Situation: KFC was launching its newest menu innovation, the Chizza, a fried chicken pizza-like creation.

Brief: Launch the Chizzeria in a way that created buzz and got people and the press talking about it to bring attention to the new menu item.

Objective: PR Impressions and Social Mentions

No place cares more about pizza than New York, which means no place would be more intrigued (or probably offended) by the launch of KFC’s newest menu item, the Chizza.

To launch this pizza-like creation, we decided to infiltrate the pizza capital of America and secretly open the world’s first Chizzeria.

For one weekend, we completely rebranded KFC’s 14th Street location into a Chizza shop disguised as a pizza shop. Media, influencers, and hundreds of New Yorkers flocked to the Chizzeria for free food, free merch, and lots of tasty content opportunities.

The Chizzeria sold out in a day and a half, but the love continued online, with resellers hawking the merch and one Chizzeria fan permanently inking themselves with the Chizza mascot. The stunt launched Chizza with a bang, turning NYC (at least for a weekend) into the Chizza capital of the world.

We targeted Gen Z and younger Millennials who were social media obsessed and would share the activation for us.

The look and feel of the Chizzeria was something our target audience would naturally want to share on Instagram and TikTok. It had all the trappings of a classic pizzeria, with cooler, modern touches spread throughout.

Overnight, we transformed a KFC on 14th Street in New York City into the world’s first Chizzeria. The pop-up lasted three days (Thursday, February 22-Saturday, February 24). From top to bottom, the store was designed to mimic the visual aesthetic of a classic New York pizzeria.

Inside, the KFC walls were covered with wood paneling, the flooring was swapped out for classic blue-and-white checkerboard, and the menu was changed to a vintage pegboard style. Framed photos of fake Little League teams and signed local celebrity portraits hung on the walls alongside retro Pepsi signage and old-school Kentucky memorabilia.

Outside, the KFC branding was replaced with Chizzeria logos, Chizzeria neon signs, and a giant Chizzeria mural stretching along 2nd Avenue.

EARNED COVERAGE

We secured over 200 placements with over 500 million impressions in less than 24 hours.​ We also secured interest in food deliveries, tastings, and drops from the following outlets:​

The Drew Barrymore Show​

The New York Post​

Fox’s The Five​

Today

Access Hollywood

SOCIAL

10.7K mentions of KFC Chizza or Chizzeria within the first week (beginning on February 21 when the PR announcement went live)

NUMBER OF ATTENDEES AND CHIZZAS EATEN​

Day One: ~1,420​

Day Two: ~950 (sold out before closing of the event)

VERBATIM QUOTES FROM CHIZZERIA ATTENDEES​

“I was screaming for 11 herbs and spices from across the street when I saw this thing.”

“Will this be on the menu permanently?”

“You should keep the Chizzeria designs up when the KFC comes back.”​

“I’m bringing my kids back later!”

“I wish KFC looked like this all the time; so cool.”