It’s purely a personal observation but Pizza Express seems to be doing rather well despite the downturn. I know we’re all feeling the pinch and a certain amount of economic anxiety, but last night I actually saw a long queue outside (outside!) my local branch.
So what is Pizza Express doing right, that some other near-empty restaurants in my town are doing wrong? From where I’m sitting it looks as if they’ve deployed some intelligent integrated digital marketing.
Almost from the onset of the downturn it feels like my ‘friend’ Pizza Express has been looking after my interests by offering me all sorts of discounts, vouchers and other incentives to encourage me to continue eating out on a regular basis.
Nearly all the offers I’ve taken advantage of I’ve learned about from various websites and emails, but Pizza Express hasn’t neglected offline marketing. Partnerships with The Times, featuring cut-out-and-keep vouchers has taken care of that audience, although many, like me, were probably signposted to the vouchers online.
Pizza Express has also partnered online with Tesco Deals, offering some truly great financial incentives to continue eating out. It seems that the business has opted for a fairly aggressive approach to marketing themselves through the downturn. And it appears to be paying off; certainly in terms of the number of bums on seats. It also helps that they have such a strong, recognisable brand.
It’s a brave new world of discounts and vouchers out there. And a joined-up marketing strategy seems to be ensuring that pizza remains popular no matter what.