With its new "Go Deep" campaign, Papa John's (NASDAQ:PZZA) will be tossing a lot of dough if the Steelers or Seahawks complete a deep toss of their own come Super Bowl Sunday. That's because anyone who registers at Papa's website before the big game can claim a free pie if either the Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger or the Seahawks' Matt Hasselbeck completes a touchdown pass of 86 yards or more.
Let's put this promotion in context: Through 39 Super Bowl games, no one has ever snagged a reception that long. When teams are stuck deep on their own side of the field, logic dictates that they either run the ball or go for short pass plays to nickel and dime their way out of poor field position. You also happen to have a pair of pretty stingy defenses on squads that relied on their running attacks to get them this far.
So I'm not going out on a limb by saying that you're not getting a free pizza on Feb. 5. This is one of those shoot-the-basketball-from-half-court-to-win-a-cool-million contests that hinges on the unlikely occurrence of a total fluke. It's more about style than probability. Papa John's realizes as much, and that's why it will still award all entrants with free soft drink coupons if the unlikely doesn't happen.
However, it's still a brilliant move by Papa John's. By getting pizza lovers to go online, it helps illustrate the biggest contrast of all between the nearly 3,000-unit chain and its larger rival Domino's (NYSE:DPZ). Papa has been taking online orders for a couple of years now, while Domino's is only getting around to testing it in some markets. Papa John's also offers online coupons, while Domino's does not.
It's alarming to see Domino's so far behind on this front. Even Yum! Brands' (NYSE:YUM) Pizza Hut chain offers online ordering, Web-based coupons, and even a "Very Into Pizza" frequent-dining club. On the other hand, taking its time with the Internet hasn't necessarily cost Domino's. The company grew its comps by 4.9% last year, nearly keeping pace with Papa's 5.1% rise in same-store sales. But ignoring the growing convenience of online interactivity is likely to backfire on Domino's eventually.
I know I can't be the only one who got fed up with "Thanks for calling Domino's; can you hold, please?" before hanging up and pulling up PapaJohns.com. That's why this promotion isn't so much about a Hail Mary as it is about educating the consumer.
It's been nine months since Nigel Travis took over as CEO for Papa John's after serving as president and COO at Blockbuster (NYSE:BBI), and it's clear that the company has improved during his reign in terms of making its promotional campaigns more entertaining. This latest promotion is brilliant, in that it gives Papa John's home-field advantage once a hungry browser registers. Will Domino's be able to hold back Papa John's and come back even stronger when it gets a shot at playing offense?
Man, football is such a great game.
Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz doesn't mind music or movies with his grub, just as long as he never hears "make it a Papa John's night" as the new ad campaign. He does not own shares in any company mentioned in this story. The Fool has a disclosure policy. He is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early.
