Quick Call with CPK on ‘Mobile First’ Marketing Program

Last week, California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) introduced version 2.0 of its Pizza Dough® Rewards mobile app, a new mobile app built in concert with rewards systems provider Paytronix Systems, Inc.  CPK has rolled  out v2.0 of its mobile app to 197 of its company-owned locations in the United States. CPK operates 300 restaurants in 16 countries.

We recently spoke with CPK CIO Andy Mai and Senior Vice President of Marketing Ashley Ceraolo to find out more about the new mobile app.

Tell us what’s new in version 2.0 of the CPK Pizza Dough Rewards app.

Andy Mai: We’ve recently introduced v2.0 of our mobile app. It’s the primary guest engagement vehicle of the CPK Pizza Dough® Rewards program. The app was designed from the bottom up to enhance our guests’ experience with an easy-to-navigate home screen, pay-at-table functionality, and the ability to access and redeem rewards.

Why did CPK believe it needed to overhaul its Pizza Dough Rewards app from the ground up?

Ashley Ceraolo:  More than 80% of our guests engage with us via mobile devices. As we adopt a “mobile first” marketing strategy, we wanted to increase the number of Pizza Dough Rewards members using our app by providing more convenience in every dining experience, whether dining in or out.

Is the new CPK Pizza Dough Rewards app 2.0 easier for guests to use?

Andy Mai: Aesthetically speaking, the most noticeable new attribute in v2.0 is the new U/I. It was designed to help guests find what they need more quickly with larger buttons, clear menu options, and more. It’s intuitive and simple to navigate.

Mobile pay is one of the most significant new features now available in the app. Now our guests will have the ability to pay for their check at their convenience straight from their phone, rather than when the server drops the final check. Through the app, guests can view their check, apply available rewards, select a payment method, enter a tip using the tip calculator and complete the transaction in seconds.

Is Pay at the Table integrated with your POS System?

Andy Mai: Yes, it’s definitely integrated. There’s a piece of the user interface that impacts our servers at the POS – at a glance servers can see which tables have paid and those that have yet to pay. The new payment system uses the same payment mechanism as our existing POS system, so all reporting and operations are the same for our accounting team.

How has CPK leveraged its mobile app to bring its “mobile first” marketing strategy to life?

Ashley Ceraolo: Since the launch of the Pizza Dough Rewards program in 2013, CPK has moved the vast majority of its program members onto the mobile app, which has become an important platform to reach and enhance the experience of our highly mobile guest. The omnichannel capabilities of the app, in concert with our mobile-optimized digitial and social marketing strategy, allow us to reach our guests on their preferred technology platform in a relevant and seamless way.

For instance, last year CPK took advantage of the geofencing capabilities within the Pizza Dough Rewards app to support our “Traveling Pizza Dough Contest,” which encouraged participants to follow clues on a scavenger hunt to find prizes.

We also added a real-time element to the program that enables us to deliver messages to recipients in context – while they are likely making the “where-to-dine” decision – to compel them to visit CPK.

How does CPK ensure that the Pizza Dough Rewards program is on track?

Ashley Ceraolo: CPK takes advantage of analytic capabilities in the Paytronix Rewards platform to continuously test program elements – from promotional offers to the reward program itself – before rolling out new ideas system wide. The flexibility of the Paytronix system enables our marketing team to test for best performance to find the next high-impact, strategic idea.

For example, with each new campaign, CPK holds out a control group that matches the exact characteristics of the target group. This test-and-control methodology enables us to readily answer the common question, “would these guests have come in anyway?” to arrive at true insight into the efficacy of our efforts

In addition, we are able to test the core program in target markets to uncover methods for continuously improving the results of the overall rewards program. Paytronix allows us to test program hypotheses in representative markets and then use the rich data to inform go/no-go decisions. CPK also takes advantage of the Paytronix Data Insights premium analytics service to dive deeper into customer and campaign data and to help make decisions about future improvements to the Pizza Dough Rewards program.