It hurts me to report this, because I do find myself at Pizza Patrón on some occasions, excited to hand over a $10 bill in exchange for cinnamon churros and greasy, greasy pizza – pizza so bad that it tastes good. But I think we can all agree that Pizza Patrón is being a nincompoop about its latest promotion that the pizza chain just announced. According to the press release, if you order in Spanish between 5 and 8 p.m. on June 5, you can receive a free large pepperoni pizza while supplies last. I’m all for the promotion of our immigrant communities and celebrating their positive force of change, but there has to be a better way to do it than this weird publicity stunt that’s given non-Spanish speakers a platform to complain. This free pizza exchange has already prompted a lot of crazies to reinforce their ideas that we should be speaking English in this country in public places at all times. (To which I politely reply: No. Thank. You.)
Jump for the entire press release.
Pizza Gratis en Dallas si ordenas en español el cinco de Junio
If you can’t read this, ask the Hispanic next to you!
DALLAS – May 22, 2012 – Hot, fresh and free pizza is coming to Dallas! On Tuesday, June 5th from 5pm to 8pm, Pizza Patrón is launching its PIZZA POR FAVOR™ event at restaurants nationwide. Every customer that orders in Spanish will receive a free large pepperoni pizza, which is the company’s top-selling product. Free pizzas are limited to one per customer between 5pm and 8pm, at participating locations, while supplies last.
“Spanish is the language that is the common bond that unites all Hispanics and we want to celebrate this in a fun way,” said Edgar Padilla, Dallas Pizza Patrón franchisee.
PIZZA POR FAVOR™ is the first of three 2012 campaigns the company has planned to celebrate the brand’s Hispanic focus and honor the positive force of change immigrants have made in communities throughout America.
“Free product promotions have been around for a long time,” said Andrew Gamm, brand director for Pizza Patrón, “but I’ve never heard of any company rewarding guests for speaking Spanish. For us, PIZZA POR FAVOR™ makes great business sense – it is an opportunity for us to strengthen the relationship we have with our core customer.”
Collateral materials for the promotion feature the word PIZZA spelled with a “C” resulting in text that reads PICZA POR FAVOR™ (pronounced “PEEK-ZA”). Company officials say many of Pizza Patrón’s corporate staff members pronounce words like PIZZA as PICZA or PEPSI as PECSI.
“Nearly half of our corporate staff says PICZA (“PEEK-ZA”) instead of PIZZA,” says Gamm. “And when we dug a little deeper, we soon realized that a good number of our Hispanic customers also say PICZA (“PEEK-ZA”) too. We thought it would be fun to incorporate that cultural component into the campaign.”
Pizza Patrón gained notoriety in 2007 when company executives received threats over its PIZZA POR PESOS® program – the decision to accept Mexican pesos at all of its U.S. locations. The company continues to accept Mexican pesos (bills only) as a form of payment, providing change in U.S. dollars.
Pizza Patrón is headquartered in Dallas with 104 locations in 7 states and more than 80 under development. Franchise opportunities, offering a proven system for hard-working franchisee candidates, are available in prime Hispanic markets throughout the country.
A typical Pizza Patrón is a carry out location, located in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood, with a footprint of about 1,200 square feet. Pizza Patrón also has branded restaurant models for any real estate option including inline drive-thru, dine-in or carry out models as well as non-traditional sites like airports and campuses.
Pizza Patrón units require an all-in investment of $199,300 to $464,000 per store with a franchise fee of $20,000.
About Pizza Patrón
Since 1986, Pizza Patrón has been committed to making its promise of “Más Pizza. Menos Dinero.®” a reality for every customer. From the beginning, the brand has been recognized for its ‘fresh-dough’ pizza, its low prices and its trademark “friendly, bicultural service.” In 2007, the company drew international media attention when it decided to accept Mexican Pesos at all of its restaurants, gaining over 500 million media impressions in the U.S. alone. Today, Pizza Patrón is the nation’s premier Latino pizza brand and remains dedicated to bringing its unique experience to life with every pizza made, and in every community it serves.
Website – www.pizzapatron.com
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/pizzapatron
Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/pizzapatron
