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ON A TUESDAY IN JUNE, FIVE
days before Father’s Day,
John Nicolakakis and Bonnie good to go.
Cooper were on a road trip from Cape
Town to the Northern Cape centre of
Kuruman, checking in with Roman’s
Pizza franchisees along the way.
The CEO of the franchise turned to
Cooper, the brand’s Chief Marketing
Officer, and asked what it would take
to run a promotion for dads on the
coming Sunday.
By 11am the next day, more than
130 franchisees had been advised, all
in-store promotional material had been
ordered, ads had been booked on five
radio stations, Facebook and Twitter
campaigns had been launched, and
a two-for-the-price-of-one special was
On the day in question, sales were up
by 75%. It’s that kind of agility that has said FASA.
perhaps played a role in Roman’s Pizza
winning the Franchise Association of
South Africa (FASA) 2016 Brand Builder
of the Year award, an annual accolade
which recognises the company that best
manages to elevate and grow its brand
through the successful implementation
of a sound marketing strategy.
Agility and instant decision-making
are among the positives of running a
family-owned business, according to
Nicolakakis, who says he is planning to
double the brand’s footprint in the next
two years. He’s frank about consulting
with the Roman’s franchisees, while
also having to take risks. “I call it an
autocratic democracy,” he tells the
? ‘cheap’ by some, but we only use Greek
He is planning to
double the chain’s
brand footprint
IMM Journal of Strategic Marketing.
“We have a committee that represents
store owners, but I do not believe that
the safe decision is always the right
decision. There was some resistance
to the Father’s Day promotion, but
capitalising on the opportunity, even
with the time constraints, was a risk
that paid off substantially.”
The FASA award, which focuses on
innovation and effective execution of
marketing strategies rather than the
size of the brand’s marketing budget,
recognised that Roman’s Pizza has
found its own unique niche in the
competitive pizza market. “From using
well-known comedian Barry Hilton and
the company’s CEO in its memorable
August–September 2016 strategicmarketing 21
television ads, to bucking the trend by
promoting its ‘call and collect while
it’s hot’ tagline, Romans Pizza has
significantly increased the turnover
and profitability of their franchisees,”
VALUE FOR MONEY
The brand was founded by Nicolakakis’s
father, Arthur, in 1993 when he bought
a struggling pizza restaurant with the
intention of turning it around. He soon
concluded that the product was too
expensive. But instead of reducing the
price he decided to sell two for the price
of one, turning the business into a price
leader in the fast-food sector.
“We provide the best quality meals
at the best value for money,” claims
Cooper. “Roman’s Pizza is the founder
of the two-for-one discount on any
pizza of the customer’s choice, and we
have set an industry benchmark on
value for money. We are seen as being
olives, Italian anchovies, whole milk
mozzarella and fresh, unfrozen dough.
Two large pizzas for R99 can feed a
family of four, which is a compelling
proposition in tough times.”
COST CONTAINMENT
In a highly competitive market,
however, elements other than pricing
and turnover come into play. The first
is an efficient supply chain. Roman’s
has three depots in the country, which
management says makes the transport
and supply of goods to stores efficient
and cost-effective – critical in a sector
where competitors will readily cut prices
to woo customers. A ‘no deliveries’
policy, which is unusual in the South
African pizza franchise environment,
also helps to contain transport costs.
“With the influx of international brands
and the downturn in the economy, we
have had to turn our focus inwards,”
Nicolakakis explains. “It’s critical to >>