New Boxes!

I expect to have some new boxes in hand today. And I can't wait to see them. After 8 years and roughly 200 different boxes, I am surprised how anxious I am to see these. I still get a thrill seeing new boxes (especially with good creative). The campaigns aren't scheduled to start for a few more days, so I'll have to wait before I post them, but they are very cool. Whenever I see a new box, it reminds me of the time 8 years ago when I saw our first ad that was for the History Channel (who is still a fequent client). And the time I saw our first 4-color process box (7 years ago!). It was for the movie 8 Legged Freaks and it blew us away. (above)

What are we?

I find it ironic that pizza box advertising is classed as "out of home". Since most take out and delivery pizza is eaten IN THE HOME. So the ad is seen in the home, near the TV, computer, phone, and usually in a group. Should we be classed as print like a magazine? Yes, the ad is printed on the box, and instead of a bunch of articles you have a pizza as the content. How about interactive? Since everyone interacts with the media by sticking their hand in the box and grabbing a slice (or three). We are also classed as "non-traditional" media, which I guess we are...though I was surprised to hear a media buyer refer to us as "Traditional Out of Home" the other day. Whatever we are called or classed as, the point is pizza box ads are pretty powerful stuff...A rose by any other name...

Pizza tops Mobile ad search...

Pizza Dominates Mobile Directory Enquiries

"Tellme Networks has published the results of a nationwide survey of US adults about consumer phone behavior and attitudes. The study, conducted by Harris Interactive, uncovers key generational differences and similarities in Directory Assistance use among Millennials (Age 18-28), GenXers (Age 29-40) and Boomers (Age 41-60). The study shows that the businesses people search for on the phone - from where to eat, to where to shop, to what to do [ clearly reflect the varied needs and tastes of different demographic groups and lifestyle segments.

Yet, one passion that spans across all age groups is the desire for pizza, as pizza parlors topped the list of 411 restaurant requests....

The study shows that among the 411 restaurant requests, the convenience of pizza takeout makes pizza parlors the most popular."

Another testament to the popularity of pizza, along with the appropriateness of the media for mobile phone co's.

Across the Board...

August is usually pretty slow...almost everyone's on vacation. Except this year (well maybe almost everyone's still on vacation, but those that are still at work are asking for proposals). And what's interesting is we are still getting a broad mix of requests for pizza box advertising. 4-Color Pizza Box Ads, 2-Color Pizza Box Ads, flyers on pizza boxes. And you know what? It's all good. Whatever the format, we can deliver.

Mac Knows College Students Love Pizza

Here's a new ad from Apple's Mac where they use a pizza as a lure for college students...
One reviewer of the ad said...
"Pizza Box is the gem of the bunch, where PC hides in a pizza box and tries to lure customers away from Mac, who has the number one notebook on college campuses. PC, talking out of a pizza box, gets quite upset naming all the qualities making Mac so popular. In the end, he goes back into his unusually-large pizza box and calls would-be devourers to "come eat me, I'm a delicious pizza."

Nice!

Here's another dude digging on a pizza box ad.
http://www.gamesniped.com/2008/04/23/meta-gear-solid-3-pizza-box/
Here's what they thought...
"Meta Gear Solid 3 Pizza BoxWritten by Link on 23rd April, 2008This is one of the best auctions I’ve run across lately. It’s a fracking Metal Gear Solid Pizza Box. That right, a Pizza Box."

Michael Phelps and Mangia Media...

What do Michael Phelps the gold medal phenom and Mangia Media have in commmon? They are both powered by pizza!
"Or Monday night, when he stuffed himself with pizza and pasta...
If Phelps had to do more than eat pizza, wake up, show up and take off his iPod to win the race, then it wasn’t much...
It was just a regular day. He predicts he’d later receive two massages, text message with friends, take a nap and get some more pizza. This may be getting boring for him."
GO USA!

Attachments a Trend?

In the 8 years since we created pizza box advertising, we've done occasional campaigns with various attachments... flyers, samples, etc. Lately I've noticed a significant increase in these types of campaigns. We are affixing more flyers (with and without offers or promos), more product samples, DVD's and the like. Whether this is a trend or a wave, it's interesting and we have in house capabilities to affix anything to pizza boxes, with or without ads (as long as the thing being attached is appropriately thin. ;-)

Were there ads on the boxes?

Here's an interesting tidbit from the campaign trail...

"And the campaign is staging colorful photo ops. Wednesday, McCain delivered a couple of pizzas to a fire house in Chillicothe, Ohio."

So McCain delivered some pizzas to a firehouse. I wonder if any of our ads were on the box? And you can tell the pizzas were from an independent pizzeria...not a chain.

And eBay Too!

On the same note, we've seen our clients pizza box ads sell on eBay for upwards of $50...for a used pizza box. Here's one that just showed up.

http://cgi.ebay.com/GRAND-THEFT-AUTO-4-IV-PIZZA-BOX-RARE-PROMO-LOOK_W0QQitemZ130243070507QQihZ003QQcategoryZ139973QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Only 5hrs left to get this cool grand theft auto box! ;-)

Making an impact

Every few weeks I visit http://www.flickr.com/ and look for pictures of pizza box ads we've produced for our clients. I often find a new one, and here's the latest on the right.

Or Visit here http://www.flickr.com/photos/angelinashoots/2703248213/

Someone named Angelina thought the box was cool enough to take a picture of, and then post the picture to flickr. I'd say that's pretty engaging!

Star Showcase Planning

For the past several years we have exhibited at the Star Showcase in NYC. This is a "tradeshow" for the outdoor advertising industry. We always make our entire booth out of pizza boxes. Note, even the chairs are made of pizza boxes.

Well we're thick in the planning for this years show in September, and we just ordered our "tchotchkes" or free goodie to give out at the show. They are really fun and we are looking forward to giving them out.

Why Blog?

It's funny, but as a kid no one thinks "when I grow up I want to start a new form of advertising...ads on pizza boxes." But that's exactly what happened. And for the past 8 years my work day (and much of my life) has revolved around Mangia Media and pizza box advertising. Since this is the "Soul Focus" of my business, we spend a lot of time and energy fine tuning our capabilities and working to make the media even better for our clients.

So I'm starting a blog to post my thoughts and experiences both for my own "record", and to share them with whoever is interested ( probably just a select number of advertising professionals and my mother).

Interestingly, starting the blog is a bit like starting a business. At this point, I'm not sure where it will end up, but I'm looking forward to the ride!