Pizza Hut: yank our chain
Brand makeovers are a tricky PR challenge.
And Pizza Hut seems to know this. Or is it now Pasta Hut? Or will it be Pizza Hut again soon? Is it indeed at all Hut-like?
On Monday, the restaurant chain announced it was changing its name to Pasta Hut to reflect a changing market and menu. But it had a strange people's choice feature on its web site, inviting visitors to pull a rope that changes the brand to either Pizza Hut or Pasta Hut depending on their preference.
And it made it clear that if Pasta Hut was unpopular, it'd probably change the name back to Pizza Hut. Last night it ran full page ads in the free London papers proclaiming the arrival of Pasta Hut. So at least it's all crystal.
Online, it has registered pastahut.co.uk but not pastahut.com. Perhaps this is driven by a rebel faction of UK pizza/pasta bosses, flying below the radar of US brandmeisters?
Mine's a Marathon, washed down by a few Opal Fruits. Or is it?
posted by Steve Earl @ 8:45 AM
2 Comments
2 Comments:
I had this very discussion with the team at lunch a couple of days ago.
Some had not heard about it and thought it was a wind-up, or some kind of late April Fool's gag (and let's face it, would have been a brilliant one on April 1st).
Rebranding on the scale being attempted here is expensive, especially if you end up reversing it due to public rejection. Just ask Kellogs after the Coco Pops fiasco.
It is therefore brave, or slightly stupid, to attempt a rebranding, and then publicly undermine it from day one by saying that if people don't like it they will role it back. To me, it creates the perception that even Pizza/Pasta Hut's management are not convinced it's the right move.
The thing is, I've had Pizza/Pasta Hut's pasta dishes several times before (albeit from its pre-Pasta Hut menu), and my personal opinion was that they were consistently unpleasant.
If they are serious about this, I really hope they've raised their game considerably on the pasta front with their new menu.
If they get it right with the grub, then Pasta Hut could thrive in the cost-conscious months ahead.
Spot on about the food Chris. Chain pizza can be palletable, whereas the pasta tends to resemble instant stuff served up with a tin of chopped tomatoes and some tinned sweetcorn, adorned with a jus of steaming water.
That's what I eat if I get home in an unfit state to cook anything better and there's not much in the fridge. Not really a dining out treat.
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