"Papa Murphy's trial of restarting $10 Tuesdays promotions"
Papa Murphy's Revives $10 Tuesday Promotion with a Nostalgic Twist
After a decade, Papa Murphy's has reintroduced its popular $10 Tuesday promotion, but this time with a cautious approach. The revamped promotion is being tested at 167 restaurants across the country, representing about 15% of the chain's system, to evaluate its impact on traffic, sales, and customer spending over the next three to six months.
The company is using "retro" marketing that harkens back to the original 2010 campaign, with advertisements featuring the chain's old-school green color scheme and a high-def vibe as if filmed 15 years ago. This nostalgic approach is intended to revitalize the brand's value perception and remind customers of the promotion's significance.
The $10 Tuesday deal was first launched in 2010, offering customers any large pizza for $10 on Tuesdays. Dallas Massey, the SVP of marketing at Papa Murphy's, stated that the deal was instrumental in the growth of the company, saying, "I would go as far as to say that Papa Murphy's was built on Tuesdays." However, economic challenges such as rising costs in labor, commodities, and construction have made franchisees increase the prices of the promotion post-pandemic, significantly reducing its appeal due to weakened value perception.
To recover customer interest without risking the brand’s profitability or following aggressive discounting models seen in competitors like Subway, Papa Murphy's has adapted the promotion. The chain is lowering prices back to $10, implementing a softer approach that allows franchisees to adopt the promotion gradually, and limiting promotional rollout to select locations.
In addition to the $10 Tuesday promotion, Papa Murphy's maintains other promotions and coupons, such as $10.99 large pizzas on Tuesdays in some areas and various online promo codes offering up to 25% off, to cater to changing consumer behaviors driven by price sensitivity and online ordering preferences.
The testing of the $10 Tuesday promotion is being closely monitored, with the company analysing the impact on transactions, check averages, net sales, and more over the next three to six months. If the results are positive, the company may roll out the promotion to more locations.
Yesterday was a great day for the test locations, with significant outperformance compared to non-test markets, which is encouraging. The company remains optimistic about the success of the revived promotion and the potential for growth in the future.
[1] Source: Restaurant Business Online [2] Source: QSR Magazine [3] Source: Papa Murphy's corporate website
- The revamped $10 Tuesday promotion by Papa Murphy's, originally launched in 2010, aims to rejuvenate the brand's value perception and boost sales, as the company carefully monitors its impact on various financial metrics.
- In an attempt to strike a balance between customer interest and business profitability, Papa Murphy's has adapted its $10 Tuesday deal, offering other promotions such as discounted food-and-drink items on certain days and online coupons to cater to diverse lifestyle preferences.
