Pizza & Poker call

Written Explanation

Why is this work relevant for the brand?

In Colombia, one of the favorite plans when friends get together is pizza and beer. Interestingly, most local pizza shops close after 11pm, when the party hype begins. That's why Poker, the beer of friends, had to do something to venture into a category (food) in a completely different way. Using a highly unconventional media, the phone lines of pizza shops after their closing time, we launched a whole operation in favor of friendship, taking orders after 11pm and saving the gatherings of over 20,000 friends by delivering them their favorite pizzas – no matter the brand – with Poker.

Cultural context

Poker beer has made everything for friendship since 1929, always dedicated to enhancing gatherings among friends. But this time, we didn't just find a problem; we discovered an opportunity related to friends' encounters. In Colombia, one of the most cherished pastimes among friends is sharing pizzas and beers. However, finding a pizza after 11 pm, just when the reunion is more interesting, is nearly impossible, with 95% of pizza shops closing. In a regular scenario, you open your phone app and find any pizza, that is not your favorite but, still working, right? Well, you might not believe it but over 70% of deliveries in Colombia are still ordered by phone. So, we seized on these factors to orchestrate a groundbreaking operation, ensuring that friends can enjoy their favorite plan anytime, anywhere.

Background

• Situation
• Brief

Poker, the beer of friends since 1929, always strives to connect with as many consumers as possible, including both men and women aged 18–24, to foster their gatherings and friendships.

Its consumers are those who relish diverse social plans, always seeking varied options, with food being a key territory. Naturally, Poker beer had to capitalize on this.

Thus, the challenge was to devise a creative solution that would significantly impact business and positioning within the food territory, focusing specifically on pizza, to achieve ambitious objectives:

-       Reach a minimum of 8,000 friends in less than a month.

-       Increase the attribute "goes well with food" by at least 12%, aiming to solidify our position within the food territory.

-       Achieve a minimum 8% increase in one of the beer category's main attributes: "The beer that sets trends."

The creative idea

11pm, when friends are in the hype of the party, what's the first thing on their minds? Pizza & Beer.

However, in Colombia, nearly 95% of pizza shops close their doors at this hour.

That’s’ why Poker, the beer of friends, partnered with a lot of pizza shops to launch Pizza & Poker Call.

With 70% of deliveries still made by phone, we capitalized on this by redirecting calls from closed shops to the Poker line. Here, friends could order pizzas from their favorite spots, especially the local gems often frequented during gatherings. We took their orders and paired them with Poker beer.

This strategy allowed us to dominate the pizza market, ensuring friends could enjoy their favorite slices alongside our beer. From a hidden kitchen, we prepared pizzas from our partners, delivering them with POKER beer straight to their homes to keep the gatherings full of flavor.

The strategy

• Data gathering
• Target audience (consumer demographic / individuals / organisations)
• Relevance to platform
• Approach

Since 1929, Poker has been the beer that brings friends together. Historically it has been a relaxed, unpretentious, neighborhood store beer, however, the dynamics of friendship were evolving. With a notable 2.2 PP increase in group dining occasions among our audience, we recognized the need to venture into the realm of food.

Pizza and beer is the favorite companion for group gatherings, but we faced a dilemma: 95% of pizza shops close just as parties heated up after 11 pm. But then, a breakthrough: 70% of deliveries in the country were still made by phone.

Harnessing this insight, we connected closed pizza shops with our own brand-new pizza operation, ensuring that Poker not only maintained its reputation as the beer that does everything for friendship but also capitalizing on the food territory, uniting friends over the perfect combination of pizza and beer, creating memorable moments worth sharing.

The execution

• Implementation
• Timeline
• Placement
• Scale

It all began when we formed partnerships with various neighborhood pizzerias. They provided us with assembled, but uncooked, pizzas, which we then arranged in our hidden kitchen. This allowed us to have a lot of pizzas from different pizzerias each night. Every weekend (from Thursday to Sunday) for a month, we invited friends to call their favorite pizza shops after 11pm, only to find that were closed but also that now Poker Beer would deliver the pizzas, no matter the pizza brand.

We managed the phone lines with simple IVR messages: "We're closed, but I'll redirect you to the Poker line." Our own call center then took the orders and sent them to our hidden kitchen, where our delivery personnel promptly delivered the pizzas.

In the end, we received no complaints, only compliments. The best tips we received were seeing friends gathered enjoying their favorite plan, regardless of the hour.

The results

• Sales
• Engagement
• Reach
• Achievement against business targets

This groundbreaking idea enabled us to achieve historic results for the brand, aligning perfectly with the objectives of the campaign:

Over 20,000 friends were reached, fostering stronger connections among our audience.

+18% increase in the "goes well with food" attribute, solidifying our position within the food territory.

+ 15% rise in the "the beer that sets trends" attribute, showcasing our brand's innovative spirit.

Furthermore, our allied pizza shops experienced a +30% increase in sales, a remarkable achievement considering they were closed after 11 pm just when we activated our line.

This success not only reinforced our brand's commitment to do everything for friendships but also underscored our ability to drive tangible results in the food territory too.

Social behaviour.

The favorite meal for friends is pizza and beer, often included in their plans. However, in Colombia, pizza shops close after 11 pm, right when the party is at its peak. While they could order from certain pizza shops through delivery apps, these are not their preferred choices, as their favorites are closed. Additionally, Colombians prefer calling rather than using apps for ordering food. This led us to utilize a different channel to reach them, the phone lines of pizza shops after closing hours, thereby increasing deliveries from local pizza shops after 11 pm.

Local market:

As the beer of friends, we're committed to going above and beyond for friendship, even if it means venturing into categories outside our own. In Colombia, where our friends enjoy pizza and prefer ordering by phone, we've launched a full-scale operation to deliver both pizza and Poker beer. While we may not be pizza makers by trade, we're certainly the kind of friend who'll do anything for the sake of friendship, even take pizza shops' phone lines and deliver pizzas for friends' gatherings.

Audio:

Our primary medium was audio messages on the phone lines of pizza shops after closing hours. This served as our main point of contact with consumers, transforming a simple message into an instant call to action that led to immediate conversions.

Audio innovación.

Never before had a food business, such as pizza shops, implemented switchboards with IVR on their phone lines during closing hours, despite the technology being available for other operations in various customer service areas. This idea provided valuable new insights for both Poker beer and pizza shop owners. Moreover, it allowed the business to continue operating and generating sales after closing.