Kitchen Sync

Publicist Zane Hagy had a great idea for his client. Celebrate The Pizza Kitchen’s birthday by giving away free 8-inch pizzas all day Wednesday. He predicted that they would give away 600 pizzas. He was only off by 2,003.

There was a line out the door when my family and I arrived for dinner.  Like many of the patrons, we purchased drinks and salads to go with our free pizzas. Zane told me that the restaurant would make money that day despite all the free food. We thought our pizzas were delicious and I’m not just saying that because they were free. I would be shocked if they didn’t repeat the promotion next year.

Giving away pizza was more cost-effective than mailing postcards to people who may never come to the restaurant. They used free social media sites to spread the word, which made me wonder how many people missed out because they don’t use Twitter or Facebook. The 2,603 free pizzas went to satisfied customers who are likely to become repeat customers and who are likely to tell their friends online and in the real world.