Will The Hut accomplish what Pizza Hut can’t
In 1991 Kentucky Fried Chicken officially made the switch to the name KFC. (Despite rumor, it wasn’t to get rid of the word “fried” in its title but it was actually because of the state of Kentucky’s tax problems — the state made any entity using the word “Kentucky” pay a usage fee.) Now fellow Yum! owned restaurant Pizza Hut looks poised to make a similar transition.
While officially denying they are changing names, the pizza chain has branded its pizza boxes and some store signs to just say “The Hut.” It’s part of its drive to appear more “with it” according to Pizza Hut’s Chief Market Officer Brian Niccol:
Our red box is a game changer in packaging and design. And
yes, we’re also introducing another vocabulary word with Pizza Hut,
which is ‘The Hut.’ That ties in nicely with [today’s] texting
generation. We wanted to make sure that Pizza Hut and ‘The Hut’
become common vernacular for our brand. Red is our mark and when
you see that red roof, people will refer to it as ‘The Hut’ or
‘Pizza Hut.’ As we expand our online and mobile businesses, ‘The
Hut’ is the perfect icon for our mobile generation.
Pizza Hut seems like it’s grasping for straws looking for any idea right now that will help it regain sales. As it introduces its “The Hut” brand, it is also trying to make inroads with budget conscious eaters. Yesterday it released a value menu featuring four items costing between $5-$6. In Florida it’s testing “Hut TV” personalized trivia games and short show segments to keep people interested while they wait for a pizza.
But will any of it work? Pizza expert Adam Kuban has issues with the logo, saying it looks less like a roof than a hat, while design blog idsgn is reminded of a certain Spaceballs character. The budget menu still doesn’t break the magical below-$5 price barrier and Hut TV has teamed up not with MTV or another hip channel, but the stodgy CBS, which has the oldest viewers of any network.
It’s enough to make one wish Pizza Hut would go back to making under-cover commercials.
(Image via Flickr: Savannah-Smiles)
