Matt Mauldin

Internet Pro & Marketing Exec

Papa Johns Earning Soggy Dough

Posted by mattmauldin On May - 1 - 2009

iphone-pizza-tmHere’s another example of one of the big guys getting new marketing trends wrong.

This went down at the at the  when a Papa John’s exec, started griping about their iPhone application and how they were really disappointed in the results.  It’s interesting that Jim pointed out that smartphones account for nearly all their traffic, and the iPhone alone about half.

Wait a minute, did you say “smartphones” were half the traffic from your iPhone app?  Yes. He did.

This guy is Jim McDonnell, the marketing manager, emerging channels, for Papa John’s, didn’t even recognize the difference between his mobile-ready site (mobile.papajohns.com) and an iPhone application!  And he said all of this at a OMMA Mobile conference!

Even better, he was quickly shown up by one of the other conference attendees who specializes in developing mobile apps. Lilly Gold, founder of New York-based Intuwin, quickly listed potential enhancements to their mobile marketing, such as delivering coupons, information on specials, payment systems and options for ordering “favorites.”

Papa John’s has also reported their “iPhone app” (a.k.a. their mobile site) has generated 1 million in sales. That ain’t no soggy dough!

Two lessons to learn here:

  1. When you see some returns on a new marketing channel, especially one in a growing market like mobile, and with only ah half-assed effort like this one, then you should dig deeper.  You’ll probably find that you are sitting on a great opportunity.  Papa Johns could really take mobile pizza ordering to the next level, and I think it would be a real hit, but they would have to take a few risks to get there.  Hey Jim, read this post about learning to take risks.  Hopefully I can place an order soon on my Blackberry.
  2. Don’t start griping until you have exhausted your options.  Seriously, they put out a mobile site, ran a few mobile banners, and the say it’s a dud.  I doubt that they put much effort into any of it. Guys, always test!  Test new strategy, new technology, new traffic channels, new ways to communicate with your customers.  Lilly Gold probably made this company many more millions with just her few suggestions noted above – if Papa John’s takes her advice. (Oh, and your options don’t run out that fast, so don’t get impatient)

Check ya later.

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  1. mattmauldin (mattmauldin) says:
    May 2, 2009 at 2:41 am

    New blog post: Papa Johns Earning Soggy Dough http://tinyurl.com/c9yphn

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  1. Topics about Johns » Papa Johns Earning Soggy Dough says:
    May 2, 2009 at 9:32 am

    [...] Entourage added an interesting post on Papa Johns Earning Soggy DoughHere’s a small excerptHere’s another example of one of the big guys getting new marketing trends wrong. This went down at the at the  when a Papa John’s exec, started griping about their iPhone application and… [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] [...]

  2. Topics about Johns » Papa Johns Earning Soggy Dough | Matt Mauldin says:
    May 2, 2009 at 2:44 am

    [...] mattmauldin created an interesting post today on Papa Johns Earning Soggy Dough | Matt MauldinHere’s a short outlinePapa Johns could really take mobile pizza ordering to the next level, and I think it would be a real hit, but they would have to take a few risks to get there. Hey Jim, read this post about learning to take risks. … [...]