Back… but BETTER?! Discover the creative TWIST that made this pizza comeback a hit!

Thursday: Gorillas of Guerrilla Marketing From the desk of Miles Everson: Hey there! Have you heard of guerrilla marketing? If not, allow me to explain: Guerrilla marketing is all about thinking outside the box. According to Jay Conrad Levinson, it’s a simple and fun strategy that is more often than not, inexpensive. Personally, I’m a big fan of guerrilla marketing because it sparks creativity and offers fresh ideas for promoting products or services. I believe business owners or marketers should consider this strategy to level up their marketing game. Curious about how guerrilla marketing works? Read more to unlock the mystery of how this restaurant succeeded by relaunching an old menu item! CEO, MBO Partners Chairman of the Advisory Board, The I Institute

Back… but BETTER?! Discover the creative TWIST that made this pizza comeback a hit! Imagine a pizza so legendary, its disappearance sparked a nationwide uproar. Sounds a little unbelievable, right? Well, fans of “Pretzel Crust Pizza” will make you believe a pizza outcry can happen! Little Caesars is an American pizza chain established in Michigan in 1959. The restaurant is known for its “Pretzel Crust Pizza” that debuted in 2014. The “Pretzel Crust Pizza” is a giant, buttery-soft pretzel crust pizza topped with creamy cheddar cheese sauce, gooey mozzarella and Muenster cheeses, and a generous layer of pepperoni. The fan-favorite pizza is also available in a stuffed crust version, where the pretzel crust is filled with cheese, and if customers want to go for a classic, they can also swap the cheddar sauce for a tomato-based pizza sauce! However, the menu item disappeared from some chains, with only several locations offering it in 2015 due to unknown reasons. NOOOOO! Despite its disappearance, the “Pretzel Crust Pizza” remained a top choice among fans, where many of them hoped and waited for its return. In fact, one of the dedicated fans of this gooey, pretzel cheese pizza started a petition in Change.org, a petitioning platform, to persuade the restaurant to bring back their favorite pizza. Did the restaurant listen to its fans’ pleas? Yes… but with a TWIST! Instead of simply bringing it back to the menu, Little Caesars relaunched the fan favorite pizza by launching a gamified social media-based scavenger hunt in 2021 called… “#UnlockPretzelCrusts!” To execute the online scavenger hunt, the Little Caesars team strategically dispersed 24 clues on how to #UnlockPretzelCrusts across various platforms, mainly focusing on X (formerly Twitter). Little Caesars also hid codes on crop circles, hockey games, and even billboards to buzz its fans. Sneaky, right? Fans could then head to the #UnlockPretzelCrust site to enter the codes once they spotted them. With a range of prizes up for grabs like a smartwatch with a pretzel crust band, a pretzel crust designed scooter, and even a pretzel crust scented candle, everyone had a chance to win BIG! That’s not all! The brand also inserted clues on partner influencers’ posts, an audio ad featuring a morse code, and even a gigapixel image to Reddit containing a six-digit code. This gigapixel image on Reddit was one of the toughest codes, containing a six-digit code buried among a billion pixels. Yet, one dedicated “Pretzel Crust” fanatic cracked it in just 16 hours, sending a detailed, illustrated four-page letter explaining her process. Impressed by the fan’s dedication and ingenuity, Little Caesars’ team celebrated her achievement by naming her the chief pretzel officer and awarding her a year’s worth of free pizza. Woah! How we wish we were her! Clearly, Pretzel Crust Pizza fans do not mess around when it comes to their favorite pizza! Was Little Caesars’ “#UnlockPretzelCrusts” campaign effective? Little Caesars’ “#UnlockPretzelCrusts” definitely took everyone by storm! Codes were cracked within minutes, puzzles were solved within hours, and everyone was talking about the “Pretzel Crust Pizza!” As a matter of fact: The campaign received 4 million video views, 60,000 likes, and 20,000 comments across various social media platforms, garnering a 700% increase in conversations throughout its duration. The social engagement for the week of the campaign was 75% higher compared to 2020. The brand’s positive sentiment was also 35% higher than the brand’s 2020 average. The campaign unlocked awards, where it won the Bronze Honor under the Contest or Promotion, Hashtag, Food & Beverage category at the 14th Annual Shorty Awards in 2022. The campaign became an Honoree under the Advertising, Media & PR Best Use of Social Media 2022 category at The 2022 Webby Awards. Congratulations, Little Caesars! These results show that using marketing strategies with a twist can drive a brand to success! *Claps* Today’s guerrilla marketing feature shows it is important to listen to your target market. Like what Little Caesars did, listening to your customers allows you to tailor your products to meet their needs, which in turn improve customer satisfaction and loyalty. By listening to your customers, you also get valuable insights for innovation and improvement, which can drive your brand to growth and success. Also, do not forget to use your social media platforms creatively and wisely! Posting a marketing campaign online is easy, but making it memorable can be challenging. So, like Little Caesars, utilize your social media platforms effectively, where you can create buzz around your products and services. Maybe gamify your campaign just like what the pizza chain did! After all, there are a myriad of ways to use social media to promote your brand; you just have to find what works best in engaging your audience. Hope you’ve found this week’s guerrilla marketing insight interesting and helpful! EXCITING NEWS AHEAD The world of work has shifted, and there’s no going back. The barriers to entry have never been lower for talented professionals to work independently, and today’s massive external workforce is hardly a pandemic-produced fad. Business owners can only survive in the new work landscape by partnering with this deep talent pool. With decades of experience in both small-business entrepreneurship and executive management at PwC, I truly believe that the future of work is independent. With that, I’m happy to share with you that my book, co-authored with Walter Scott Lamb, is now available for pre-order on Amazon! 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