“Fixed-Rate Pizza” offered Canadians a chance to lock in the price of an extra-large pizza for a full year.

This story was originally published in the 2023 fall issue of strategy magazine. Check back here as we roll out the Brands of the Year each day this week.

Even though Pizza Pizza only recently started talking about being a “pizza for the people,” it’s a brand mantra that rings true for anyone who grew up with the QSR in their hometown.

“Most people have had a bit of a gritty experience in a Pizza Pizza,” says Adrian Fuoco, the company’s VP of marketing. “The instinct might be to shy away from that because it could drag us in the wrong direction… But it has also given us a bit of street cred. It’s the place that fed you when it was the only place open late at night, or where you hung out with your friends during lunch in high school. Everyone has come into a Pizza Pizza, and that’s a very inclusive vibe for us to lean into.”

The new brand expression – “Everyone Deserves Pizza” – has only been in market for a little over a year, but Fuoco says it came from a desire to refresh the company’s marketing approach that predated his arrival in late 2019, following more than four years at Boston Pizza.

Pizza Pizza’s marketing legacy is not what many would describe as “bold.” The chain was best known for a jingle that spelled out its phone number – “9- 6-7, 11-11.” And, like much of the pizza QSR category, many of its ads were highly tactical, focusing on various promotions, sales and low prices, across TV, radio and flyers.

That tactical approach was very successful for Pizza Pizza – it’s what helped turn a single Toronto pizzeria that opened on the last day of 1967 into the country’s biggest pizza chain, says senior director of marketing Amber Winters, who has worked at the company for the last two decades. But with competition intensifying from U.S. brands and a store footprint that was continuing to expand nationally, it was time for the Pizza Pizza brand to evolve and no longer rely on “the same tricks.”

“Everyone loves a good deal,” Winters says. “And you can make that shine with really good creative. But there are other needs our customers have that are pushing us in directions that we can now explore better with this new platform.”

“If you’re just going to talk about the value of your pizza, anyone can do that,” Fuoco adds. “QSR pizza is somewhat commoditized, which is why everybody’s got all these deals out there. And that’s why it’s super difficult to stand out if you just keep cranking out a different deal, because there’s already so much of that going on.”

After enlisting Zulu Alpha Kilo as its creative agency in 2021, Pizza Pizza went to work on the new strategy that attempted to zero Pizza Pizza in on what makes it different. “We’ve been around for years, and in a lot of towns. Wherever you turn, there’s a Pizza Pizza… We’re one of you, and we’re going to advocate on your behalf on things that matter to Canadians,” says Fuoco.

With the new “Everyone Deserves Pizza” platform in place, the team looked for ways for the brand to be a part of the cultural conversation. Making pizza affordable was a good place to start. Tapping into anxiety Canadians have about mortgage prices, interest rates and inflation, “Fixed-Rate Pizza” offered them a chance to lock in the price of an extra-large pizza for a full year, complete with a cheeky application form that redirected consumers to an online ordering page.

The campaign was so successful that Pizza Pizza decided to build on the idea. It worked with Zulu Alpha Kilo to quickly put together TV spots that spoofed financial infomercials, adding in an even stronger brand sell. “Fixed-Rate Pizza” is now the most popular promotion Pizza Pizza has ever run, and was extended until the end of 2023.

The “Dip Roller” promoted Pizza Pizza’s dipping sauce, one of its most popular menu items.

“What was such a beautiful thing as a marketer is that the creative broke through and people liked it, but the deal itself became a big seller and money-maker for us,” he says. “I think that’s the golden jewel for a retailer, when you can find something that people respond to that does a good job of driving sustained business.”

While Pizza Pizza looked to evolve its marketing beyond tactical work, that didn’t mean leaving value- and promotionfocused messaging behind entirely. Instead, the brand approached it in a way that laddered up to a more resonant brand identity.

For example, last summer Pizza Pizza shifted its sights to “shrinkflation” – a practice where a product is reduced in size or quality while the price stays the same – launching the “Growflation Pizza,” which offered a medium pizza for the same price as a small – equating to 44% more pizza. But the “Everyone Deserves Pizza” platform is about more than price.

A month after first offering “Fixed-Rate Pizza,” another campaign debuted that turned its pizza into pie charts that encapsulated all the kinds of people who are worthy of its food – regardless of how they pronounce “Toronto” or what kind of car they can afford.

Pizza Pizza followed with other executions that showed its appreciation for everyone who comes into its restaurant. For Valentine’s Day, for example, the QSR helped those who often get overlooked during the holiday by renaming itself “Pizza” and offering free slices to single people. It also introduced a “Dip Roller” that tapped into the fact that dipping sauce – something rarely mentioned in pizza marketing – was both one of Pizza Pizza’s most popular menu items and a major driver of purchase consideration.

“Doing something like offering 25% off on Valentine’s Day doesn’t seem to drive the same interest,” Fuoco says. “But it’s also the kind of thing anyone can replicate, so the bigger thing is that there has to be some kind of shared purpose and connection between everything. You’re not just doing random stunts for the sake of it.”

The QSR’s ”Everyone Deserves Pizza” campaign celebrated all types of people who enjoy its pies.

In addition to rethinking its approach to storytelling, Pizza Pizza also reconsidered what media channels to use. Fuoco says that flyers, for example, are still effective. But Canada’s population is growing alongside Pizza Pizza’s national footprint, so effectively producing enough flyers has become much more expensive. So, the brand is rolling back its flyer program, still delivering enough so it can realize its benefits, but redirecting some of that budget to other media (including TikTok) and technology (such as data or the Pizza Pizza app to make its CRM messages more effective).

Through the first half of 2023, Pizza Pizza’s same-store sales were up 12.4% year-over-year. In 2022, same-store sales were up 17.8%. Since pandemic restrictions were lifted, the company has refocused on expansion. With over 730 Pizza Pizza restaurants in Canada, the company plans to continue restaurant expansion by 3% to 4%, while also continuing a renovation program for existing stores.

“There’s almost an expectation that you will get great deals from Pizza Pizza,” Winters says. “When we noticed the lift in traffic, we started moving in new directions with our marketing. But even though it is more compelling, it is also more of a challenge to set yourself apart. Even if there is a constant acceleration of pace, we can now use that to our advantage to work quickly and keep ourselves interesting.”