Top Successful Advertising Campaigns from the World’s Biggest Pizzerias
Pizza advertising comes in many forms, ranging from one-time promotions to long-term marketing strategies. Advertising approaches vary in frequency, budget, and impact: single promo campaigns, regular media placements, or one-time investments with lasting effects.
Which strategy should you choose to increase customer motivation and drive consistent sales? Every pizzeria selects marketing tools based on its goals, business type, and budget. In this article, we explore the most creative and effective pizza marketing techniques that have delivered outstanding results.
The World’s First Pizza Dough Billboard: A Unique Pizzeria Advertisement
This innovative outdoor pizza advertisement was first introduced in Turkey. The campaign aimed to highlight the freshness of ingredients and assure customers that the dough was prepared only after receiving an order.
In collaboration with an advertising agency, a Domino’s Pizza Food stylist created a one-of-a-kind billboard made entirely of real pizza dough. The design was not only creative but also visually stunning: carefully crafted letters and realistic pizza ingredients made it truly eye-catching.
This extraordinary marketing stunt attracted a massive number of customers using just one key element—real pizza dough.
This unique advertising campaign attracted a large number of customers using one key element—real pizza dough.
Create and Order Your Own Unique Pizza in Adva’s Gaming App
“Pizza Hero” is an innovative iPad app that turns pizza-making into an interactive game. Users can create their own custom pizza and order it for home delivery—all within the app.
The pizza-making process is simple and fun:
- Choose your dough—classic or thin crust.
- Spread your favorite sauce.
- Sprinkle with cheese.
- Add toppings like shrimp, pepperoni, or extra veggies.
Watch your pizza come to life on screen and see the final result before ordering.
If your custom pizza looks delicious, just tap the order button, and a courier will deliver the exact pizza you designed!
The Pizza Score feature adds a gamified element, allowing users to earn points and convert them into pizza discounts. This rewarding system is what inspired the app’s name—”Pizza Hero”.
“Pizza Hero” is an innovative advertising app for iPad that turns pizza-making into an exciting game.
Silicone Pizza Replicas: A Powerful Marketing Tool for Independent Pizzerias
In recent years, a new marketing trend has emerged in the global pizza industry—silicone pizza replicas. These hyper-realistic displays are showcased in pizzeria windows, instantly grabbing the attention of passersby and sparking their appetite, ultimately drawing them inside to place an order.
Pizza replicas are so lifelike that they are nearly indistinguishable from the real thing: precise sizing, meticulously detailed toppings, and the mouthwatering look of melted cheese and crispy crust create an irresistible visual appeal. This strategy significantly increases foot traffic and boosts sales.
Life-sized pizza replicas are incredibly realistic and almost indistinguishable from the real thing.
A well-arranged pizza display acts as a powerful customer magnet. People stop to admire the appetizing slices… and before they know it, they step inside, eager to enjoy a freshly baked pizza.
This advertising technique, which has been a staple in Japan’s restaurant industry for decades, is now gaining popularity worldwide. Japanese restaurateurs believe that as long as people crave pizza, realistic food replicas will remain an effective marketing tool—because they appeal to the most basic human instinct: the desire for delicious food.
Advertising pizzerias with pizza replicas in display windows has been successfully used in Japan for decades and is now gaining popularity worldwide.
УЗНАЙТЕ ГДЕ ПРИОБРЕСТИ МУЛЯЖИ ПИЦЦЫ
Fixing Roads for a Flawless Pizza Delivery
Bumpy roads are the ultimate enemy of home pizza delivery. Potholes and uneven streets shake the box, causing toppings to slide and ruining the pizza’s perfect presentation—ultimately affecting the customer’s experience.
In 2018, Domino’s Pizza launched a groundbreaking marketing campaign called “Paving for Pizza”. The message was clear: Domino’s is fixing roads to ensure your pizza arrives in perfect shape.
A dedicated website allowed customers to report damaged roads in their neighborhoods. Domino’s collected submissions and, in collaboration with local governments, repaired selected streets by laying fresh asphalt.
This innovative campaign quickly went viral, sparking discussions across social media. It gained worldwide recognition as a “new form of advertising that contributes to community development”.
Next to the Domino’s Pizza logo on the road roller, the phrase “Paving for Pizza” is written.
The Stomach Translator: An App That Picks the Perfect Pizza for You
We’ve all been there—you’re craving pizza but can’t decide which one to order because every option looks delicious. In the UK, Domino’s Pizza introduced an innovative solution: the world’s first “stomach translation app” for indecisive customers.
How does it work?
Open the app.
Answer a few key questions: How hungry are you? Do you prefer meat or veggies? Feeling thirsty?
Place your phone on your stomach and listen to the “hungry stomach sounds”.
The app analyzes the data and suggests the perfect pizza from the menu.
“With this app, you’ll never struggle to pick a pizza again! Let’s make exactly what your stomach wants,” said the Domino’s Pizza UK product development manager. By taking a playful approach to technology, the company created one of its most unique and memorable marketing campaigns.
“With this app, you’ll never have to guess your pizza choice again! Let’s make exactly what your stomach craves.”
Customer Feedback on a Newspaper Coupon: How Domino’s Pizza Adapted to the Japanese Market
Despite fierce competition in the home pizza delivery sector, Domino’s Pizza successfully entered the market in Fukuoka, Japan. Instead of relying on traditional advertising, the company adopted a localization strategy, developing a menu tailored to regional tastes. Additionally, Domino’s aimed to create a convenient payment system for Japanese customers.
To generate brand awareness and understand customer preferences, Domino’s Pizza launched a unique newspaper-based marketing campaign consisting of three stages.
Stage One: The newspaper featured a tear-off coupon offering a 50% discount on pizza. Customers were encouraged to fill out the coupon, specifying what flavors they would like to see on the menu.
Stage Two: The next newspaper issue published the survey results, announcing that Domino’s was actively developing new pizza flavors based on customer preferences while also improving delivery and payment options.
Rather than just promoting its brand, Domino’s Pizza engaged in a direct conversation with local residents, building trust and a loyal customer base.
In 2018, this advertising campaign received an award for Best Newspaper Advertisement.
In the third stage of the campaign, Domino’s Pizza expressed sincere gratitude to customers for their overwhelming support and active participation. The company announced that their voices had been heard, and as a result, a new pizza was born—fully inspired by their preferences. To thank them, the announcement included a 50% discount coupon.
In the third edition, Domino’s Pizza sincerely thanked customers for their support and included a 50% discount coupon.
Contrary to expectations, the campaign received an overwhelmingly positive response, with customers sending countless messages of appreciation for the brand. The collaboratively developed “Quattro Domino Kyushu” pizza achieved record-breaking sales.
This highly effective marketing strategy not only ensured steady sales growth for Domino’s Pizza but also strengthened customer loyalty and boosted employee morale, inspiring further innovations.
For its unique consumer engagement approach and innovative newspaper marketing, the campaign was awarded Best Print Advertisement of 2018.
