By Garrett Dvorkin | Baltimore Business Journal
For Baltimore-area Papa Johns locations, it turns out that the “better ingredient” needed to get new customers is Gunnar Henderson home runs.
The local franchise owner for the popular pizza chain announced a deal at the beginning of the season that gives Baltimoreans half off a pizza the day after the Orioles All-Star hits a home run. That has proved costly for the pizza chain. Henderson was among Major League Baseball’s leaders in home runs at the All-Star break with 28, equaling the number of home runs he hit all of last year.
Orioles fans had used the home run deal to order more than 44,000 pizzas as of mid-July, costing the chain more than $445,000. Andy Freitas, the local franchisee, said the deal is one of the most successful the chain has ever done, even if it is costing him money.
“We want to be associated with that team, especially if that team wins a World Series,” Freitas said. “I’m willing to lose money all day long to connect with the fans. I don’t care what we lose on a home run day because it is generating serious buzz.”
Freitas, who owns almost 100 stores throughout Baltimore and Greater Washington, is no stranger to doing discount deals with local sports teams and athletes. The pizza stores had deals with the Orioles for almost 15 seasons, and most recently had a deal in which fans would get half off on pizzas if the team scored five or more runs. The Orioles, however, signed Dundalk-based Squire’s Pizza and Catering to be the team’s exclusive pizza sponsor this offseason.
Freitas still wanted to be connected to the team in some way. He tasked Michael Bobys of Bethesda-based Mercury Advertising and Marketing — which has handled marketing locally for Papa Johns for 20 years — to find a way in. Freitas talked to a number of Orioles players before he found out that Henderson is a big fan of the brand. The pair wanted to work out an exciting promo, and there is no play in baseball more exciting than a home run.
Bobys said the company also wanted to tie in home runs because it is easy for fans to understand. When Papa Johns did its five-run deal, he said it required fans to go check the box score. The results speak for themselves, as Bobys said the Henderson promo is being used almost twice as much as the five-run deal.
“And it keeps getting bigger every week. We don’t really have a target in mind for how many home runs we want Gunnar to hit,” Bobys said. “If he were to hit 60 home runs, it would be an absolute success and a home run for us.”
Henderson also gets free pizzas as a part of the deal, and can call up his local store at any hour and get free pies delivered. Freitas looked at Henderson’s order history and said every order typically includes a pizza with pepperoni, mushroom and black olives. He also always adds a cinnamon pull-apart dessert to all of his orders.
Freitas said he couldn’t have predicted Henderson would hit so many long balls but is happy with how the deal has worked out. One of the main reasons why Papa Johns likes to have local sports deals is to show that the stores are part of the local community. The Baltimore-area stores are locally owned and operated, and Frietas said he wants customers to know that they are also fans of the local teams.
“We don’t want to be viewed as a faceless chain,” Frietas said. “When we do this we become part of the community, we become part of the experience of rooting for your favorite team.”
Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox
Issue 288: August/September 2024
Originally published Aug. 14, 2024