Their goal: No conversation left behind. Their mission: engage with the social web during the 2011 Super Bowl. Yes, Pizza Hut had big plans during the big game day. To make it happen, they devised a strategy as thorough as their pizza, pasta and wings recipes.

The company knew that some consumers felt Pizza Hut was a bit pricey. To change this perception they launched a special deal: any Pizza Hut pizza – size, crust, and/or topping – for just $10. Riding the crest of the $10 pizza wave, they partnered with a listening platform to create the Hut Hub for Superbowl Sunday. This social media situation room was comprised of Marketing, Customer Care and Menu Innovation, also known as the Pizza Hut Big Game Squad. This team listened, responded and engaged with their loyal social following and provided incentives to mindsets across the sentiment scale. This included e-gift cards to counterbalance late deliveries and to reward brand advocates throughout the game.

You can see the Hut Hub in action here (thanks to Jeremiah Owyang).

Due to the extensive game plan on and around the big day, Pizza Hut had more touchdowns than the Green Bay Packers in their 2010 season. 14,000 pizza conversations. 450 assists (from a customer care standpoint). The Super Bowl story garnered more than 32 million impressions, including a segment during the “CBS Sports Super Bowl Pregame Show.” In addition, 70+ stories ran on news affiliates across the country. The overall $10 pizza campaign garnered Facebook results that were monumental: 400 percent increase in impressions per conversation engagement and nearly 200,000 new fans.

The Super Bowl venture, including an ad buy and social media program, was new territory for Pizza Hut, according to Advertising Age, and the restaurant chain deemed it a success. They are continuing their social presence and engagement in the future.

This success can be attributed to some well-played plans.

The Hub Approach

Keeping your brand above water in the sea of social media requires some manpower both from a magic and logic perspective.The magic is the strategy behind the approach. The logic is the execution. Pizza Hut had the brainpower to develop a game plan and the team members to execute the strategy. Their hub was the means to their performance and success.

Joining the Conversation

The social media wave has brought along tons of public conversations that can often be brand enhancing or brand destructing. These good, bad and ugly conversations are occurring with or without brands and Pizza Hut knew this. They decided to join the conversation and service customers in their social habitat. In addition, they responded quickly and effectively, which further enhanced perceptions.

More than Listening

“To truly succeed in the now revolution, you have to create conversations.” — Amber Naslund, The NOW Revolution

When utilizing social media, it’s important to do more than listen and respond. Engaging and creation is key. That’s where the conversations really start incorporating the brand. It’s all about bringing something to the table and creating new dialogue. Pizza Hut spotted the conversations, joined them and worked to retain and enhance relationships with giveaways.

A number of success factors came into play when Pizza Hut stepped onto the social media field. But above all, they were prepared to do much more than hear the conversations.

We would love to get your thoughts on this, as well as on the case study. What’s your game plan to score that touchdown?

Read the full Pizza Hut case study: http://www.radian6.com/resources/library/pizza-hut-scores-big-on-game-day/

Tags: Jeremiah Owyang, Listening, Pizza Hut, SuperBowl