Social media growth drives brand awareness and loyalty, while rewarding hungry clients

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - 4 December 2012

Pizza HutMiddle East has developed the region's first augmented reality application within theQuick Service Restaurant industry to promote the Pizza Hut Family Box, while harnessing the power of social media to capture increased marketshare among the Middle East's youthful, highly connected audiences.

Using Ogle technology, recently launched at GITEX 2012 in Dubai (consumer electronics exhibition), the new Pizza Hut augmented reality application offers an enhanced view of Pizza Hut's new offerings, overlaying it with video content and engaging contest which can be accessed via smartphones or tablets. Users simply need to download the Ogle app via the ITunes store and get started.

Users simply hover their mobile device of choice over Pizza Hut's latest series of print advertisements to launch the augmented reality application and connect with the brand's Facebook page, website and latest television commercial,creating a dynamic snapshot of Pizza Hut's latest meal deals and innovations including the 'cone crust' pizzas developed specifically for the Middle East region.

The new augmented reality application, is aimed at significantly extending Pizza Hut Middle East's social media reach, which already sees an average user engagement rate of 100,000 people per month on facebook and has experienced an annual growth from 56,000 fans in October 2011, to more than 815,000 this month (November 2012"Social media is the most influential channel to reach Pizza Hut's customers across the Middle East's youth-oriented, intensely-connected communities, and our augmented reality application ties together the brand's value across print, digital and social platforms, really bringing our offers to life for hungry fans," said Nasir Zaman, general manager for Pizza Hut Middle East.

Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are the largest and fastest-growing markets for Pizza Hut Middle East's social media outreach, primarily through Facebook.  The company's regional YouTube channel recently recorded almost 1.35 million views for its videos (over the 2nd week of April 2012), highlighting the Family Box value meal and other regional offerings.

"The Middle East is a highly value-conscious market with a proven appetite for family meals, as well as stratospheric growth in social media adoption, so these factors have encouraged Pizza Hut Middle East to take a leadership role in growing our brand and connecting with customers through a range of social media platforms," Zaman added.

To further reward hungry fans, Pizza Hut has also partnered with some of the region's leading leisure outlets, giving away family days out to destinations including Ski Dubai, Playnation, Magic Planet and Wahooo! waterpark through an interactive quiz on its Facebook page.

Pizza Hut Middle East was recently ranked among the region's most socially connected brands by Gulf Business magazine.  The company operates via a franchise model in 13 regional markets.

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About Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut Middle East is the Persian Gulf's largest pizza franchise with more than 600 locations.  Pizza Hut Middle East is part of Yum! Brands, Inc., the world's largest restaurant company in terms of system restaurants with over 38,000 restaurants in more than 120 countries and territories. Yum! is ranked #213 on the Fortune 500 List with revenues of more than $12 billion in 2011. The Yum! Brands system opened approximately four new restaurants each day of the year, making it a leader in international retail development.

© Press Release 2012