How California Pizza Kitchen Embraces Change, Goes Viral on TikTok, and Gives Consumers FOMO

This week’s master has worked for Lou Malnati’s (pizza), Krispy Kreme (doughnuts), and now heads the marketing team at California Pizza Kitchen (back to pizza) — making her career sound like my dream delivery order after a rough Monday.

Keep reading to hear from Dawn Keller, CMO at California Pizza Kitchen, on why she likes giving consumers emotional FOMO and how to lead the charge on brand evolution.

Lesson 1: Drive emotional FOMO.

“Craveable items that are unique and compel consumers to be irrational are the best defense against competition, consumer apathy, or inertia,” says Keller.

For Keller, this pertains to both her menu and her marketing. Her goal is to “drive emotional FOMO” for her consumers.

Look, I’ll hand it to you — discussing “craveable products” with the marketing leader for a pizza company probably doesn’t sound too relatable to B2B marketers.

But when I tell Keller that cheesy, gooey crust is more seductive than revenue attribution reporting, she pushes back: “I actually see this in B2B marketing all the time. Emotional FOMO is totally create-able in that world, too — you just need to show what’s possible, and the success stories of other people.”

She adds, “It’s all the same humans, you know? They’re just making different decisions… Like, what to eat, and what software to use for their businesses.”

While you might not be selling garlic knots, there are plenty of B2B attributes that are insanely “craveable” — like ease of use, time savings, and productivity boosts. Use those plot points to get all your soon-to-be consumers hungering for your offerings like they crave a good mac and cheese.

Lesson 2: Turn negative moments into a chance to show up.

Recently, a customer ordered mac and cheese from CPK — and just got cheese.

After she posted the vid on TikTok, CPK responded with a video in which Chef Paul jokingly walks through the steps of properly making a mac and cheese (emphasis on: Add the mac) and then announces 50% off mac and cheese for all CPK customers. (Since the customer only got 50% of her meal — get it?)

@calpizzakitchen

PSA on how to make CPK Mac ‘N’ Cheese correctly.👨🏻‍🍳🍝 Use promo code cheeseANDmac for 50% off your Mac ‘N’ Cheese order available for takeout and delivery. Offer valid July 19, 2024 – July 31, 2024, for take-out or CPK delivery only. No third-party delivery. 50% off order of Mac and Cheese. Use promo code: cheeseANDmac. Only at participating locations in the U.S. (excluding locations in airports, stadiums, universities, Guam, mobile kitchen, and franchised locations). Excludes tax, catering orders and gratuity. No substitutions, modifications, or additions. Cannot combine with other offers or fundraisers. One per …read more

Source:: HubSpot Blog

Author: Aaron