Pizza has long been considered by gamers as one of the best foods to consume while gaming.
The crisp crust, the sumptuous tomato sauce, and the cheese that melts in one’s mouth is so satisfying especially when consumed during an intense gaming session.
This is why each time a typical gamer embarks on his or her gaming session, there’s always a good chance that a pizza has been ordered beforehand.
After all, when someone has already started playing, it’s hard to do so when there’s a looming pizza order on the horizon.
… BUT what if you can order your pizza in the very game you’re playing?
That would make things sooooo much easier, right?
The question though is if it’s possible…
… and that’s exactly what Pizza Hut Australia sought to answer through its campaign in 2022!
Ordering Pizza in the Middle of a Warzone
Launching a campaign targeting gamers is a challenging endeavor because this segment has an audience whose attention span is already preoccupied.
Instead of treating this as a setback, Pizza Hut Australia and its agency partner, VML Sydney, took a step back and dug deep into the interests of their target audience.
Photo from Unsplash
As it turns out, the pizza chain and the ad agency didn’t have to split their hairs in finding a solution to their predicament… all they had to do was leverage the popularity of pizza among gamers.
So, how did the campaign play out?
Pizza Hut Australia turned its sights on “Call of Duty: Warzone,” a popular multiplayer shooter that has thousands of active players each day and a “proximity chat” feature that allowed gamers in a given area in-game to communicate with each other freely.
The pizza brand gathered a team of streamers whose role was to play a game of hide and seek with other players. To notify the latter of their presence and free pizza, the streamers utilized the “proximity chat” feature of “Call of Duty: Warzone.”
Gamers who succeeded were given free pizzas… with the streamers taking their orders.
Photo from VML
Were all these efforts worth it?
YES!
The campaign received widespread participation among gamers as 400 pizzas were given away on opening weekend alone.
Also, Pizza Hut Australia generated lots of buzz for its brand because it was able to tap into an audience segment that was positively inclined towards its core product.
Lastly, the “Pizza Hunt” campaign was shortlisted in the Brand Experience category of the 2024 D&AD Awards.
These results are definitely a testament to the success of Pizza Hut Australia and VML Sydney, so kudos to them!
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Capturing the attention of a target audience is one of the most challenging tasks brands and marketers face.
This is because attention spans these days are short, making it difficult to stay relevant in the eyes of everyone.
By approaching gamers in their natural turf, Pizza Hut Australia was able to genuinely and meaningfully interact with its target customers.
As a result, the campaign didn’t feel nor look like an ad placement; instead, it was an authentic experience that gamers genuinely enjoyed.
The bottom line?
If you truly want to gain attention for your brand in a meaningful and authentic way, immerse yourself in the world of your target audience!
This way, your campaigns will become an experience to be remembered instead of an ad placement that’s to be dismissed and forgotten.
About The Dynamic Marketing Communiqué’s
“Fridays: Gorillas of Guerrilla Marketing”
Jay Conrad Levinson (1984) said that Guerrilla Marketing “works because it’s simple to appreciate, easy to execute, and inexpensive.”
Guerrilla Marketing is unconventional.
Looking beyond the traditional ways of advertising, marketers and advertisers need to spice things up in order for their brand to have campaigns that not only make an impact but also stick to their target market’s mind.
Guerrilla Marketing usually aims to have direct contact with consumers.
This type of direct contact should spark an emotional reaction that leads to consumers effectively remembering the brand.
It’s about making a big impression and making that impression last a long time (if not forever).
Guerrilla Marketing can be inexpensive.
The effect of this is being able to create a buzz around the brand, and the strategy used to market it. Almost everything is passed around through word-of-mouth.
Word-of-mouth is one of the greatest outcomes and it usually doesn’t cost anything.
This is every business’ or brand’s dream!
Every Friday, we publish tips, examples, and other useful content on unconventional ways of marketing and promotion.
Learn more about how to grab your target market’s attention and make an amazing first and lasting impression without having to spend a lot of money.
Businesses don’t really need to spend much for a guerrilla campaign. You do not need a big budget to be successful. You just need creativity and a good imagination.
Hope you find this week’s guerrilla marketing insight interesting and helpful.
Stay tuned for next Friday’s “Gorillas of Guerrilla Marketing!”
Cheers,
Dyane Diasanta
Senior Content Writer
Valens Dynamic Marketing Capabilities
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