Tag: Pizza Hut

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – To promote its latest ‘Pizza Ayam Bakar’ offering, Pizza Hut Malaysia recently teamed up with IPG Mediabrands’ Mediabrands Content Studio (MBCS) to launch a new campaign that showcased a classic Ramadan/Raya fare of flame grilled chicken with Pizza Hut’s flare – smoky grilled bazaar flavours on a fully loaded pizza, in a fun twist that’s anything but “biashe-biashe” (ordinary).

Said campaign, in a nod to the smoky flames from the grill, featured the pizza being launched with a smoke projection billboard above a Pizza Hut store in proximity of one of Kuala Lumpur’s most popular Ramadan bazaars, driving traffic towards the outlet.

In addition, an activation at local bazaars and an in-store contest introduced the Pizza Ayam Bakar promotions and an opportunity to win free pizza for those who could say the pizza’s tongue twister of a name in the game “Say My Loaded Name”.

Mun Tuck Wai, executive creative director at MBCS said, “Ramadan/Raya is a time of food and gatherings, and a classic favourite is the ayam bakar – found in every bazaar. But who’s to say that ayam bakar is just for the bazaar? Sending smoke signals is an age-old tradition, and we looked to lure our customers right to our doorstep to experience ayam bakar like never before. A pizza with these flavours needs a launch that’s equally as bold, and we wanted to tickle that curiosity when introducing an ayam bakar that is out of the ordinary.”

Meanwhile, Aileen See, chief marketing officer at Pizza Hut Malaysia said, “At Pizza Hut, we believe that the best flavors are the ones that resonate with our customers’ hearts and taste buds. With the Pizza Ayam Bakar, we’ve worked hard to craft a truly authentic taste experience that reflects the unique flavors of ayam bakar that you’d get from our local bazaars.”

She added, “The MBCS team have integrated this sensory element of smoke that you’d get from the grill into our campaign, blurring the lines between tech, creativity and cultural relevance for an unforgettable campaign. It’s not just about selling pizza; it’s about the celebration of Ramadan/Raya through our shared language of food.”

Hong Kong – Delivering on their promise of ‘Deliciousness without the Wait’, Pizza Hut Hong Kong has unveiled a comical new pop-up store to urge diners to skip the long queues of the city’s lunch rush.

Conceptualised by Edelman Hong Kong, the ‘Pop-Up Pizza Hut’ plays on the concept of a “pop-up” in both name and function. The activation features a giant pizza box that unfolds into a temporary store, appearing in the middle of Hong Kong’s busy lunch queues to serve diners on the go.

The activation also moves between Hong Kong’s busiest lunch spots, surprising restaurant managers and waiting diners with the message, “What are you waiting for? ”. Once the pizzas sell out, the mobile store relocates to another high-traffic area with a fresh supply.

Amy Cheng, creative director at Edelman, shared, “When Pizza Hut came calling to revive awareness of their lunch menu, we knew we had to find a disruptive way to differentiate the brand – and that’s exactly what we’ve done.” 

“Lunch breaks are always mayhem, and for some reason, queues have become an accepted feature of Hong Kong lunch culture. It’s a behaviour no one has ever questioned or made a point of, so it was the perfect opportunity to do something unexpected and get the brand noticed and remembered,” Cheng added. 

The Pop-Up Pizza Hut, designed as a humorous and unconventional activation, debuted on April 1st—a day when brands often engage in playful marketing stunts. Beyond highlighting the Meal-for-One menu, it also served as a platform to announce the brand’s light-hearted three-day promotion of the controversial ‘Superb Pineapple’ pizza.

Following its initial launch, the initiative is expected to continue appearing across the city, targeting busy lunch crowds and other high-traffic areas where time-conscious diners gather.

“Pizza Hut always has a presence at live events in Hong Kong – and live events always have people lining up for food and drinks. So, along with the daily lunch rush, we will keep finding times and places for the Pop-Up Pizza Hut to give people ‘deliciousness without the wait’,” Cheng said. 

Renee Chan, customer experience and marketing director of Pizza Hut HK, commented, “With only a 1-hour lunch break, what are you waiting for? ’… It’s the question no one seems to ask themselves, but it resonates with everyone. QSR in Hong Kong is very competitive, and we need to use what we can to our advantage – without terrorising the competition too much. This insight and idea really show our personality and playful side and, most importantly, highlight one of the many ways Pizza Hut always delivers.”

Indonesia – To break through Indonesia’s highly competitive food and beverage market during Ramadan, Pizza Hut Indonesia has unveiled a bold and unconventional move—a two-hour-long ad titled “NON-STOP SERU 2 JAM BARENG DIP & CRUNCH.”

Departing from the usual emotional tone of Ramadan ads, the campaign film takes an unconventional approach, featuring a continuous loop of humour and togetherness. It highlights Pizza Hut Indonesia’s 1-metre LIMO Pizza and the newly introduced Dip & Crunch through a playful and unexpected format.

In just two weeks, the campaign gained significant traction, drawing high viewership and engagement. The ad’s extended format and catchy jingle resonated with audiences, reflecting the Ramadan tradition of prolonged togetherness.

Pizza Hut Indonesia’s approach highlights the impact of unconventional marketing in a crowded Ramadan advertising landscape. By stepping away from traditional formats, the brand demonstrated how bold creative choices can capture attention and foster cultural relevance.

Astari Fitriani, senior brand & innovation manager at Pizza Hut Indonesia, said, “As a brand that has been in Indonesia for four decades, we continue to strive to stay relevant by understanding the essence of Indonesian culture towards the Ramadan season and translating it into distinctive creative material to break the clutter.”

Fitriani added, “It might seem like a risky choice, but we are glad that the audience’s reception has been positive. This encourages us as a brand to continuously be a pioneer, pushing boundaries, innovating, and not just sticking with the status quo.”

Hong Kong – Pizza Hut Hong Kong has teamed up with iProspect Hong Kong for a Halloween-inspired campaign that brings a spooky twist to their menu, featuring a special-edition product and an interactive experience to engage customers throughout the season.

In this campaign, Pizza Hut and iProspect Hong Kong invite customers to embark on a fun, interactive search for hidden spooky faces nestled within the pizza crust and melted cheese. 

This creative approach not only showcases Pizza Hut’s delicious offerings but also lets customers rediscover their favourite food in a playful way, turning each bite into a delightful surprise.

The campaign is live on social media, with OOH advertisements strategically placed in high-traffic areas across Central from October 26 to November 1, drawing attention and inviting passersby to join in the Halloween festivities.

Embracing the Halloween spirit, Pizza Hut has also introduced special edition ‘spider-shaped cheese sticks.’ These fun and festive treats are the perfect addition to any Halloween gathering, making it easy for fans to celebrate the spooky season.

The name of the cheese sticks, “藍芝蛛點點棒,” is a playful pun: “藍芝” refers to the blue cheese dip, while “芝蛛” sounds like “spider” in Cantonese. Additionally, Pizza Hut has also launched a “spider-catching” game on social media, where participants can win free garlic bread, adding an extra layer of excitement to the spooky season.

Huey Wong, creative director at dentsu Hong Kong, said, “Halloween is all about embracing the unexpected, and we wanted to turn every pizza into a canvas of spooky delight. By encouraging customers to discover their own surprises, we aim to transform their usual food experience into something extraordinary. It’s not just about enjoying delicious food; it’s about creating memorable moments that celebrate the spirit of the season.” 

Renee Chan, director of customer experience & marketing at Pizza Hut Hong Kong, added, “At Pizza Hut, we love to playfully push the boundaries of pizza-making and spark conversations. Our aim is to keep things fun and eye-catching, ensuring that  our products leave a lasting impression. We want our customers to enjoy our food in the most innovative ways possible, making every bite an exciting experience.” 

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – MBCS, the media-fuelled creative content practice within the IPG Mediabrands network, has announced its latest campaign to launch the new Pizza Hut’s Melts Burger.

The campaign launches a new permanent addition to the Pizza Hut menu. The Melts Burger features a brand film to showcase Pizza Hut’s innovation of its new menu item, which is crunchy like Melts, and tastes like a burger, bringing about “the best of both worlds” as it says with its tagline.

Mun Tuck Wai, executive creative director at MBCS said, “A pizza brand that is now into burgers… say what?! This mash up is a truly unique combination, and we want to showcase Pizza Hut’s innovative spirit. The Melts Burger is new, cool, and easy for those on the go. Ideal for Gen Z’s and their active lifestyle. The video elements and song capture this modern spirit of youth on the move and shows how you can have the best of a pizza and burger all rolled into one.”

Meanwhile, Emily Chong, chief marketing officer at Pizza Hut Malaysia said, “Pizza Hut is known for leading the way in trend-setting ideas and products, and this is an evolution of that. Eating a burger, while delicious, can sometimes be a messy affair. The Melts Burger offers the perfect combination with the best of both worlds shining through – crunchy, cheesy, loaded – who says you can’t have it all?”

For a limited time only, the Melts Burger is available at a special price of RM0.99 with the purchase of selected drinks or sides.

Hong Kong – Pizza Hut Hong Kong has partnered with Edelman Hong Kong for a dynamic new campaign featuring their limited-edition ‘Torch Fries.’ The campaign includes an innovative social series that uses playful predictions to forecast the medal outcomes for Hong Kong athletes.

In this campaign, Pizza Hut has introduced a new social series titled ‘Frenchie Predictions,’ featuring a charismatic French presenter and his trusty fortune-telling companion, a French bulldog named Baguette, to predict whether Hong Kong’s athletes will win gold, silver, or bronze at the Games.

Baguette’s role involves selecting between Pizza Hut pizza boxes containing the ‘Torch Fries’ to determine the medal outcomes for Hong Kong’s beloved athletes, including Cheung Ka-long, Siobhan Haughey, and Vivian Kong.

The social series will air on Pizza Hut Hong Kong’s Instagram and Facebook channels, with hopes that Baguette’s lucky predictions will come true in the coming weeks.

Renee Chan, director of customer experience and marketing at Pizza Hut Hong Kong, said, “The Games always grip the city, and we didn’t want to let this pass. When you’re not an official sponsor you always need to get more innovative about how you show your support, and our limited-edition Torch Fries and Frenchie Predictions campaign does exactly that—in a playful and fun way.” 

Crystal Poon, integrated brand lead at Edelman Hong Kong, also stated, “When our athletes win, everybody and every brand reacts with joy. And so we wanted to get ahead and find a way to celebrate the outcomes before they even happened, and after Baguette correctly predicted the winner of the football game in Germany and the winning goal scorer, we knew what we had to do! .” 

The limited-edition ‘Torch Fries’ feature French fries and potato wedges wrapped in a garlic-infused oil-coated tortilla cone, designed to mimic the iconic Torch. Pizza Hut invites its fans to savour the excitement of the Games in a unique way with ‘Torch Fries.’

Singapore – Multinational pizza restaurant chain Pizza Hut has recently appointed Michelle Wong as its newest marketing director for South Asia to drive growth and elevate brand visibility across all channels. 

In her new role, Wong’s main responsibility will be to provide strategic direction to franchise marketing teams, with a focus on building sustainable plans that drive sales and enhance brand presence across all channels over time. 

In an exclusive interview with MARKETECH APAC, Wong delved into the factors that attracted her to Pizza Hut, the significance of her past experiences in shaping her new role, and her strategic vision for bolstering the brand’s presence and market dominance across South Asia.

Leveraging past experiences for future success

Prior to joining Pizza Hut, Wong served as McDonald’s director of market activation, working with marketing teams in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and LATAM markets to create robust martech, CRM, customer segmentation, and loyalty strategies. 

In her nine-year tenure at McDonald’s, she had the privilege of contributing to a global and beloved brand, giving her valuable experiences that she believes will be instrumental in her new role at Pizza Hut. 

Amongst these invaluable assets is her ‘outside-in’ perspective, which allows her to leapfrog traditional learning curves in crafting exceptional brand experiences and nurturing enduring fan connections. Additionally, she had also learned to embrace a mindset of experimentation, characterised by rapid learning and acceptance of failure, especially in adopting new technologies and harnessing the power of data.

Strategies for market dominance and navigating the future of F&B marketing

As the newly appointed marketing director, Wong’s main aim is to invigorate Pizza Hut’s presence and market dominance in South Asia through a multi-faceted approach.

Wong emphasised her commitment to continuously refining their delivery, dine-in, and takeaway experiences to exceed customer expectations. Additionally, she will also prioritise active engagement with their audience, amplifying Pizza Hut South Asia’s presence in conversations and listening intently to their feedback. 

Furthermore, Wong plans to introduce more exciting innovations to their menu, offering fresh interpretations of beloved classics to delight Pizza Hut’s loyal fans and attract new patrons alike. 

When asked what she thinks lies ahead for F&B marketing, Wong believes that the future is poised for hyper-personalisation, where real-time data and self-learning algorithms enable highly customised experiences on an individual level.

For her, Pizza Hut is primed to navigate this landscape by embracing exploration and experimentation. By continuously testing and uncovering the key drivers of meaningful customer experiences throughout their journey, they can stay ahead of the curve and ensure that their offerings resonate deeply with their audience.

Embracing the iconic legacy of Pizza Hut 

Speaking on what drew her to join Pizza Hut, Wong explained that it was the opportunity to spearhead the next transformative chapter of such an iconic brand. 

She understands that Pizza Hut is a brand that generation X and older audiences remember fondly for bringing people together, for hot pizza delivery delivered to the door, for the iconic Pizza Hut jingle, and of course, for the great taste of pan and stuffed crust. 

Wong acknowledges the brand’s nostalgic appeal and aims to channel it in a fresh and innovative direction.

“I was drawn to the opportunity of taking this iconic brand into its next transformative journey—modernisation and engaging younger fans. Pizza Hut evokes fond childhood memories for me, and I’m thrilled to be given this opportunity at Pizza Hut South Asia to work with a stellar cast,” she concluded. 

Hong Kong – Pizza Hut in Hong Kong has teamed up with the popular manga and anime franchise Spy x Family in a bid to bolster the brand’s offerings and loyalty in the Hong Kong market.

It is worth noting that the campaign launch also coincided with the ongoing airing of Spy x Family’s second season, which premiered on October 7.

According to Pizza Hut, the campaign collaboration was aimed at using Spy x Family’s popularity to raise awareness of the membership program of Pizza Hut (Hut Rewards) and engage the consumers via different channels, including offline (instore), online (social media) and digital (mobile app and web) to drive interest, membership enrolment and traffic.

Moreover, the collaboration aims to create a unique and exciting dining experience for the consumers with the time-limited store décor, specially designed premiums and pizza boxes.

Pizza Hut also notes that this collaboration aims to appeal to the mass and younger segment of consumers and a range of specially designed time-limited premiums to highlight the exclusiveness and value of being a Hut Rewards member. This, in turn, will help motivate target consumers, drive membership enrolment, and increase traffic and sales in the long run.

Exclusive merchandising will be also released, including stickers, canvas bag, plush pillow, and aroma diffuser. Moreover, select 11 stores in Hong Kong will be turned into Spy x Family-themed stores. In it, the locations are adorned with themed decorations, featuring various Instagrammable photo spots and character standees. Customers can enjoy Pizza Hut’s delicious food while posing for memorable photos with Anya, the franchise’s most popular character.

Renee Chan, director of customer experience and marketing at Pizza Hut Hong Kong, said, “We are delighted to partner with Spy x Family to launch this campaign as we continue to engage the consumers and our Hut Rewards members with exclusive offers. The campaign will bring more exciting and rewarding moments to our diners, with unique elements tailored for both takeaway and dine-in. The market response has been very encouraging, and we look forward to seeing great results from the collaboration and bringing more exciting surprises to our loyal customers in the future.”

Singapore – Popular pizza chain Pizza Hut Singapore has teamed up with recently-appointed integrated communications agency TEAM LEWIS in launching a new campaign that uses generative AI to produce visuals depicting Pizza Hut’s price promos.

Titled ‘Takeaway Pocket Pleasers’, the key visual highlights the brand’s commitment to deliver simple, delicious pizzas that continue to be accessible for everyone. 

By prompting the AI program, Midjourney, to create a visual that showcases the unmistakable DNA of the Pizza Hut brand, the campaign reduces advertising and creative costs to ultimately pass on more value to their customers — with pocket pleaser pizzas starting from SG$3.

Some of the flavours being offered include ‘Very Beefy’, ‘Cheese ‘N’ Chic’, ‘Just Cheese’, and ‘Chicky Ham ‘N’ Corn’. 

In addition, the campaign will also represent a new category of different value deals that customers can look out for in the coming months to take even more advantage of Pizza Hut Singapore’s offerings.

Jayss Rajoo, director of marketing and food innovation at Pizza Hut Singapore said, “We are always thinking of new, creative ways to bring more value to our customers, while ensuring they get the same delicious product no matter the occasion. As a customer-first brand, this AI-driven campaign allows us to disrupt the way we present our offerings and drive more savings for our customers. As a brand many people have grown up with, such campaigns allows us to demonstrate our growth with our customers in terms of progressive, tech-driven ideas.”

It’s that time of the year again: April Fools’ Day just recently happened, where practical jokes and gimmicks are seemingly normalised. And of course, brands are not late in riding this day of humour and jokes–all in the name of bringing laughs to their customers and presenting themselves as a more ‘approachable’ brand.

In the Philippines, brands are no stranger to these quirky April Fools’ gags, and so we listed some of the wittiest campaigns they did for this particular day.

Jollibee

The popular Filipino fast-food chain has its own April Fools’ gag in some of its markets. In the United Kingdom, it announced that it is rebranding to ‘Jolliwasp’, a gag referring to the change of the animal mascot from a bee to a wasp. In Canada, it announced that it is launching a limited-edition Jolly Spaghetti sandwich.

The Jolly Spaghetti sandwich from Jollibee Canada
The ‘Jolliwasp’ rebrand at Jollibee United Kingdom

Angkas

If the popular motorcycle-hailing app is known for just motorcycles, is there a new vehicle they can tap next? As a gag, Angkas has announced the launch of ‘Bang-kas’, a play on the word bangka (vernacular for boat) and includes boat-related services such as boat-hailing, package delivery via boat, and we kid you not–watersports.

McDonald’s

Ever got that unsure moment when you were asked ‘what would you like to eat?’ Worry not, because these latest April Fools’ packaging gags from McDonald’s Philippines encapsulate that feeling. Some of the phrases include kahit ano (just anything), ikaw bahala (up to you), and iniisip ko pa (I’m still thinking).

The McDonald’s PH Packaging Gag – Ewan (I Don’t Know)
The McDonald’s PH Packaging Gag – Kahit Ano (Just Anything)

Pizza Hut

Playing on the recent Internet craze on grilled balut (cooked fertilised duck egg), the Philippine arm of Pizza Hut has announced that it is launching a stuffed crust pizza with grilled balut.

Chooks to Go

This popular Filipino roast chicken brand just seemingly ignored its tagline Masarap kahit walang sauce (Delicious even without sauce), as it now announced that its roast chicken will now include a separate sauce packet for each purchase.

Trust

This April Fools gag will just make you ask “why”, as the condom brand Trust has said that it is launching a fried chicken-flavoured condom.