Brand and Messaging Strategy

The doors are open and you’re spending on marketing in as many ways as possible, but there might be a missing piece: your message. We’re not talking about coupons and menu mailers, but your calling card — the core message.

What do you want people to say about your business when you’re not around? The best way to make sure they’re saying what you want them to is by staying consistent.

Slogans.

Have a clear, simple message that customers won’t forget. At Caliente Pizza & Draft House, our brand is built around our award-winning history. Each employee wears a “3X World Champs” shirt, and the slogan “Pizza of Champions” is everywhere, from uniforms to our website, billboards and printed materials. It’s even on the beer glasses.

Employees.

Don’t underestimate the way your employees represent your brand. Being customer-facing, their attitudes and even uniforms are a good start. For example, if you’re a ’70s throwback pizzeria, selling pies alongside free good vibes, tie-dye shirts would be the perfect uniform.

Pizzerias.

Your restaurant should match your message. This is where the message comes alive. Can you guess what’s on the walls in our pizzerias? If you guessed trophies and awards, you’re right. You’ll find framed articles from the publications talking about our victories, as well. We even have a World Pizza Champions jacket hanging on display, and we go the extra mile with custom wooden pizza peels that have our accolades engraved on them. When you walk into our locations, you feel like you’re walking into a world-class, championship-winning pizzeria.

Social Media.

You can’t forget social media — ever. There are too many potential customers to be found over Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the platforms yet to come. We build our messaging into our respective pages, incorporating pictures of trophies alongside our pizzas. If we produce a video for YouTube, we film in front of walls that display our accolades and slogan. The point is the audience is always seeing our slogan, logo or awards.

Competitions.

When we take part in competitions, we make sure our videos include the messaging and encourage our customers to root for us. When we win, we celebrate with a great special around the championship pizza. We have even hosted events inviting customers to celebrate our championships with us at a cake-cutting — who doesn’t love cake? Ultimately, we try to include our customers in our success, and therefore, our messaging.

The interesting part of our story is, at the start, our brand was built around the great craft beer we serve. But, as our company evolved, so did our brand. After a few years, if your brand doesn’t quite fit your company’s true nature anymore, don’t be afraid to change it — just do it full-tilt and consistently.

Speaking of going full tilt, if you’ve kept up with this series, you’re off to a great, rapid start. However, as we’ll discuss in the next installment, you might begin to run into bottlenecks. Don’t worry, though, nothing is insurmountable.

Nick Bogacz is the founder and president of Caliente Pizza & Draft House in Pittsburgh.  Instagram: @caliente_pizza