• Adweek, Tuesday, July 13, 2010 11:21 AM

Noreen O'Leary sits down with Andrew Varga, who joined Papa John's as CMO nearly a year ago after spending 22 years at Brown-Forman. The biggest difference between marketing at B-F and Papa John's, Varga says, is "this business is as fast as any you're ever going to see." With real-time data readily available, you can make changes on a Friday that will affect weekend sales.

Intent on expanding the digital presence of America's No. 3 pizza chain, Varga launched the Specialty Pizza Challenge, which saw more than 12,000 consumers submitting pizza recipes via Facebook. Three finalists, each of whom has a $1,000 marketing budget to promote his or her pie, are vying for a permanent spot on the chain's menu (and a slice of revenue whenever concoction is sold).

Two of the finalists feature jalapeños, but Varga admits to rooting for the third -- a chicken cordon bleu pie with chicken, ham, onion and alfredo sauce -- "because it is a name that already has a consumer association and would be easy to market.'

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