Dive Brief: 

• Pizza Hut is gifting free pizza to all delivery drivers this holiday season through a new Reverse Delivery doormat, the company said in a press release. 
• Emblazoned on the doormat are the words “Leave a box, get a box” and a QR code that delivery drivers can scan to be directed to a microsite to redeem a free pizza. Consumers from Dec. 6-10 could order the product for display on their doorsteps, and drivers can redeem the offer through Dec. 27.
• The effort is timed to one of the busiest seasons of the year for deliveries and could help the Yum Brands-owned chain deepen connections with customers and convert delivery drivers into customers. The move follows other creative marketing plays by Pizza Hut this year. 

Dive Insight: 

Pizza Hut is expressing gratitude for all delivery drivers, not just the ones delivering its pizza, during one of the busiest times of year for deliveries. Last year, there were over 11.7 billion packages and pieces of mail delivered during the holiday season, per data cited in press details. With its new doormat concept, the pizza chain is hoping to encourage customers to say “thank you” to drivers. 

Each day from Dec. 6-10, Pizza Hut doled out 50 of its new doormats to consumers who placed an order online on a first come, first-served basis, with the product to be displayed on doorsteps through the holiday season. Through Dec. 27, delivery drivers can scan the QR code on the doormat to be directed to a microsite and have the opportunity to redeem a gift card code from the pizza chain while supplies last. A minimum of 4,000 offers are available, per the release, with a limit of one offer per person. 

The doormat concept could help Pizza Hut strengthen relationships with existing customers and drive repeat business. Convenience is often a theme of marketing from the chain, including through the extension of its late-night hours at additional locations in effort to appeal to younger consumers.

A focus on alleviating stress felt by drivers during the busy holiday season has also been a focus for others, with Domino’s earlier this month announcing plans to award $500,000 in grants for snow plowing to ensure that carryout customers around the U.S. can safely access the pizza chain.

The latest move by Pizza Hut follows other creative swings by the chain this year. For instance, the brand tested “Underground Deliveries” in New York City earlier this year as part of a campaign around the release of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.” For the effort, select consumers who texted a turtle emoji to a hotline were able to order pizza delivery to a Pizza Drop Zone within a subway station. Prior, the brand has experimented with the metaverse and set off on an experiential bus tour across multiple states.

The chain’s parent company Yum Brands at the start of November filed its Q3 earnings, reporting revenue that fell short of analysts expectations due partially to weak same-store sales growth at Pizza Hut. During the third quarter, Pizza Hut’s same-store sales grew only 1%.