This Pizza Chain Consistently Steps Up when Canadians Need It Most

It’s certainly been a tumultuous time for Canadian brands, as of late. From the back and forth tariff talks between the country and its southern neighbours, to the resulting movement to buy nationally, businesses from coast to coast have spent the past few weeks navigating financial obstacles, logistical hurdles, and at times, downright chaos.

Of course, for the most savvy among them, there has also been ample opportunity to grab public attention. Whether it’s coffee shops advocating that the Americano be rebranded to ‘Canadiano’, billboards extolling products with 0% American ingredients, or food delivery apps giving away discounts for those who use Canadian spelling, this recent period has given way to multiple clever marketing campaigns served up in tastefully reactive fashion.

Among this mix has been Canadian brand Pizza Pizza, which has historically strived to provide some levity and positive action in a time of uncertainty and stress. But, according to Adrian Fuoco, the company’s chief marketing officer, initiatives like these – ones that put humans at the centre – are also the key to competing in a highly-contested category which, he notes, has become somewhat commoditised of late.

“Everyone is chasing victory on key food, value and convenience measures,” he explains. “We do that as well, of course, but if you can find an edge via the human element, that can be a real win for the brand and critically, it’s something that’s not easy to copy – at least, not in the short term.”

Most recently, this sentiment has manifested itself in the form of the ‘Reverse Tariffs’ campaign. Created in response to the initial announcement of a planned 25% tariff on Canadian imports, this brand effort debuted on February 20th during the 4 Nations Face-Off grand finals – fittingly between Canada and the US – with the announcement that Pizza Pizza would be offering a matching 25% discount on any regular-sized pizza.

“There’s some anxiety in Canada related to trade tariffs, so we were looking for a way to speak to that and offer up a deal at the same time,” says Adrian, breaking down the work. “We’re unique in that we’re a 100% Canadian national QSR, so we wanted to make sure that message was out there as well.”

Truly, it was a perfect storm. On a night where Connor McDavid’s overtime goal amped up Canadian hockey hype to levels not seen since the 2010 Olympics, this on the nose reaction scored big in its own way, gaining 16.1 million viewers across the continent and pushing the brand’s pizza sales by a whopping 20% in the first weekend alone.

Success like this isn’t a first for Pizza Pizza, however. A longtime advocate for the “Canadian pizza-eating public”, as Adrian calls it, this campaign served as a playful extension of the ‘Everyone Deserves Pizza’ positioning – a platform which has served the brand well over the years.

“We did something very similar for ‘Fixed Rate Pizza’ in response to interest rates and inflation a few years ago, and then with ‘Bipartisan Wings’ last fall, and both were big hits in terms of resonating with Canadians, so we were fairly confident we’d see a positive response this time,” the CMO adds. “[Equally], from a technical perspective, we already have the infrastructure in place to enable this type of deal, and the media was already booked for other programmes, so it was really just about pulling together the creative and slotting it in.”

To this end, the brand also has much to thank its consistent creative partner agency (Zulu Alpha Kilo) for – a company which truly knows the QSR inside and out. The orchestrators behind many of its past creative endeavours, this ongoing collaboration has proven instrumental in not only ensuring fast turnarounds and enabling the aforementioned infrastructure, but also just making sure that tonally, everything fits within the image Canadians have of Pizza Pizza.

Even with such rapport, however, Adrian admits that when creating campaigns such as these, tonally speaking, neither he nor the agency has an official, on-paper recipe for consistently striking the perfect balance between impactful yet not divisive. “I just know it when I see it and when I hear it,” he continues. “It’s a very Canadian vibe – clever, funny, a little bit of an edge, but ultimately well meaning. If you can hit that tone the right way, you’re likely not going to have any divisiveness or negativity. So far, we’ve done well, but there’s always a risk when you’re doing this kind of thing.”

Nevertheless, for Adrian and Pizza Pizza, this risk is one he intends to take again and again, provided it makes sense to do so, at least. While ‘Reverse Tariffs’ itself will be running for as long as it remains politically relevant – “hopefully not too long,” the CMO jokes – the brand’s desire to stay relevant and flex its ‘proudly Canadian’ muscles means that more messages like these are probably in its future… so long as they don’t become overly political or make the brand appear edgy.

But, before too much future-gazing can be done, some measure of attention needs to be kept on the present. While Pizza Pizza may be one of the first Canadian QSRs to strike – and hard, at that – ultimately, the possible pressures of these tariffs is not something the brand can afford to ignore.

When asked about the possible implications of these financial times, Adrian keeps it simple. “We’ll have to see. Certainly, if costs of ingredients are impacted, that’s a challenge for the entire industry and its customers.”

However, he also acknowledges the flip side, which is that Canadian brands will gain new opportunities to remind locals that they have options, even if their traditional go-to choices are no longer feasibly on the table. And this is where Pizza Pizza, especially, thrives.

“We’re kind of used to dealing with the cost pressures after years of inflation, so that part is just more of the same, I guess,” Adrian finishes. “Beyond that, we’ll just continue to look for ways to stay relevant and fun as the climate shifts, all with an understanding that pushing our Canadian brand message will be critical.”