PAPA MURPHY’S “SALES ARE FLAT, FRANCHISE STORES ARE CLOSING, WE NEED A BRAND MAKEOVER”. 2003: Ken Barnes – BSR CEO was approached by Papa Murphy’s Pizza who was in need of a complete brand makeover. New Franchise sales were declining as were in-store revenues. Papa Murphy’s was losing substantial market share in the bake-at-home pizza market and needed a re-imagined Brand, a new Branded Environment and an updated and face-forward Message that were so well integrated into the store that customers would not only enjoy the in-store experience more, but would seek out the added value it offered.

A NEW STORE WAS DESIGNED WITH THE MESSAGE BUILT IN. Great care was taken  to understand the PM brand and why it was failing to connect with its audience. Intel gleaned from two separate in-house market studies was integral to finding the solution. PM wasn’t failing to deliver value in the food, it was failing to deliver value in the customer experience. So the decision was made to co-join the food, the message and the store experience. The results were a store that was warm and inviting with rich feeling materials and surfaces all integrated into the brand-message. A new logo was developed, streamlining the typography and updating the shape and color, both of which would be used to evolve the store design. The brand-messages “100% Fresh” and “Quality, made by hand” were not only present in in-store marketing but were woven into the fabric of the store through new brand walls and murals. New easier to navigate menu systems were developed with plenty of room for specials and limited time offers. New reach-in retailers were added adjacent to pos stations to capture the strong impulse-buy market that had so far eluded PM. These retailers alone added substantial top-line revenues as an instant love for PM “Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough” a product designed to indulge,  continues to drive thousands of dollars in weekly store sales. We even developed a new menu item; the Papa Murphy’s “De-Lite Pizza”, and option for calorie conscious customers. Today De-Lite Pizza sales account for 15%-20% of overall PM store sales.

WE MET ALL OF THE CLIENT GOALS
1. The New Design must generate higher in-store revenues.  
2. The New Design must cost less to implement than current build-outs.    
3. The New Design must be infinitely repeatable.    
4. The New Design must turn around declining franchise sales.    

MEASURING THE RESULTS. The initial results of the re brand and store makeovers were definitive.  100 test stores were rolled out, 50 new locations and 50 remodels. Sales measured over the following year tracked sustained increases of between 15% and 25% in all stores. Declining franchise sales were reversed. Papa Murphy’s added more than 15% chain growth over the following year.

PAPA MURPHY’S INVESTS $4MM TO ROLL OUT THE DESIGN. Papa Murphy’s was so impressed with the results of the new design and its affinity for sales-building they did something unprecedented in the franchise industry. They invested $4MM of corporate funds to immediately upgrade all existing restaurants to the new design, a move that continues to pay off to this day. The Papa Murphy’s chain has grown from 250 units at the time of the re-brand to more than 1400 units nationwide and store sales continue to increase 10%-20 % annually even through this challenging economy.

The Re-Branded Papa Murphy’s has built and maintained increased sales revenues and increased chain growth every year since the launch of its new brand. THIS IS A TRUE EXAMPLE OF BRANDING THAT WORKS. Q: WHAT HAS YOUR BRAND DONE FOR YOU TODAY?