The first national pizza company to offer online and text message
ordering, Papa John’s is once again breaking technology barriers to
provide an unprecedented experience to its customers: augmented reality.
A new frontier for marketers, augmented reality is an online application
that allows the user to interact in real-time with computer generated
imagery. For Papa John’s, customers can log on to www.papasroadtrip.com,
download and print an icon of the 1972 Z28 Camaro that founder John
Schnatter sold 25 years ago to open his first restaurant, and virtually
drive that same Camaro when the image is recognized by a user’s webcam.
While driving, customers will be granted exclusive discounts to future
Papa John’s purchases, displayed on virtual billboards along the virtual
road. Next month, the same icon will be available on the bottom of pizza
boxes, marking the first time a brand has made augmented reality
available at point-of-purchase.
"Augmented reality is consistent with our continued emphasis on
exploring technology in ways that provide better value and connection to
our customers, as well as enhance our ability to engage them in ways
above and beyond the transaction,” said Jim Ensign, Papa John’s vice
president of marketing communications. "We were at the forefront of
online ordering and text ordering, and augmented reality takes our
digital marketing approach to a new dimension.”
An estimated 20 percent of Americans currently own and operate a webcam,
while most newer laptops include a webcam as a standard feature. For
those without a webcam, the Papa John’s augmented reality application
will also be featured online at www.papasroadtrip.com
as an interactive flash demonstration. The site will also include a
simple yet comprehensive guide and video demonstration on how to
optimize the augmented reality experience.
Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, Papa John's International, Inc.
(NASDAQ: PZZA) is the world's third largest pizza company. For nine of
the last 10 years, consumers have rated Papa John's No. 1 in customer
satisfaction among all national pizza chains in the highly regarded
American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Papa John's also ranks
first among pizza companies in the 2008 Brand Keys Customer Loyalty
Engagement Index, was honored by Restaurants & Institutions Magazine
(R&I) with the 2008 Silver Award for Consumers’ Choice in Chains in the
pizza segment, and was named 2007 Pizza Today Chain of the Year. For
more information about the company or to order pizza online, visit Papa
John's at www.papajohns.com.