Blaze Fast-Fire’d Pizza was one of the fastest-growing chains for years, but the pandemic slowed things down for everyone – Blaze included. Now 10 years in, Blaze is ready to pump up the growth once again with the help of its new chief marketing officer, Vince Szwajkowski, and the introduction of its own app.
Szwajkowski stepped into the role in October 2020 after spending years in the hotel and movie-theater industries. This is his first foray into the restaurant environment, and he thinks that mid-pandemic was the perfect time to be thrown into the fire.
“I think when you come into a business that is constantly being challenged every day in every state, it really allowed me a great opportunity to learn about the business and about our guest…and how our value proposition has remained true,” Szwajkowski told NRN.
Part of Szwajkowski’s strategy in the increasingly crowded digital marketing world is to hyper-focus in specific segments rather than one large national ad campaign.
The biggest thing the brand has done over the past eight months is develop its own app.
Not yet released, the app will give customers the chance to interact with the growing brand even more than before, and give the fast-casual chain increased access to customers daily.
Blaze hopes to someday nab a SuperBowl commercial slot, but for now, the chain is releasing its first video advertisement in combination with digital marketing. Szwajkowski talked to NRN about all of that and more.