By Erica D’Arcangelo
Hello, PMQ readers! I am absolutely thrilled to be launching a column with the well-respected PMQ Pizza, hoping to provide marketing tips and tricks with a little bit of humor delivered to your literary plate. I’ve spent the better part of 25 years doing marketing for companies across the globe. Over the last few years, I’ve become a viral pizza content creator while trying to close the great divide between a pizzeria’s success and its digital footprint.
My column will cut through the digital noise and give you simple, actionable answers to creating and improving your marketing efforts. So, without further ado, let’s dive in.
Italy’s Pizza Marketing Puzzle
If we want to understand the full recipe of pizza marketing, it’s only right that we begin in the kitchen where the original—and arguably best—version of pizza was perfected: Italy. I decided to start in a place where pizza’s history is relatively modern compared to the rest of the country: the island of Sardinia, a place I’ve recently traveled to in search of the best beaches and the best pizza.
After an eight-hour flight to Rome I hopped on a short flight to Sardinia in search of three things: cappuccino, a croissant and some authentic Italian pizza. The pizza craving hit shortly after I landed. I finished my cappuccino and started on a caffeine fueled search—“where’s the first and best place to get pizza in Alghero?” I did the usual—pulled up my Google Map search. Nothing. I then did a Google search and a cursory check on ChatGPT. I didn’t find very many options. I was confused. Now what?
Related: How Erica D’Arcangelo Quadrupled Her Dad’s Pizza Sales at D’arc’s Pizza
“I’ll check Instagram,” I thought. With spotty Internet I started thumbing in my searches. Again, nothing. I settled for a quick piece of focaccia, but what I ran into on my journey to finding great pizza stumbled me. If there was no way to find a pizzeria quickly on a map search and Instagram, how could I locate the best pizza in Sardinia?
What I found is that when you look for those legendary, hole-in-the-wall Italian pizzerias, the results are deafeningly silent. No sleek website. No social media feed. Sometimes, not even current hours listed. Did the best pizza places simply vanish from the digital age?
Pizza’s First Marketing Strategy
I took a few steps back and decided to think in terms of basic, simple marketing. What’s the first and easiest way people found pizzerias? By consulting the only truly reliable sources: the customers who live, eat and breathe the local pizza. Simply put: word of mouth. I did just that and found about a half a dozen places. Some of them were amazing; others not so much.
My American impulse for a quick win failed; the search required more kneading than scrolling to find the best pizzeria. By the end of my week in Sardinia, I ate a lot of pizza and actually learned a little more about marketing, including, most importantly, some key elements that I can share with you here.
My experience in Italy isn’t unlike what many customers experience when they’re looking for good pizza. The important thing is that they find you. That’s where good marketing comes in. Unlike Italy, the United States is dominated by digital marketing: your Google local listing that feeds into the Google Maps search, places like Yelp and a half dozen other food apps, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and so much more.
For Americans, finding dinner is a quick digital transaction: Google ratings, perfect Instagram shots, instant online reservations, even apps like One Bite.
Related: Meet Erica D’Arcangelo of D’arc’s Pizza on Peel: A PMQ Pizza Podcast
Your Story is Where Pizza Marketing Truly Begins
The very first thing to know when you’re marketing your pizzeria is that you’re not necessarily trying to dominate the entire world. But when someone looks for you, you want them to be able to find you. However, if you’re looking for global recognition, this will also help you. Both are covered under something called foundational marketing.
Foundational marketing is setting up very basic elements online so when someone Googles you or asks ChatGPT, you come up as a result. For many pizzerias this is localized. It covers things like your website, your Google My Business listing, Instagram and Facebook pages.
After the prep work is done, it’s time for the crucial brand topping: your story. This isn’t a complex corporate mission; it’s the simple truth. It’s beautiful photos of your pizza, a clear shot of your genuine establishment, and a few potent phrases that make anyone instantly understand the heart behind your slice. This is where pizza, no matter if you’re in Italy or the United States, becomes perfectly blended in terms of marketing.
Your brand story helps you to clearly define who you are, what you do, and what your value proposition is. This is what makes you unique and differentiates you from other pizzerias.
For example, my family’s pizzeria, D’Arc’s Pizza, has been in operation for over 65 years now. The brand story is that my grandfather, born into a family of Italian immigrants from Abruzzo, Italy, came to America as a boy, where he worked as a coal miner with the dream of opening a pizzeria and reconnecting to his Italian roots. He did just that when he opened the pizzeria in 1960 serving authentic Abruzzo-style pizza and Italian food. Our place is family-owned and -operated.
That’s the story. plain and simple. And every single pizzeria has their own unique story just like this one as I learn about daily when I interview guests on my Pizza Story Podcast.
You need to add these identity items to each of your accounts. Now comes the fun part. Populating your digital presence with strong content.
Related: D’Arc’s Pizza Started With a $727 Investment. 65 Years Later, It’s a TikTok Sensation
The Art of Appetizing Pizza Content
Once you have your brand story the next step is looking at what content clearly communicates your story. Pizza content, just like your pizza is art. It requires the love and creation you put into your product every day, just expressed through the lens of a camera or iPhone. I like to loosely describe pizza content as culinary confidence.
Culinary confidence is your ultimate marketing shortcut: the strategic conviction that your product quality is your best advertisement. A hungry customer is initially concerned only with one thing: solving their immediate craving. Your job is to pair their needs with content that visually proves your excellence. Then use your foundational assets (website, Instagram, etc.) for discovery. But the final, magnetic pull is the sight of your pizza. Once they dine with you and become a fan, the initial transaction transforms into loyalty, paving the way for them to finally embrace your brand’s rich, authentic story.
Customers then become fans and fans recommend you to other fans—word of mouth. This is where marketing comes full circle.
Closing the Digital Pizza Gap with Marketing
While Italy presents its own digital disconnect, you can utilize a plethora of online tools to drive business and your brand story, which is your No. 1 value proposition, and build a loyal return customer base of fans and supporters for your pizzeria. You can also download my A Story About Marketing Pizza Guide if you need some extra help.
I hope this article helps you streamline your digital strategy and prioritize the product that matters most. As for me? The next time a pizza craving hits in Italy and Google yields nothing but digital static, I know the drill: I’m putting my phone away, dusting off my Italian, and asking the nearest nonna where the real pizza is. That, after all, it is where the best marketing starts.
Erica D’Arcangelo is a content creator, author and storyteller specializing in Italian heritage and food culture. Known for developing the viral digital brand for her family’s legacy business, D’Arc’s Pizza in Windber, Pennsylvania, which opened in 1960, Erica is the author of the bestselling book, A Story About Pizza. She has also released a children’s book series on Italian culture and pizza with the titles Pietro’s Pizza, Pietro’s Pizza Toppings and Pietro’s Italian Christmas. Erica is the host of the Pizza Story Podcast, where she interviews family-owned pizzerias and talented pizzaiolos from across the world. Her work centers on the enduring power of family and authentic Italian food. You can contact Erica directly at: https://www.astoryaboutpizza.com.
