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Marketing, technology discussions highlight inaugural Pizza Executive Summit
June 9, 2009
CHICAGO -- The Pizza Executive Summit wrapped up nearly two days of panel discussions and collaborative sessions on June 9.
The summit, held June 8-9 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, was the first of what event organizer NetWorld Alliance hopes will be an annual event in the pizzeria industry. NetWorld Alliance is the publisher of PizzaMarketplace.com
The summit's second day kicked off with keynote presentations by Jamie Strobino, vice president of new concepts with Uno Chicago Grill, and Kristi Stark, director of marketing with POS provider Revention.
Strobino covered a variety of topics including how operators can make their brand stand out and how operators of an older brand can make it new again.
"Uno is 65 years old. We've been around long enough to collect Social Security," Strobino said. "How do you get today's guest to think about you in a different light?"
Strobino talked about some of the efforts Uno participates in to connect with the communities where it operates. One of the highlights of Uno's efforts is its partnership with the nonprofit organization Pizzas 4 Patriots for Operation Pizza Surge.
The companies will dish out more than 25,000 pizzas to U.S. servicemen and women throughout Iraq and Afghanistan in time for July 4 in what has been dubbed "the world's largest pizza party."
Stark talked about the importance of forming partnerships in the industry and using technology.
"From a breakthough standpoint, what I really want to encourage everyone to do is share ideas, not just across brands but the people you do business with," Stark said. "At the end of the day, if you're successful, we're successful."
Other sessions included a discussion of ways operators can use social marketing to boost business and a presentation on ways to cut costs in operations and purchasing.
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