Challenge

PizzaExpress had become reduced to dough balls, date nights and discounts. Discounting drove traffic, but eroded the brand and taught customers to wait for deals. With a huge lapsed customer base and limited budget, the task was to build frequency and bring people back in a way that restored value to the brand. 

INSIGHT

PizzaExpress was known and liked, but too often chosen for the deal. To grow we needed to turn familiarity into loyalty.

IDEA >
FOR THE LOVE OF PIZZA

For the love of pizza gave PizzaExpress a platform to drive loyalty at scale. At its heart was a genuinely generous scheme designed to bring lapsed customers back, increase visit frequency and reward people for choosing the brand for more than the deal.

CULTURAL
ADVANTAGE

With loyalty as the growth engine, we used the wider platform to put PizzaExpress back into culture. From launching PEX loyalty with David Mitchell, to using special build outdoor for menu news, to creating talkable moments like a vegan restaurant and garlic butter lip balm, we made the brand feel lively, relevant and worth caring about again. At the same time, we helped PizzaExpress better harness its music heritage through PizzaExpress Live, its live music platform, Behind the Base, its artist content series, and PX Records, its record label.