After 20 years of being voted “better of one of the best” of pizzerias in Tucson, Magpies Connoisseur Pizza is expressing its gratitude to the voters. The award was bestowed by an unbiased newspaper, the Tucson Weekly.
Native diners, fairly than restaurant critics, journalists or business insiders, polled their style buds to make the choice. They forged the essential ballots that named the pizzeria greatest over a couple of dozen others within the metropolis.
Mike Acedo, vp of Magpies, which has 5 areas in Tucson, stated the award is greater than only a good praise. It’s a well-known mark of excellence that diners in Tucson acknowledge. “It’s very significant,” Acedo stated. “It’s gotten to the purpose the place everyone votes on it. You get some standing from it. And that difficulty (of the Tucson Weekly) might be their most sought difficulty of the 12 months.”
Whereas Magpies has by no means pursued awards, different pizzeria homeowners do. Some operators imagine it’s higher to obtain an award voted on by customers. Others insist a nationwide business award that acknowledges culinary excellence has extra credibility. An award means little, nevertheless, till a pizzeria capitalizes on it of their promoting, operators agreed.
Take Magpies for example. Being named Tucson’s better of one of the best of pizzerias is a focus of their promoting. “It’s the premise of so much we do,” Acedo stated. “Principally we do print and junk mail. We additionally put it on our Website, on our containers and our flyers.”
Just lately, the award grew to become a good larger a part of the marketing campaign when the corporate determined it wanted to step up its advertising efforts. For the primary time, they’re increasing their promoting to run advertisements on native tv. “We have to promote. We’ve seen a dip in gross sales due to the economic system,” Acedo stated.
“Our marketing campaign (which launched in January) goes to thank the individuals who, for the final 20 years, have voted us one of the best of one of the best of Tucson.”
Capitalizing on awards is very essential for unbiased operators and smaller chains who want to face out from large chains, stated George Hadjis, president of Oggi’s Pizza & Brewing Firm which has 20 shops in southern California and Arizona.
“Within the pizza business, there may be lots of competitors,” he stated. “We gravitate towards any means we are able to differentiate ourselves. Branding your self with awards actually works.” His firm has received quite a few awards for each their pizza and their beer. Some have been consumer-based, comparable to one in all his shops that received greatest pizza in Huntington Seaside, California, and others have been business awards. “I do know we worth each kinds of awards as bragging rights. That’s why we go after them,” he says. One competitors he’s notably pleased with profitable was the Brewers Affiliation’s 2004 World Beer Cup — which acknowledged the chain from hundreds of others as one of the best small brewery. That award and others have been a part of the corporate’s promoting on tv, radio, in newspapers and on their Website. The marketing campaign additionally options LaDamien Thomlinson, a star soccer participant for the San Diego Chargers.
“When you’ve gotten somebody of that stature pushing championship beer and award-winning pizza and beer, all of it connects,” Hadjis stated. One other frequent competitor for awards is Dave Smith II, proprietor of Smith’s Pizza Palace Plus in Emporium, Pennsylvania. He enters about six nationwide competitions a 12 months. These culinary contests are provided at occasions just like the Worldwide Pizza Expo, which is held yearly in Las Vegas. Smith acknowledges that few of his diners know the importance of the Pizza Expo or would acknowledge different business organizations that bestow awards. Regardless of that lack of title recognition, he insists such awards are considered by diners as seals of approval.
“In the event that they see that you simply’re doing effectively within the eyes of the pizza business, then they know that your pizza should be good,” Smith stated. When he wins an award, he locations the plaque in his restaurant and sends a information launch about it to the native newspaper. “That’s the fantastic thing about it,” Smith stated. “It’s free publicity. The newspapers eat it up.”
Each Hajdis and Smith stated they see gross sales improve after an award is introduced. “In addition to the satisfaction, we get higher gross sales,” Hadjis stated. “I do know our gross sales spike in any respect of our shops. I do know our gross sales stats and there is a rise of about 20 %.” Like Smith, he additionally makes positive plaques received at competitions are held on the partitions of all of his firm’s shops. The awards additionally construct camaraderie and satisfaction amongst franchise homeowners who look ahead to competitions.
“All of our franchisees wait yearly to listen to if we received an award,” Hadjis stated. Pizzeria homeowners who fear about getting back from a contest and not using a first place and a shiny plaque to placed on their partitions shouldn’t be involved, Smith and Hadjis agreed. They are saying that operators can select to publicize their awards or not.
Letting the world find out about your achievements is the fantastic thing about profitable an award. In a market the place customers have so many decisions, Hadjis says it offers a pizzeria instantaneous credibility. “Pizza is a really subjective factor,” Hadjis says. “There are such a lot of pizza eating places and types. How are you going to argue that your pizza is greatest until you’ve received an award? Branding your self with awards actually works.”
With entrance charges, airfare and resorts, Smith estimates he spends no less than $600 or $700 for every business primarily based culinary competitors he enters. He says the free publicity he good points when he lets native newspapers find out about an award he has acquired makes the money outlay price it.
“It’s about what you’d spend if you happen to put an advert within the newspaper,” he says. Unbiased pizzerias like Smith’s want to seek out artistic methods to market their companies and awards are one approach to do it, says Darren Tristano, government vp of Technomic Inc., a Chicagobased restaurant consulting agency.
“I feel it’s all the time going to be a optimistic. The negatives are minor,” Tristano stated. Awards are much more essential as expertise provides new and other ways to promote, he says. “I feel awards have gotten extra essential as a result of we’re seeing a shift to on-line for folks to seek out out about locations,” Tristano says.
Textual content messages are one other means that pizzerias might get the phrase out about an award to diners. Tristano stated the one adverse to a pizzeria profitable an award might be for loyal prospects who’ve a tough time getting a desk after one is introduced. “If some loyal prospects have to attend or can’t get their favourite desk, that might be a draw back,” Tristano stated. “Because the trendiness wears off, you’re going to wish to maintain these loyal prospects.” ?
Annemarie Mannion is a contract journalist primarily based in Willowbrook, Illinois.
