Team recognized as part of inaugural award for success in synergizing
sports/brand marketing
LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Sports partnerships play a critical role in the success of Papa John's
marketing mix worldwide, with more than 150 partners in the U.S. alone.
This year, to acknowledge top performers in this marketing strategy,
Papa John's recently created an all-new Sports Partner of the Year award
and recognized the Cleveland Browns as the first-ever recipient.
The winner was chosen based on a number of criteria, including how its
partnership with Papa John's tapped into the passion of fans and
connected them to the Papa John's brand in a way that was truly
breakthrough.
The Browns were able to uniquely excel in leveraging fans' passion for
the team and connect the Papa John's brand to the things fans love about
football. This included developing and offering an in-market product for
Papa John's, the Cleveland Brownie, which gave Papa John's customers a
unique dessert that directly connected them to a long-standing Cleveland
Browns icon: Brownie the Elf.
The partnership also encouraged an organic brand connection between Papa
John's and the Browns by enabling fans to redeem Papa Rewards points,
the brand's digital loyalty rewards program, to earn exclusive team
items and nostalgic collectibles.
"The Cleveland Browns exemplify everything we look for in successful
partners," said Melissa Richards-Person, Vice President of Global Field
Marketing for Papa John's. "They've fostered intimacy and a close,
reciprocal relationship with their fans, much like Papa John's has done
through its promise of ‘Better Ingredients. Better Pizza.' They've gone
above and beyond in their first year of partnership, and we look forward
to what's to come next season."
"It's is our distinguished honor to have been recognized for this award
in partnership with the local Papa John's owner operators," said Randy
Domain, vice president of corporate partnerships with the Cleveland
Browns. "Papa John's has embraced the vision of true collaboration and
activation with their Cleveland Browns partnership.
Papa John's recognizes the passionate fan base of the Cleveland Browns,
and that passion was displayed as our fans showed significant lift in
supporting Papa John's programs through increased sales of pizzas on
days of the week that were typically lower in sales volume."
The winner was announced onstage at this year's Papa John's
International Operations Conference in Orlando, Fla., at the Rosen
Shingle Creek Resort and Conference Center, on April 1.
About Papa John's
Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, Papa John's International, Inc.
(NASDAQ: PZZA) is the world's third largest pizza delivery company. For
13 of the past 15 years, consumers have rated Papa John's No. 1 in
customer satisfaction among all national pizza chains in the American
Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Papa John's is the Official Pizza
Sponsor of the National Football League and Super Bowl XLIX. For more
information about the company or to order pizza online, visit Papa
John's at www.papajohns.com.
Also visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PapaJohns,
or on Twitter at http://twitter.com/PapaJohns.
For Papa John's International, Inc.
Traci Brodnax, 404-460-9659
Traci.Brodnax@edelman.com
Source: Papa John's International, Inc.
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