Papa Johns Wants Your Picture...and Business!

Papa Johns, the official delivery pizza of the NCAA March Madness tournament, recently created Papa's Pan Fan, a unique promotion that was designed to drive sales of pan pizzas. The legendary pizza chain is offering an exclusive discount to all fans who upload their best photos from the tournament action to http://www.papaspanfan.com/. All consumers who post pictures on the corporate site will receive an email confirmation with an ID number that is redeemable for the exclsuive discount offer. All fans can submit their photos through April 9th (the site runs through April 12th). Picture categories are segmented into: Featured Photos, Teams, Cheerleaders, Mascots, Pre-Game, Post-and Game.

The Pizza Chain is offering:

• One (1) large Perfect Pan Pizza with up to three (3) toppings and two (2) 20oz Cokes for $12.99
• The first 6,400 people who register to join Papa's Pan Fan Nation the chance to win additional prizes, which include free pizza for a year and free Coke products

This is an excellent promotional idea that captures fan affinity for college basketball. Papa's Pan Fan is a promotional model that many professional/college teams should look to mirror. I am suprised that more teams have not looked to create a similar website/database that helps them understand and see exactly the reach and diversity of their fanbase. Teams can leverage sponsorships with camera/film companies to develop such a website. The level of engagement is highly dependent on the level of monetary investment, but why have teams not tried to create a website that is for the fans and run by the fans? I am sure there are some out there, and I would love to hear your feedback.

Overall this is a great promotion and a benchmark for website development by Papa Johns. I just wish they would keep this concept running past the tournament!