• by Karlene Lukovitz , August 8, 2008

More than 35,000 Democratic National Convention attendees--not to mention many thousands of other people flying in and out of Denver over the next few months--will undoubtedly be jockeying to get a view out of plane windows as they near Denver International Airport (DIA).

Not in hopes of spotting presumptive presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama on the tarmac, but to get a good look at the biggest "pizza" anyone's ever likely to see.

In a promotion that even Mel Gibson could love, Papa John's commissioned a six-acre crop circle depicting a pizza topped with pepperoni and other goodies to boost awareness of its new 100% whole-wheat crust pizzas. The crop circle also includes a Papa John's pizza box in its upper right-hand corner and the words "New 100% Whole-Wheat Crust Pizza" in its lower-right corner.

"We think the crop circle is a perfect visual for communicating Papa John's use of 100% whole grains to make our new whole-wheat crust pizza," summed up Bill Van Epps, president, Papa John's USA.

The crop circle, located a mile from DIA's runways and less than 30 miles from downtown Denver, is by no means a first in the world of marketing. It was created by Stan Herd, known as the "Michelangelo of earthworks," whose many natural creations have included some other commercial crop circles. However, Papa John's believes it's the first pizza brand to get the rural mural treatment, according to PR director Tish Muldoon.

The crop circle's concept and timing vis à vis the Democratic National Convention was "part strategy, part serendipity," says Muldoon. Papa John's introduced the new crusts in May, becoming the first national pizza chain to add 100% whole-wheat crusts to its menu. As it happens, the wheat used to make the Ultragrain flour used for the crusts is grown in Colorado--making Denver's hosting of the convention a large-scale opportunity for land-branding.

Tied in with the completion of the crop circle, Papa John's offered the whole-wheat crust pizzas at a special price--$8.88, on orders made through its Web site on Thursday and today.

Papa John's reported $572.4 million in revenue for the first six months of this year--an increase of 10.7% compared to first-half 2007. Net income for the period was $16.3 million, or $0.57 per diluted share, compared to last year's $20.2 million, or $0.66 per diluted share. That included an after-tax loss of $5.5 million, or $0.18 per diluted share, from the consolidation of BIBP Commodities, Inc., a franchisee-owned cheese purchasing company.