Pizza Hut Undergoes Major Renovation — Is It Too Little, Too Late?
New logo, new color scheme, new pizza. Pizza Hut is reinventing itself. Is it enough?
The New York Times is reporting that Pizza Hut has renovated their image with a barrage of new designs and pizzas, and a new marketing campaign to attract more business. This effort is being helmed by Los-Angeles based Deutsch LA, a new hire by Pizza Hut. The restaurant has not made this deep a overhaul in its 56-year history. Pizza Hut is trying to show members of the millennial generation (its target customer) that the pizza-delivering company wants to provide more flavor choices to its customers.
Pizza Hut also made changes to its online menu as well as the newer flavor additions for its pizzas in an attempt to convince skeptics just how far Pizza Hut will go to increase their market share. Even the “Make it great” motto has been replaced. The new motto is “The flavor is now,” somewhat borrowed from The Hudsucker Proxy’s “The future is now.”
Pizza Hut is making changes as part of a long-term strategy for the company. Pizza Hut still sells the most pizzas of any pizza company, but has suffered eight consecutive quarters of comparable sales declines. Domino’s and Papa John’s, however, have worked hard to gain market share. Domino’s, just as early as five years ago, underwent a major overhaul, and has come out the other side of the overhaul beginning to dominate the pizza industry.
Perhaps Pizza Hut is taking a page out of Domino’s history to get in better condition. Deutsch LA, the firm Pizza Hut hired for this revamp after dismissing Chicago’s McGarry Bowen, also helped companies such as Volkswagon and Taco Bell. Pizza Hut was especially pleased with Deutsch LA’s using of men named Ronald McDonald to introduce Taco Bell’s breakfast menu earlier this year.
Co. Design is reporting that part of this revamping came even before Deutsch LA entered the picture. Though Pizza Hut maintains almost 6,500 restaurants, in 2012, the higher-ups shifted to a leaner, delivery-focused business model, keeping 3,000 as restaurant models.
Deutsch LA’s biggest change, however, was to the color scheme. Bringing out more cast-iron black and greatly reducing the amount of red, it is hoped that the new logo will become both iconic and memorable.
The new menu and branding will be rolling out in the next few weeks. When asked whether or not this latest revamp will take effect, Jared Drinkwater, Pizza Hut’s Vice President of Marketing, said, “Yup. I think you’ll see this for many, many years to come.”
[Image courtesy of Pizza Hut]
