• by Steve Smith , Staff Writer @popeyesm, August 6, 2012

Apps? We don’t need no stinkin’ apps. Anyway, they get all greasy when you are trying to swipe a smartphone and fold a gooey slice of pizza. Papa Murphy’s Take N’ Bake Pizza chain of parlors is expanding its use of text mobile marketing with provider Phizzle. The two companies announced that mobile SMS, couponing and alert programs now would be available in 550 of the 1,300 locations in North America and across 26 states.

The program started in 2010 and includes extensive in-store signage, table tents, coupon mailers and Facebook Web opt-ins. The company says it has already built an opt-in SMS database of over 100,000 take and bake pizza lovers. Papa Murphy’s makes custom order pies that you take home and bake yourself.

Subscribers to the textback programs get several special offers and coupons by SMS each month. Phizzle says that some franchises have seen redemption rates on these coupons of up to 18%. Most customers who respond to the offers come in for a free or discounted medium pie but often end up upgrading their purchase.