Little Caesars has launched a 360-degree campaign to introduce its new LTO, which includes four pieces of the brand’s signature pizza dough, filled with macaroni and cheese and topped with KD cheese powder.

The campaign for the new Crazy Puffs KD Mac & Cheese offer, aimed at families and Gen Z, is supported by TV, digital media and public relations. The company kicked off with a multi-platform promotional campaign on May 13, ahead of the product launch, to create buzz. It partnered with seven content creators from across Canada and hosted them at Little Caesars’ global headquarters in Detroit, Michigan for a top secret reveal of the new product.

“The influencers were a key part of the tease campaign ahead of the launch, and reached audiences nationwide on launch day,” Little Caesars’ director of global product development and menu management Jessica Foust, tells Media in Canada.

A teaser spot and a Facebook event were also promoted two weeks prior to the launch. On launch day, a reveal spot was deployed on all platforms, reaching people at any stages of the funnel, says Foust. “High quality content was also produced by seven content creators, which Little Caesars boosted to promote the new product to new and existing target audiences in an authentic and enthusiastic way.”

Jungle Media handled media buying, with Citizen Relations behind the creative.

The LTO launch builds on the brand’s success with its Crazy Puffs snacks, launched in May last year to allow Canadians to enjoy the brand’s pizza flavors on the go, says Foust. She adds that the new product expands that food-to-go offering, while increasing market share in the pizza category and brand affinity.

“Little Caesars objective is to connect guests in a fun, cravable way that provides a pizza occasion for everyone,” she says. “We are always exploring new ways to deliver delicious and fun food experiences for our customers.”

The company had already launched another Crazy Puffs combination with shredded cheese and pepperoni in May last year. The new products also capitalize on the popularity of the Hot-N-Ready offering that the brand introduced in 2004 to satisfy customers’ need for a quick, hot take-home pizza.

According to Foust, Little Caesars also saw an opportunity after market researcher Maru/Blue conducted a survey on behalf of the company, revealing how popular macaroni and cheese is in Canada – 82% of respondents enjoy the dish. Around 1,521 Canadian adults participated in the survey, conducted between April and May of this year.

“With this campaign, the goal was to tap into the comfort and nostalgia of two Canadian favourites: pizza and mac and cheese,” says Foust.