Happy Friday and welcome back to our weekly roundup of food PR and social news!
With the Super Bowl happening this weekend, the biggest names in the food industry are on top of their games to make an impression. Here’s a taste of what’s happening this week.
Social Spotlight
Pizza Hut is searching for a gold medal with its latest campaign: the Golden Knots Pizza. In celebration of the 50th Super Bowl Sunday (also, historically one of Pizza Hut’s busiest days of the year), the international pizza chain is giving away 50 limited-edition golden pizzas. Yes, the pizza is actually made with real (edible) 24-karat gold flakes. Consumers in participating states can enter to win, and on game day, 50 lucky fans will be delivered a golden pizza right to their door.
The news was announced on the Golden Pizza blog post, accompanied by announcements on Pizza Hut’s social media channels. Aside from this likely being a first for pizza, Pizza Hut is doing a great job of building hype and creating awareness by sharing on multiple social channels.
From live Periscopes to enticing Instagram videos, Pizza Hut is really building excitement before Super Bowl Sunday. Fan reactions have been mixed, but Pizza Hut remains on top of its game in responding to questions, concerns and engagement from fans. We’re looking forward to seeing what happens on Sunday!
Trend Watch: Food + Restaurant Industry News
For years the Super Bowl has been one of the biggest advertising events of the year, but in the social media age, it’s no longer just about commercials. Social media conversation around the Super Bowl continues to grow every year. A trend quickly gaining speed right now – and just in time for the big game – is branded Twitter emojis.
Coca-Cola was the first company to have a branded emoji, released this past September with the famous ‘Share A Coke’ campaign, and since then, more brands want in on the action.
Budweiser and Pepsi have already signed million-dollar deals with Twitter and began rolling out branded emojis this week. So far, they’ve already incorporated the emojis into their Super Bowl campaigns.
These small, yet expensive, icons are worth big bucks to top brands. Twitter users love this fun way to engage with their favorite brands, and the emojis used in conjunction with campaign hashtags help to leave an impression on consumers:
PR Lesson of the Week
Not every brand can spend millions on a custom emoji, but there are important lessons to be learned from what some of these leading companies are doing. As multi-platform digital integration continues to grow every year, a comprehensive campaign is really the best way to reach your audience. Here are some tips to creating a well-rounded campaign:
1. Take the time to plan
A strong campaign takes weeks or months of planning. There are lots of details and things that need to happen before, during and after you launch a campaign. Start early and give your team enough time to get everything done.
2. Prepare for every medium
Be sure to develop messaging and integrate efforts across all forms of your brand’s communication: owned, paid, shared and earned. In other words, make sure your website, social media channels, paid advertising, media coverage and blog all work together cohesively to communicate your message and support your objectives.
3. Set goals
Having measurable goals is essential for gauging the success of your campaign, and will help you gain valuable insights to apply to future campaigns. Whether your goal is to secure X media impressions or increase sales by a certain amount, identifying your goals is the first step in planning for how to achieve them.
More Food News
- White Castle to Use Cage-Free Hen Eggs by 2025
- McDonald’s customers take to Twitter to ask #WheresTheCheese?
- Filled Cupcake Oreos Really Do Exist
- Uber launches new app to bring food to your door
Thanks for stopping by to this week’s A La Carte food industry news!
What are some of your favorite Super Bowl campaigns so far? Tweet with us @ThinkBelleCom!
