Giving Pizza Hut a real bite in HK

Pizza Hut's Hong Kong marketing director Eunice Wong has had a busy 18 months since joining in 2004. Ostensibly the most widely-recognised pizza restaurant chain in the world, in Hong Kong, however, Pizza Hut was losing ground. Consumer research provided by Ogilvy & Mather showed that falling sales were a direct result of an increasingly common consumer mindset in which more than 50 per cent of potential diners said they would bypass the chain's 64 stores in Hong Kong in favour of local dim sum eateries or Korean barbeque restaurants. In fact, it was this critical piece of research which convinced Wong she needed to embark on an ambitious reinvention of the brand and what it offered to consumers. "The company had previously tried a total rebranding, and although it was still profitable, it was obvious that consumers were not coming through the doors," notes Wong."(Pizza Hut) made the store look nicer, changed staff uniforms and shot a new commercial, but then realised that sales dropped even further. It had built up expectations among consumers, but it was not delivering." With Indonesia and Korea already testing new approaches at the behest of the chain's global management, Wong made a decision to entirely revamp the positioning of Pizza Hut in Hong Kong. Instead of simply a restaurant offering pizza, the menu was overhauled to include more attractive local options, and consumer-focused initiatives such as 'cook for yourself' days were introduced. "What people are treasuring is involvement in food," says Wong. "What they enjoy is building the tallest salad, and competing with their friends -- that's what they're looking for. I took that and said that will be the direction for the company, not just the marketing, but the sharing and involvement in the food." The decision has already paid dividends, with sales rebounding sharply, and the marketing programme winning a number of awards. In fact, Wong reveals, her new positioning for Pizza Hut has attracted a large amount of interest from the upper echelons of the international operation. "There is a group of people which believes we are shedding light on where the brand needs to head in the next decade, and we are now sharing our approach with a number of markets outside Asia." Wong began her marketing career with Euro RSCG, working on World Gold Council's regional account, and has also performed stints at Bates Asia and Grey Global Group. Prior to joining Pizza Hut, she was vice-president and general manager of DDB Worldwide (Hong Kong and Taiwan). On the client side, she spent time most notably as senior vice-president of PCC Skyhouse, a member of the PCCW Group, but despite experience on both sides of the fence, she points to her time at Grey on the regional Pantene account as her most satisfying experience -- aside from her current position, she adds. "I really enjoyed my role with Grey, because it allowed me to really exercise my creativity," she says. "We felt like we were bringing up the standard of the whole region." She credits her emphasis on creativity and teamwork garnered over a 12-year career as the overriding factor which allowed the Pizza Hut repositioning to become successful. "You have to be creative, you have to know when to take things from other industries, and then you'll have a breakthrough," she notes. "Bringing in knowledge from a previous banking account for example, putting it back into your current business and achieving better distribution in a B2B environment -- that's what I call creativity."