WORK
TOPPERS PIZZA
A CINDERELLA STORY
March is known for three things: college basketball, ides and, thanks to Toppers, Pizza And 1. The promo named and designed by Darling came back for its sophomore season. This time it brought an ambitious media plan and a one-dollar order of Topperstix off the bench.
PROMOTION
SOCIAL MEDIA
CONNECTED TV
DIGITAL DISPLAY
EMAIL MARKETING
PRINT
OUTDOOR
IT STARTED WITH THE CONCEPT
Pizza And 1 is simple, memorable and connects the promotion with one of the greatest eating/sportswatching occasions of the year. Throw in an order of highly craveable Topperstix, and you’ve got yourself plenty of motivation to order.
THAT EXTENDED ACROSS MULTIPLE PLATFORMS
Toppers does not sponsor the NCAA tournament. Nor do they run national television advertising. But they can play as scrappy as a 9 seed with hopes of reaching the Elite Eight (not to get specific or anything).
Facebook was the natural fit. It’s where busted brackets are bemoaned and cinderellas are celebrated. But the Pizza And 1 deal spread its wings to Instagram, TikTok, programmatic video & display, email, outdoor, print, radio and Hulu.
Our media team was able to efficiently spread the word at the local level, across 70 Toppers locations. With a spend of under $85,000, we were able to make almost 14M social and digital impressions to deliver a return of over $5.
DUNKING ON TV
In the highly concentrated Milwaukee market, the local Toppers franchisee leveraged this promotion to test spot cable to drive incremental awareness. Between the men’s tournament, women’s tournament and adjacent programming like SportsCenter and the World Baseball Classic, we ran nearly 650 spots in a two-week period with actual delivery registering at 12% over original purchase.
"THE UNIQUE PROMOTIONS THAT DARLING HELPS US CREATE PULL DOUBLE DUTY. THEY DRIVE SALES WHILE ALSO CREATING A LASTING BRAND IMPRESSION. AND I THINK IT'S BECAUSE THEY DEEPLY UNDERSTAND OUR VOICE AND OUR CUSTOMERS"
—
KATE FISHER
TOPPERS DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL MARKETING
WINNING & ADVANCING
483%
INCREASE IN DEAL REDEMPTION YEAR-OVER-YEAR
$5.17
RETURN ON DIGITAL & SOCIAL AD SPEND
15+ MILLION
TOTAL IMPRESSIONS IN 3 WEEKS
All the media metrics come with an obvious caveat. Did they pay off? Sure, the plan might have been sneaky smart, but did it make the register ring?
Year-over-year, this same promotion sold 483% more than it did in 2022.
Ultimately, our goal was to drive awareness and incentivize trial. By combining a relevant promotion with a thoughtful media plan, we were able to attract a larger cheering section for Toppers.
