Pizza Inn and Ryan’s Grill Buffet and Bakery announced separately this week that they would introduce their first systemwide branding campaigns. Each chain will employ television and radio commercials, starting this month, to supplement their long-standing marketing strategies built around events and discount promotions, they each said.
Pizza Inn, the 250-unit chain based in The Colony, Texas, worked with Boulder, Colo.-based agency TDA Advertising & Design to develop the restaurant’s new campaign, centered on the tag “One thing any family can agree on.”
The pizza and buffet concept currently is offering a Family Feast coupon deal online that includes two large one-topping pizzas, a medium chocolate pizzert, or pizza-shaper dessert, and a ½ gallon iced tea or 2-liter soft drink for $24.99.
In one 30-second TV spot for Pizza Inn, two twins are dressed exactly alike — complete with matching unibrows — and chewing their food in unison. Their father remarks that the synchronized eating “was OK when you were kids, but now it’s just creepy.” The twins and their dad begin arguing until Mom interjects. Order is restored when everyone agrees that the pizza from Pizza Inn is good.
Pizza Inn also will have 60-second radio spots available in the campaign. Media buying will be handled by the chain’s franchisees in its 17-state system. TDA’s other clients include Johnson & Johnson, General Electric and USA Networks.
Ryan’s, a division of Eagan, Minn.-based Buffet Holdings Inc., will introduce an integrated marketing campaign complete with original music and a proprietary jingle, “Whadja Get?” Marketing agency Schafer Condon Carter developed the program for the 225-unit Ryan’s. The campaign will include 15- and 30-second TV ads and 30-second radio spots, in addition to digital, direct and in-store materials, as well as a proprietary scratch card game.
“This campaign gives a distinct brand voice to the Ryan’s restaurant experience,” said Mike Andrews, chief executive officer of Buffets. “It celebrates both the emotional and functional benefits of Ryan’s unique platform in a way that will resonate with our customers. The spirit of Ryan’s personality is expressed in every vertical element of this campaign.”
Contact Mark Brandau at [email protected].
