One pizza, hold the disclaimer

– By Luke Davidson

I love pizza. I would marry pizza, but I suspect it’s out of my league. So naturally I was excited when I received a voucher from a pizza chain promising me a month of half-priced delights. But sadly my dreams disappeared faster than Lance Armstrong’s credibility.

You see, in tiny, tiny print were the most horrible words, ‘Offer only available on Mondays’. Why is it the ones we love that always hurt us the most?

Now, I can appreciate the logic of the promotion: Monday night is a slow night so let’s boost sales with an offer. That’s fine. What’s not as fine, however, is the fine print. By implying the offer was available every night of the week, the only likely result is frustrated customers being told they have to pay full price because they failed to spot the small print. In short, a quick way to undo the millions the brand has spent building a relationship and good will with its target market.

So what should this pizza chain do instead? If they genuinely want to increase sales on Mondays, they shouldn’t hide it. They should embrace it. Make it a ‘Monday Madness Offer’ (not my most creative headline admittedly). This way customers are happy knowing they can get cheap pizza on Mondays – and the brand isn’t upsetting unsuspecting customers every other night of the week. Sometimes the fine print should be the headline.

Now, who else wants pizza?

Write a comment