Papa John’s Pizza awards Lowe its Malaysia communications duties

However at this point, details of the planned expenditures or media touch points remain undisclosed. Papa John’s Pizza originated in the US and is one of the world’s largest pizza companies, with more than 3,500 stores and franchises across 30 countries.

“Building the Papa John’s brand in a market that has only known two international pizza chain brands for many years is an exciting challenge,” explained Khairudin Rahim, referring to Pizza Hut and Domino’s that both set foot in the country in the mid-90s.  “We need to change the game and bring a fresh approach to what has become a somewhat generic product.”

“Despite being a new player in the marketplace, Papa John’s has an enthusiastic team and we look forward to forging a strong partnership with them and supporting their aggressive expansion in Malaysia,” added Rahim.

Meanwhile, Francis Lee, executive director of the Berjaya Pizza Company, said of the appointment, “Delivering superior quality pizza is what we want the Malaysian consumer to enjoy, and this is the backbone of the brief we gave to Lowe. Although Papa John’s only started in Malaysia in late 2008, we plan to have 100 outlets within 10 years of our start. With Lowe’s reputation for converting creativity into effectiveness, we are confident Papa John’s Pizza will benefit from the partnership.”

The appointment comes on the heels of Lowe being appointed Ikea’s regional creative agency for the Malaysian, Singapore and Thai markets, the agency for the launch of Unilever’s Axe deodorant in Malaysia, and the agency to F&N Malaysia for its F&N and Teapot brands.