Pizza Hut says it’s entering the burger business. The thing is, it’s not actually serving burgers.
And, from a marketing perspective, that’s not even the most interesting thing about the brand’s new Cheeseburger Melt campaign. Pizza Hut hopes to lure customers away from burger chains with a clever guerrilla-style stunt that would make Ronald McDonald tremble in his clown shoes.
The second-largest pizza company in the U.S. says its Cheeseburger Melt is a “better way to burger.” The new item is a Parmesan-crusted, thin-crust Melt folded and loaded with beef, applewood-smoked bacon, onions, mozzarella and cheddar and served with Pizza Hut’s own Burger Sauce on the side.
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To incentivize customers to “cheat on their usual burger chain,” Pizza Hut is deploying delivery drivers in select markets to visit “certain fast-food burger chain drive-thrus” with a QR code displayed on the back window of their car and a decal that reads, “Want a Better Burger?”. The idea is to get those drive-thru customers to skip the Big Mac and order a Cheeseburger Melt instead—which they can do for free by scanning the QR code. The free melt comes with a Pepsi as well.
It’s classic guerrilla marketing, using unconventional tactics to promote a new menu item while gently trolling the competition. The promotion will take place in the Chicago and Miami areas, the company said in a press release.
“As a brand known for exceptional pizzas, venturing into the burger business is an exciting first for us,” said Lindsay Morgan, chief marketing officer at Pizza Hut. “We thought we’d kick off our burger journey with something bold. That’s why we’re making waves in burger chain drive-thrus, serving up our delicious new Cheeseburger Melt for all you burger lovers out there.”
The company said the “savory, cheesy, crunchy menu item ditches the bun (say goodbye to soggy bun burger deliveries) and brings together a medley of flavors for those craving a cheeseburger all wrapped into a crispy thin crust. With this handheld, Pizza Hut has cracked the code for what a cheeseburger should be: portable, crunchy, and oozing with cheese.”
Rachel Antalek, chief food innovation officer at Pizza Hut, added that the Cheeseburger Melt “dips perfectly into what we would argue is the world’s best burger dipping sauce. We challenge you to find a better burger and sauce experience.”
