Frank Pepe’s Pizzeria Napoletana has opened one of the most recognizable pizzerias in the United States using word of mouth. After returning from World War I, Frank Pepe initially began with making bread during the week and pizzas on the weekend. After seeing a demand for his product, he utilized his entrepreneurial spirit and focused solely on pizza. Frank Pepe founded Pepe’s Pizzeria in 1925, with a heavy influence from his Italian culture, in New Haven, CT. Frank Pepe developed the New Haven-style thin crust pizza that earned him a reputation as owner of one of the country’s premiere pizzerias. Many people began referring to Frank Pepe as “Old Reliable,” which continued to generate positive feedback throughout different communities.
Pepe’s signature pizza, the White Clam Pizza, has been the most notable recipe since its development in the mid-1960s.
Since the beginning, Pepe’s has been a family-run business.
Frank’s wife and children all worked in the original store and after retiring, they passed the business to their children, who still have a stake in the business today.
Through the transition between generations, Pepe’s has always aimed to deliver a premium product that is consistent and meets customer standards. As people come into the store, Pepe’s employees engage in personal selling by communicating various menu items.
Current CEO Ken Berry places a high emphasis upon delivering the promise and guarantee of quality within their product every day. As chief executive operator, he sees the challenge of delivering this promise as a duty that helps protect and build the brand, which the Pepe family initially built. He strives to retain brand equity and rely upon feedback from loyal customers as the company continues to grow.
Including the first and flagship store, there are currently 11 pizzerias in Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. With each new store came the difficult task of maintaining the original experience for new, prospective, and loyal customers. When Pepe’s began to consistently pursue expansion tactics, some customers appeared dismayed. There were protests and boycotts occurring on opening days, as other happy customers waited in long lines to test the reputation of the premiere pizza.
To ensure customer satisfaction at the new locations, Ken Berry discussed the critical nature of replicating every aspect of the original idea. Everything from the recipes being virtually unchanged to the layout and colors of the stores needed to be congruent to ensure success. He describes Pepe’s as an experience that allows customers to step back in time with a handcrafted product.
Another aspect of developing demand for the company in new locations was the advertising tactics used. As Pepe’s has always done, they relied upon word of mouth to retain and gain new customers. They place emphasis upon the experience and listen to customer feedback on whether they are delivering a quality product. At times they use direct mail, which can be an effective form of advertising, and they engage with consumers on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook to remain connected with them. This is sometimes called electronic word of mouth. A major form of promotion comes in the form of free pizza, which is sales promotion. Generally, the week before a grand opening, Pepe’s will offer free pizza for a week at that location to allow new ovens to be broken in and workers to understand Pepe’s culture, and to showcase the confidence that Pepe’s has in their product to the local community.
For the public relations side of the company, Pepe’s has a donation request option on their website, where customers are welcome to fill out an application to receive primarily gift cards from the company. They also hold a good neighbor night, which allows an organization to hold a fundraiser at any location. Fifteen percent of proceeds made that night is given to the organization. While Pepe’s loses out on some of the proceeds, these events create quality relationships in the community as well as generating a potentially new customer base. They also donate gift cards to nonprofit organizations for fundraising purposes.
Throughout the years Pepe’s has strived to deliver a promise to customers by staying true to the original product.
They have maintained their brand equity through their dedication and standards set by customers, family members, and all stakeholders associated with the product. For Pepe’s, it is clear that through positive word-of-mouth, advertising does not always need to be a costly expense.39

Questions for Discussion

1. What are the various promotion elements that Pepe’s uses to communicate with customers?
2. What role does word of mouth play in Pepe’s integrated marketing communications?
3. Evaluate free pizza as a form of sales promotion in Pepe’s success.