As value deals go, $5 pizza is hard to pass up, and that’s exactly what Little Caesars is now offering as it kicks off its fifth year as the Official Pizza Sponsor of the NFL. But indie shops can outscore the pizza giant with some razzle-dazzle offense and a playbook focused entirely on the local community.
Little Caesars’ new campaign, called “Officially Delicious,” will feature national partnerships with Justin Jefferson, Jared Goff and George Kittle, an expanded roster of 21 local team partnerships, and more opportunities for fans to enjoy Little Caesars pizza inside NFL stadiums.
As the first play of the season, Little Caesars is bringing back its Pizza!Pizza! offer from August 17 through September 13. For four weeks, customers can get two large 1-topping pizzas for $4.99 each when they purchase both online using promo code PIZZAPIZZA! Jefferson will star in the campaign’s first national commercial, while Goff and Kittle will appear in additional campaigns throughout the year.
To give its loyalty program a boost, Little Caesars is also bringing back the popular Pizza!Pizza! Pregame, where guests can earn rewards by ordering from the brand. Launching exclusively in the Little Caesars app starting on September 9, guests can complete Pizza!Pizza! Pregame challenges on NFL gamedays for the chance to earn Little Caesars rewards.
For independent operators, the more interesting piece of the Little Caesars promotion might be the strategy behind that $4.99 price tag. Little Caesars isn’t simply discounting pizza for the sake of discounting it. The offer is attached to a clearly defined occasion—football season—given a limited lifespan and made available only through digital ordering. In other words, the value message comes packaged with urgency, relevance and an opportunity to pull more customers into the brand’s digital ecosystem.
Few indie shops can—or should—try to compete head-to-head with a national chain on price. But the underlying game plan scales down nicely. Even smaller markets have a hometown football team, and the upcoming season provides four months’ worth of built-in occasions for group ordering, from Friday-night high school games to college Saturdays and NFL Sundays.
Seize this opportunity by creating a compelling game-day bundle, a limited-time offer tied to the local team or even a recurring Sunday special for NFL fans. With this approach, you will give customers a specific reason to choose your pizzeria over another without turning every day into a price war.
But don’t stop there. Make your marketing as community-focused as possible. Get coaches involved—they’re often the real influencers in your community. Reach out to band directors, too. Make sure you or a member of your staff attend every home game, shoot photos and play up every win (and mourn every loss) on your social media channels.
Then take it one step further: Interview these hometown leaders on Facebook Live or Instagram Live or feature them in short videos at your restaurant. Spotlight a “player of the week” and celebrate the achievements of school band members and cheerleaders.
Related: Influencing the Influencers: How 15 Trusted Locals Can Transform Your Pizzeria’s Sales
As Matt Plapp, a restaurant industry consultant and PMQ contributor, explained in a past PMQ article, “Within a mile of your restaurant, there are 52 coaches, team leaders, nonprofit directors, business owners and community organizers who have audiences you don’t yet have access to. Each one of those people has parents, players, donors, customers, kids, fans and followers who love them and will pay attention to whoever shows them love….Stop asking what you can get from your community. Start asking what you can give. Highlight the kids. Celebrate the coaches. Show up at the events. Be the voice for the people and causes that matter to your neighborhood. Become the media outlet your community doesn’t have.”
Little Caesars may have Justin Jefferson and the NFL shield behind its promotion, but you’ve got your own local star athletes and high achievers. Cheer them on, build an appealing LTO offer around the upcoming season, make the value easy to understand—then pull it all together and turn your pizza shop into the community hub for young and old alike.
Little Caesars is paying untold millions for access to NFL superstars. As an indie pizzeria owner, you can earn access to hometown high performers, and it will cost you little or nothing. And locals will love you for it.
