Papa John's Rallies Facebook Users as Official Pizza of NCAA(R) March Madness(R)
Papa John's campaign offers "fans" of Papa John's a trip to this year's NCAA® Men's Final Four® courtesy of Coca-Cola®
LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar. 16, 2009--
As the Official Pizza of NCAA® March Madness®,
Papa John’s and Coca-Cola, the Official Fan Refreshment of the NCAA, are
giving anyone who becomes a “fan” of Papa John’s on Facebook®
from March 16-24th a chance to win two tickets to this year’s
NCAA Men’s Final Four in Detroit, April 4-6.
Facebook users 18 years of age and older are eligible to win just for
becoming a fan of Papa John’s. The promotion is the first time Papa
John’s has implemented such a program exclusively through Facebook. The
promotion builds on the company’s offer late last year of a free medium
pizza to all new Facebook fans of the brand, which gained Papa John’s
more than 170,000 new fans in just 24 hours.
“As the first national pizza company to offer online and text ordering,
Papa John’s prides itself on being the technology leader in our
industry. Facebook extends our ability to reach a broad range of
customers who are always looking for new ways to interact with their
favorite brands,” said John Schnatter, Papa John’s International
founder, chairman and interim chief executive officer. “Our customers
are technologically savvy and they love sports. NCAA March Madness is
consistently one of our busiest times of year, making it the perfect
opportunity for us to thank our customers for 25 years of patronage with
a chance to attend the Men’s Final Four.”
To promote the campaign, Papa John’s will advertise on Facebook the
Monday after the Division I Men’s Basketball Championship field is
announced. The benefits of becoming a fan of Papa John’s on Facebook are
many – both to the user and to the brand.
“Once a fan, users are rewarded with discount offers, company updates,
interactive chats with other fans of the brand and opportunities to be
rewarded with special promotions introduced on the site,” said Jim
Ensign, Papa John’s vice president, marketing communications. “Papa
John’s, on the other hand, gets first-hand feedback on particular offers
and new product introductions, as well as uncut rhetoric on customer
service, brand impressions and promotions. As fans are researching teams
in the tournament, filling out brackets and trash-talking with their
friends online, we’re hopeful that our page becomes a destination as
well for unique, exclusive, one-time offers on our pizza loaded with our
quality ingredients.”
In addition to the offer to new Facebook fans, Papa John’s also is
giving all customers the chance to try their limited-time offer
of a large Ultimate Pepperoni™ pizza for $11.99 during NCAA March
Madness (offer ends April 5). And to wash it down, add two 20-oz.
Coca-Cola beverages to an order for $2.39 and get a FREE 20-oz. Coke
Zero if the order is placed online at papajohns.com.
Served on a thin and crispy crust, the Ultimate Pepperoni is loaded with
double the amount of a traditional pepperoni pizza – more than 80 slices
– topped with mozzarella, Parmesan, and Romano cheeses, and sprinkled
with Italian herb seasonings.
Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, Papa John's International, Inc.
(NASDAQ: PZZA) is the world's third largest pizza company. For nine
years running, consumers have rated Papa John's No. 1 in customer
satisfaction among all national pizza chains in the highly regarded
American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Papa John's also ranks
first among pizza companies in the 2008 Brand Keys Customer Loyalty
Engagement Index, was honored by Restaurants & Institutions Magazine
(R&I) with the 2008 Silver Award for Consumers’ Choice in Chains in the
pizza segment, and was named 2007 Pizza Today Chain of the Year. For
more information about the company or to order pizza online, visit Papa
John's at www.papajohns.com.
About The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company is the world’s largest beverage company,
refreshing consumers with nearly 500 sparkling and still brands. Along
with Coca-Cola, recognized as the world’s most valuable brand, the
Company’s portfolio includes 12 other billion dollar brands, including
Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Coca-Cola Zero, vitaminwater, POWERADE, Minute
Maid and Georgia Coffee. Globally, we are the No. 1 provider of
sparkling beverages, juices and juice drinks and ready-to-drink teas and
coffees. Through the world’s largest beverage distribution system,
consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy the Company’s beverages at a
rate of nearly 1.6 billion servings a day. With an enduring commitment
to building sustainable communities, our Company is focused on
initiatives that protect the environment, conserve resources and enhance
the economic development of the communities where we operate. For more
information about our Company, please visit our Web site at www.thecoca-colacompany.com.
About the NCAA
The NCAA is a membership-led nonprofit association of colleges and
universities committed to supporting academic and athletics
opportunities for more than 400,000 student-athletes at more than 1,000
member colleges and universities. Each year, more than 54,000
student-athletes compete in NCAA championships in Divisions I, II and
III sports. Visit www.NCAA.org
and www.NCAA.com
for more details about the Association, its goals and members and
corporate partnerships that help support programs for student-athletes.
The NCAA is proud to have the following elite companies as official
Corporate Champions - AT&T, Coca-Cola and Pontiac - and the following
elite companies as official Corporate Partners-Enterprise, Hershey’s,
The Hartford, Lowe’s, Sheraton and State Farm.
NCAA, Final Four, and March Madness are trademarks owned or licensed
by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
Source: Papa John's International, Inc.
Papa John's International, Inc.
Tish Muldoon, Director, Public
Relations, 502-261-4987
or
Fleishman-Hillard
Doug
Terfehr, 314-982-9134