Pizza Hut launches first actionable audio ad

Pizza Hut has partnered with ad-tech firm Say It Now and agency Navigate Digital to create a smart speaker advertising campaign that enables customers to claim delivery discounts.

Smart speaker listeners who hear the Pizza Hut advert on digital radio stations will be able to claim their discount directly by saying ‘Alexa, Open Pizza Hut Delivery’.

The pizza chain with 18,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries, wishes to reach millions of listeners via smart speaker devices with its ‘actionable’ advertising campaign.

According to the brand, 39% of UK Adults have access to smart speakers. Analysts have also predicted that the growing use of voice assistants will drive the value of smart home payments to £139 billion in 2025.

“Say It Now’s actionable audio adverts deliver immediacy and convenience for Pizza Hut customers hungry to get their hands on their favourite pizzas,” Say It Now director of strategic partnerships, Maria Cadbury, said.

“Harnessing data and creativity, this is exactly the kind of campaign that our technology has been created to facilitate and it is great to see an innovative brand like Pizza Hut leading the way.”

The news comes months after research from Neuro-Insight Smart showed that speaker advertising builds deeper connections between brands and consumers and generates ‘powerful’ responses in the human brain.

Pizza Hut head of digital marketing, Nicola Keane added: “Customer convenience is a central part of our offering, and actionable audio adverts – now being used to share our discount code – slot in with our easy order options that include the Pizza Hut mobile app and website.”

“We are thrilled to trial smart speaker voice adverts on Amazon Alexa devices that use the Say It Now ‘send to phone’ Alexa feature and enhance our easy order options. We are committed to providing an easy pizza experience – from order to delivery – and this innovative conversational technology allows follow through on this commitment in new and exciting ways.”