Dive Brief:
- Papa John's introduced its Epic Stuffed Crust Pizza with a sweepstakes that gives people a chance to win exclusive prizes to help enjoy their sports binge-watching sessions. The pizza chain, which has about 3,300 restaurants in North America, is challenging people to share their "epic moves" on social media by Feb. 14 to enter the contest, per an announcement.
- Papa John's is asking people to share videos of their dunks, jumps, pranks, trick shots, blocks and other moves on Instagram, TikTok or Twitter with the hashtags #epicstuffs and #sweepstakes to enter the contest. The pizza chain will choose one winner of its grand prize — a customized Epic Stuffed Chair valued at $32,500 and $7,500 in cash — and also give away branded sleeping bags and $50 gift cards every week until the contest ends.
- The Epic Stuffed Chair has an "epically epic" 1.5-horsepower motor and wheels that are steered with a joystick shaped like a pizza slice, along with a reinforced pizza table, smartphone holder and 18-cartridge garlic sauce dispenser, as shown in a video on its social channels.
Dive Insight:
Papa John's sweepstakes aims to engage consumers by offering them a chance to win a campy prize, its custom-built Epic Stuffed Chair that could become a social media sensation. Its humorous video showing off the overstuffed chair is geared for sharing on Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. Papa John's can extend the reach of the "epic" campaign as people create videos and urge their friends and followers to participate in the contest. The campaign comes as sports leagues work to restore their traditional calendars amid the ongoing pandemic, giving Papa John's more opportunities to promote online ordering and delivery for sports fans.
Share something epic. Win something epic. Upload a video of your best dunks, tricks, pranks or more to Instagram, Twitter or TikTok with #EpicStuffs and #sweepstakes for a chance to win your own Epic Stuffed Chair. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Ends 02/14. Rules: https://t.co/JnbsxlQPuH pic.twitter.com/Rnnh5ZA8l8
— Papa John's Pizza (@PapaJohns) January 26, 2021
The social media contest to win the motorized chair is the latest Papa John's campaign to feature a novelty product geared for its key customers. The pizza chain last month collaborated with PepsiCo's Mtn Dew soft drink brand on a livestreamed video game contest that showcased the Mtn Dew x Papa John's game controller. The gadget has a button to let gamers order their favorite pizza or Papadia sandwich without stepping away from their console, and was scheduled to go on sale this year.
Papa John's campaign may also be a precursor to its yearly Valentine's Day campaigns that offer customers a chance to order heart-shaped pizzas for the romantic occasion. Last year, the pizza chain returned to photo-messaging app Snapchat with an augmented reality (AR) lens that let people order pizza directly. The activation used the app's Shoppable AR technology to handle mobile orders. Papa John's has seen positive results from similar campaigns, including a 6% lift in ad awareness from its Valentine's Day effort in 2019.
