Developing a family company into a PE growth engine
The Company
Lou Malnati’s, the legendary Chicago pizza chain and family-owned business, brought in investors and a new leadership team to help scale its Tastes of Chicago nationwide shipping business and restaurants outside of Chicago.
The Challenge
After successful new market launches, it was challenging to maintain the volume and dining frequency that Malnati’s enjoys in Chicago. The team needed strategic support to define brand positioning and improve brand awareness & trial in new markets, as well as for their shipping business.
The Actions
Identified consumer insights to develop Lou Malnati’s brand strategy
Provide marketing leadership for Brand team and hired new team members
Developed a robust marketing campaign calendar focused on new markets to encourage trial
Developed first-ever brand strategy to define Lou’s outside of the Chicago market, including positioning, target definition, and brand personality
Created integrated processes for campaign planning to allow for more time and creativity
Accelerated influencer program and integrated within the campaigns, focused on markets outside of Chicago
The Results
Developed creative and scrappy local promotional plans outside of Chicago, including in-store tasting events, giveaways, and summer campaign ‘tour’ for social media
Hired brand and social media managers with talents to improve team performance on creativity, integration, and standardized KPI reporting