing officer, George Felix
The idea behind Newstalgia was born
out of listening to our customers and
celebrating all the things they associate
with and love most about the brand.
23. the exciting part
The team monitored the chatter and
feedback their campaign was creating,
and they used that to provide
experiences that trumped food. One of
them is the first limited-edition
capsule collection titled Pizza Hut
Tastewear.
24. They infused elements their fans and customers
loved, such as the chain’s iconic red checkered
tablecloth, a gold-plated chain, and pizza slides
designed for indoor and outdoor use.
26. check this out
In a “sample run” by the brand, one
thousand items instantly sold, with the
entire collection unavailable by the end
of the day.
27. . How? Every single product featured in this first drop
came directly from social media chatter. Cheesy
or not, this is a clear case of a band fulfilling
the demands of their fans. You can’t go wrong
with that kind of strategy.
28. Points to
remember
Targeting consumers doesn’t
have to be complicated. KISS
(Keep It Simple and Short)
Build on something your
customers can resonate with
The more engaging it is the
better the results and return
Understand your customer
and create products they want
not what you think they want
30. Before you go….
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