Pizza Hut delivers ‘Goodbye Pies’ for Valentine’s Day breakups

Dive Brief:

Pizza Hut has launched a “Goodbye Pies” promotion ahead of Valentine’s Day to promote its new Hot Honey pizza, per a press release.
Through Valentine’s Day, consumers at select locations in New York City, Chicago and Miami can visit a microsite for the chance to have a free “Goodbye Pie” sent to a future ex. For consumers outside of those markets, Pizza Hut will draft a breakup text including a link for a gift card.
The Hot Honey pizza will also be promoted in a new “Pizza wHut!?” campaign rolling out nationally this month. The latest effort from the chain follows a series of mobile-focused creative swings in recent months.

Dive Insight:

Though Valentine’s Day is often regarded as a romance frenzy, the day is actually riddled with heartbreak. Forty-five percent of people agree it’s better to call it quits on a relationship ahead of the holiday, according to data cited in release details. In fact, the Tuesday before Valentine’s Day — which is when Pizza Hut’s campaign launched — is known as “Red Tuesday” for being the day people break up most often in the year.

To help consumers skip over the awkward breakup conversation, Pizza Hut is rolling out its limited-time Hot Honey “Goodbye Pies.” Consumers can enter online at GoodbyePies.com for the chance to send a free pie now through Feb. 14 at select locations in three cities — New York City, Chicago and Miami — which are “notorious for heartbreaks,” per the release.

For a personal touch, the Goodbye Pies come delivered in custom packaging with a simple message, with room at the top for the soon-to-be-ex’s name to be added. Consumers outside of the three participating cities can visit the same microsite to request that the chain write a breakup text that can be sent to their future ex along with a link to a gift card that can be redeemed for a free Hot Honey pizza.

The latest unveiling from Pizza Hut will receive a callout in the “Pizza wHut!?” campaign, which is being handled by GSD&M, that is rolling out nationally in February. The "Goodbye Pies" effort is the first output for the chain from agency Mischief @ No Fixed Address since it was named social agency of record late last year.

The Goodbye Pies promotion joins a slew of other mobile-focused efforts from Pizza Hut as it attempts to form a stronger connection with consumers. In December, the chain gave free pizza to delivery drivers during the holiday season through a Reverse Delivery doormat that included a QR code that could be scanned by drivers to redeem the promotion. Last June, the company tested “Underground Deliveries” in New York City as part of a campaign around the Aug. 2 release of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.” For the effort, select consumers who texted a turtle emoji to a hotline were able to order pizza delivery to a Pizza Drop Zone within a subway station.