WORK
TOPPERS PIZZA
A CRAVEWORTHY CAMPAIGN
CAMPAIGN LAUNCH
SOCIAL MEDIA
DIGITAL DISPLAY
TV
Toppers Pizza is built on bold attitude with the product to back it up. Headquartered in Whitewater, Wisconsin, this chain of 70 stores (and growing) is redefining expectations in the QSR pizza industry.
The menu features unique House Pizzas like the Loaded Tot-zza, Mac ‘N Cheese and the late night fan favorite, Topperstix. IYKYK.
But that’s the thing. Not enough people know, so we set out to drive awareness of Toppers based on their craveable food. Through digital video, display and social media, the “Can’t Not Have Toppers” campaign features product in a manner befitting of a true pizza underdog.
THE BEAUTIFUL MESS
There’s the cheese pull. The smiling delivery driver. And any number of tropes associated with pizza imagery. We actively avoided those.
Instead, we aimed to blend a surreal scene with a hyper-real presentation of the food.
Ultimately, we wanted to make the pizza look like something you can’t wait to get your hands on. We treated the product as “pop art” with some intentional imperfection, simple propping and a backdrop driven by brand colors.
We call it “The Beautiful Mess.” And yes, we ate it up–literally–on set.
BUILDING TOPPERS NATION
Once we had a campaign, we put our energy into how we could maximize our media budget against exponentially larger players like Domino’s, Pizza Hut and Papa John’s.
Put another way, how do we drive awareness without relying on (expensive) national media? Further, how do we make sure we’re being good stewards of the hard-earned dollars entrusted to us by franchisees?
Enter, the “non-geographic co-op.”
By aggregating dollars across multiple stores, we were able to create a digital and social media plan that met minimum spend levels while delivering impressions within specified geographies.
Translation: we were able to raise all boats without wasting money on non-prospects.
Further, we extended the campaign to deliver more eyeballs without wearing out our creative assets. That’s where a prolific creative team can make a media plan shine. And vice versa.
"TOPPERS HAS ALWAYS MADE ITS OWN RULES. THAT'S WHO WE ARE. WE'RE NOT AFRAID TO FLIP THE SCRIPT ON THE BIG PLAYERS WHEN IT COMES TO MEDIA."
—
GREG WOLD
TOPPERS PIZZA CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER
CAN’T NOT HAVE RESULTS
30%
INCREASE IN IMPRESSIONS
60%
INCREASE IN RETURN
44%
REDUCTION IN MEDIA COSTS
3 GOLDS
AT THE ST. LOUIS AAAs
SILVER
AT THE NATIONAL AAAs
All of the above is academic until you see it in action.
With a goal of generating awareness while spending efficiently, we kept a close eye reach combined with frequency. Within the small segments we targeted, we wanted to make sure we weren’t burning out our message.
The right balance would increase awareness. Increased awareness, driven by both media and relevant creative, would invite trial. And trial would enlist Toppers fanatics.
This may seem like Marketing 101, but driving awareness economically and sustainably is the trick. Looking forward, we continue to optimize media objectives in stride with the ongoing creative campaign.
Overall sales are also up with many individual stores setting new records as the campaign continues to drive awareness in local markets.
Can't not have enough Toppers?
