Comments on: Pizza Hut CIO Proving The Unprovable: Mobile ROI

By: Rob Weber

Rob Weber — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 11:44:56 +0000

Hats off to Pizza Hut! Their iPhone app has a very well designed user interface. It actually makes ordering a pizza on your cell phone fun. I’m generally not a huge fan of food companies creating apps because they offer me very little extra utility. Large scale brick and mortar retailers should focus on the location based aspects of mobile commerce, and not try to simply port their web strategy into mobile. Mobile requires its own strategy, as does other forms of app marketing (social apps and sharing, etc). Finally, should Pizza Hut be considering other app platforms as the platforms become more saturated? For example, car electronics.

By: Evan Schuman

Evan Schuman — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 19:02:18 +0000

Dave said: “Domino’s app is sub-standard to say the least (so is their website!)”
Well, so is their pizza, but that’s another issue.

By: Dave

Dave — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 17:45:53 +0000

At last someone has a decent grasp of what iPhone apps should include. A nice simple idea that uses the technology in an iPhone to maximize usability. Interesting use of technology for the payment processing as well. Too many brands are currently jumping on the app bandwagon and failing, Domino’s app is sub-standard to say the least (so is their website!)

By: David Dorf

David Dorf — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 22:23:25 +0000

The Pizza Hut app is a great example because its useful, engaging, and leverages the capabilities of the phone. Yes its specific to the iPhone, but there’s no better place to start. You certainly wouldn’t criticize someone for releasing their software on Windows first and following-up with other operating systems once its proven. And I agree that justifying an investment in something so new is tough, but at least now we have some positive data for the other companies that follow.

By: Fabien Tiburce / Compliantia

Fabien Tiburce / Compliantia — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 21:57:41 +0000

Greg, Using the numbers you provided yourself, 42% of iPhone users are less than 34 years old! That’s huge! I am not saying this is not a worthwhile demographic, in fact in the case of a pizza brand, that is precisely where you want to be. However many professionals (people with jobs and disposable income) carry BlackBerries, not iPhone. Also many “early adopters” are now ditching the iPhone and going with Android. So my point is as soon as you develop for a single platform, you really need to ensure your customer demographics are aligned with that platform and be prepared to develop for a new platform (eg: Android) when the winds change; they eventually will.

By: Evan Schuman

Evan Schuman — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 20:32:17 +0000

Editor’s Note: For what it’s worth, the headline was indeed accurate and true. But it was referring to something else. It was saying that getting approval for the mobile app BEFORE it was launched …. THAT’s when it’s incredibly difficult to prove ROI. Before launch, not after. I am strongly guessing all of the case studies you’re referencing and dealing with after launch.

By: Mike Romano

Mike Romano — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 20:23:13 +0000

Congratulations to Pizza Hut for being a leader and for a well planned and executed strategy.

However, the headline of this article suggesting that mobile ROI is “unprovable” is inaccurate and not true.
Mobile ROI is very provable and, in fact, I see dozens of companies every day seeing measurable ROI with mobile.

When used properly, mobile is one of THE most measurable direct marketing channels, and the response rates deliver better ROI than many of our clients other direct channels such as email and direct mail.

Many mobile companies can show you hundreds of case studies.

By: Jeff Roster

Jeff Roster — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:21:12 +0000

I believe this is a terrific example for a couple of reasons:
1. Remember the app was prominently featured in Apple iPhone commercials run nationally. I have heard estimates as to the value of that exposure. The number is large.
2. We are still in the very early days of mobile commerce. Pizza Hut made a bold decision and I believe have been handsomely rewarded for their gutsy call.
3. From a US perspective the iPhone user is the perfect demographic to experiment with. The validation of mobile commerce is not unique to the iPhone world. As other platforms grow in adoption this type of app flows right along.

This year we will see many retailers experiment with mobile commerce. Many will be unsuccessful. So be it. The message here is to take chances.

By: Greg Lucas

Greg Lucas — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 14:53:34 +0000

Fabien, I have to respectfully disagree with you. First, you shouldn’t look at the worldwide smart phone market when looking to deploy a US only mobile application. You have to look at the US trends. You can’t doubt the popularity of the iPhone here in the US. Secondly, the iPhone is not for “young, urban professionals.” Neilsen published numbers that show there are just as many iphone user 55+ years old as there are 13-24.

http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/iphone-users-watch-more-video-and-are-older-than-you-think/

By: Fabien Tiburce / Compliantia

Fabien Tiburce / Compliantia — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 13:21:51 +0000

Creative use of technology, well suited to the likely audience: mostly young, students or urban professionals, many of whom with iPhones. However this particular use-case may not be portable to other industries and categories. Let’s keep in mind that Apple has only a minor share (14%)in the smart-phone market worldwide, well behind Symbian/Nokia (51%) and BlackBerry (21%). Meanwhile the Android eco-system is growing by leaps and bounds. So unless you only deal with young urban professionals (iPhone generation), you probably need to either develop and maintain a number of native apps, one for each platform or, create mobile-optimized micro-browser based apps that are completely portable.