How to launch a pizzeria where no one knows your name.

Pizza: a story as old as thyme.

Giving away 10,000 pizzas is easy, right? How about doing it in a new venue, during a pandemic, in a place, where no one knows your name. Mission Mars set
themselves exactly this task for the launch of Rudy’s in Soho because ‘once they try it, they’re going to come back.’ How did they do it? Airship, ResDiary, Wireless Social.

Mission Mars: A History

Known for their amazing Mancunian music venues, such as: Albert Hall, Albert’s Schloss, and their northern pizza brand, Rudy’s, Mission Mars have begun their southern expansion by opening their first Rudy’s in London’s Soho. The first hurdle to the new venture was that their infamy hadn’t quite reached the south, yet.

And what is one way you can accelerate brand awareness at an insane rate? 10,000 free pizzas. With a thumbs up from the Financial Director - it was full speed ahead.

Step 1: Speak to the people

Wireless Social, a Wi-Fi super-power that helps collect data, helped Rudy’s use Facebook’s ‘look-a-like’ advertisement service in order to find new, potential Sohonian customers, off the back of their Manchester database.

Step 2: Fill the bucket

Targeted ads reach potential suitors and offers the opportunity to collect a free Rudy's pizza. These suitors are sent to an Airship form, filling in their details to then be added to an Airship holding group, waiting to be contacted about their free pizza.

Note: The marketing mastermind behind this project figured that taking into consideration no-shows and plus-ones, there would need to be around five to six thousand pizza lovers in the Airship group, to equate to the 10,000 free pizzas.

Step 3: Release the pizza

We quickly hit 7,000 names - meaning it was time to rock. Airship drip fed 7,000 ‘Release the Pizza’ emails over 7 hours, including a link to a ResDiary booking form inside. ResDiary, the booking platform, effortlessly facilitated booking across the opening 6 weeks. At the time of the launch, this was a necessary precaution taken to protect both the customers and Rudy’s amazing team, whilst COVID-19 procedures were still in place. Plus, have you ever seen a stampede at a pizzeria? Tomato sauce everywhere.

What was the result of ‘Release the Pizza’?

By midday 3,941 pizza fanatics had been to the new Soho store. Within the first two hours of emails, 6,040 pizzas had been claimed with the first 3 days of trade being fully booked within 17 minutes. It went so well that Rudy’s decided to give away an additional 3,400 pizzas.

We cannot fathom how insane that is.

Airship, Wireless Social and ResDiary created a flawless ecosystem that brought this project to life. Now, Rudy’s in Soho is livelier than ever and has truly made a mark on the capital.

How do we know? Following the ‘Pizza for All’ campaign, the attendees were contacted and asked to leave a review through Feed it Back. The response was so positive that Rudy’s is now no 26 on TripAdvisor for London Pizzerias.