Pizza Hut Sets Radio Roadblock Tonight

Pizza Hut breaks new ground today with a national radio promotion and sampling blitz.

Pizza Hut will roadblock drive-time programming in 50 markets with a simultaneous one-hour ad buy on 115 radio stations. That hour becomes "The Pizza Hut Free & Cheesy Music Hour," urging listeners to visit Pizza Hut on their drive home for a free slice of Cheesy Bites pizza.

"The 'Free & Cheesy Music Hour' program puts us in front of a huge national market at the dinner decision time and invites our consumers into our restaurants to sample the Cheesy Bites Pizza," said Pizza Hut CMO Tom James in a statement.

Those who visit a restaurant can also enter a sweeps awarding 10 family trips to Walt Disney World.

Pizza Hut gets all commercial pods during the one hour airing tonight on two to five Clear Channel Katz stations in each market. A few spots will tout Cheesy Bites Pizza; programming includes Pizza Hut commentary and pizza trivia.

At the end of the hour, DJs will give listeners a phone number, 1-877-28-BITES, to call to enter the sweeps. Consumers also can enter in-store, for two weeks after the radio blitz.

TracyLocke, Dallas, handles.

This is the first time a marketer has bought an hour of prime-time radio across the U.S., said TracyLocke Account Director Lynn Rupprecht: "At a time when consumer media habits are changing, radio continues to be a great way to reach a national audience at the pre-dinner time."

The promo is part of Pizza Hut's $50 million marketing push for Cheesy Bites, which bowed Jan. 22.

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