After 20 years of being voted “better of the perfect” of pizzerias in Tucson, Magpies Connoisseur Pizza is expressing its gratitude to the voters. The award was bestowed by an impartial newspaper, the Tucson Weekly.
Native diners, somewhat than restaurant critics, journalists or business insiders, polled their style buds to make the choice. They solid the essential ballots that named the pizzeria greatest over a couple of dozen others within the metropolis.
Mike Acedo, vice chairman of Magpies, which has 5 places in Tucson, mentioned the award is greater than only a good praise. It’s a well-known mark of excellence that diners in Tucson acknowledge. “It’s very significant,” Acedo mentioned. “It’s gotten to the purpose the place everyone votes on it. You get some standing from it. And that subject (of the Tucson Weekly) might be their most sought subject of the 12 months.”
Whereas Magpies has by no means pursued awards, different pizzeria homeowners do. Some operators consider it’s higher to obtain an award voted on by customers. Others insist a nationwide business award that acknowledges culinary excellence has extra credibility. An award means little, nevertheless, till a pizzeria capitalizes on it of their promoting, operators agreed.
Take Magpies for instance. Being named Tucson’s better of the perfect of pizzerias is a focus of their promoting. “It’s the premise of so much we do,” Acedo mentioned. “Largely we do print and unsolicited mail. We additionally put it on our Website online, on our containers and our flyers.”
Just lately, the award grew to become an excellent greater a part of the marketing campaign when the corporate determined it wanted to step up its advertising efforts. For the primary time, they’re increasing their promoting to run advertisements on native tv. “We have to promote. We’ve seen a dip in gross sales due to the financial system,” Acedo mentioned.
“Our marketing campaign (which launched in January) goes to thank the individuals who, for the final 20 years, have voted us the perfect of the perfect of Tucson.”
Capitalizing on awards is particularly vital for impartial operators and smaller chains who want to face out from huge chains, mentioned George Hadjis, president of Oggi’s Pizza & Brewing Firm which has 20 shops in southern California and Arizona.
“Within the pizza business, there’s a whole lot of competitors,” he mentioned. “We gravitate towards any method we will differentiate ourselves. Branding your self with awards actually works.” His firm has gained quite a few awards for each their pizza and their beer. Some have been consumer-based, corresponding to one in every of his shops that gained greatest pizza in Huntington Seaside, California, and others have been business awards. “I do know we worth each types of awards as bragging rights. That’s why we go after them,” he says. One competitors he’s significantly pleased with successful was the Brewers Affiliation’s 2004 World Beer Cup — which acknowledged the chain from hundreds of others as the perfect small brewery. That award and others have been a part of the corporate’s promoting on tv, radio, in newspapers and on their Website online. The marketing campaign additionally options LaDamien Thomlinson, a star soccer participant for the San Diego Chargers.
“When you’ve somebody of that stature pushing championship beer and award-winning pizza and beer, all of it connects,” Hadjis mentioned. One other frequent competitor for awards is Dave Smith II, proprietor of Smith’s Pizza Palace Plus in Emporium, Pennsylvania. He enters about six nationwide competitions a 12 months. These culinary contests are provided at occasions just like the Worldwide Pizza Expo, which is held yearly in Las Vegas. Smith acknowledges that few of his diners know the importance of the Pizza Expo or would acknowledge different business organizations that bestow awards. Regardless of that lack of identify recognition, he insists such awards are considered by diners as seals of approval.
“In the event that they see that you just’re doing properly within the eyes of the pizza business, then they know that your pizza should be good,” Smith mentioned. When he wins an award, he locations the plaque in his restaurant and sends a information launch about it to the native newspaper. “That’s the fantastic thing about it,” Smith mentioned. “It’s free publicity. The newspapers eat it up.”
Each Hajdis and Smith mentioned they see gross sales improve after an award is introduced. “Moreover the satisfaction, we get higher gross sales,” Hadjis mentioned. “I do know our gross sales spike in any respect of our shops. I do know our gross sales stats and there is a rise of about 20 %.” Like Smith, he additionally makes certain plaques gained at competitions are held on the partitions of all of his firm’s shops. The awards additionally construct camaraderie and satisfaction amongst franchise homeowners who stay up for competitions.
“All of our franchisees wait yearly to listen to if we gained an award,” Hadjis mentioned. Pizzeria homeowners who fear about coming back from a contest with no first place and a shiny plaque to placed on their partitions shouldn’t be involved, Smith and Hadjis agreed. They are saying that operators can select to publicize their awards or not.
Letting the world learn about your achievements is the fantastic thing about successful an award. In a market the place customers have so many selections, Hadjis says it offers a pizzeria prompt credibility. “Pizza is a really subjective factor,” Hadjis says. “There are such a lot of pizza eating places and kinds. How will you argue that your pizza is greatest except you’ve gained an award? Branding your self with awards actually works.”
With entrance charges, airfare and resorts, Smith estimates he spends at the very least $600 or $700 for every business primarily based culinary competitors he enters. He says the free publicity he positive factors when he lets native newspapers learn about an award he has obtained makes the money outlay value it.
“It’s about what you’d spend when you put an advert within the newspaper,” he says. Unbiased pizzerias like Smith’s want to seek out artistic methods to market their companies and awards are one method to do it, says Darren Tristano, govt vice chairman of Technomic Inc., a Chicagobased restaurant consulting agency.
“I feel it’s at all times going to be a optimistic. The negatives are minor,” Tristano mentioned. Awards are much more vital as expertise presents new and other ways to promote, he says. “I feel awards have gotten extra vital as a result of we’re seeing a shift to on-line for folks to seek out out about locations,” Tristano says.
Textual content messages are one other method that pizzerias might get the phrase out about an award to diners. Tristano mentioned the one unfavorable to a pizzeria successful an award may very well be for loyal prospects who’ve a tough time getting a desk after one is introduced. “If some loyal prospects have to attend or can’t get their favourite desk, that may very well be a draw back,” Tristano mentioned. “Because the trendiness wears off, you’re going to need to preserve these loyal prospects.” ?
Annemarie Mannion is a contract journalist primarily based in Willowbrook, Illinois.
