Jennifer Sparks - media supervisor at Colby, Effler and Partners leads billboard campaign for California Pizza Kitchen

Brandweek, Dec 6, 1999 by Michael Freeman

If there were an advertising award based on Pavlov's theory of association, Colby, Effler & Partners would win it hands-down with its summer 1998 outdoor campaign for California Pizza Kitchen.

Instead of getting dogs to jump for treats, though, Colby Effler's retail location-specific billboards situated in a half-dozen locations around Los Angeles used sublime comedy to get human commuters to buy a Tandoori Chicken Pizza at CPK.

But Jennifer Sparks, at the time Colby Effler's media supervisor for the CPK account, did not expect that one of its 14-by-48 foot signs would start a battle of billboards located in Los Angeles' miniaturized version of The Lower East Side of Manhattan; the largely Jewish enclave known as the Fairfax District. In securing a billboard above The 99 Cent Store at Fairfax Boulevard and Third Street, Colby Effler's creative team came up with a bold message: "If They Sold a Tandoori Chicken Pizza For Under a Buck, Then They'd Have Something," followed with an arrow pointing customers into the discount establishment.

Well, the owners of The 99 Cent Store did not take the challenge lying down. The erstwhile discounters installed their own storefront billboard--albeit a much smaller 4-by-5 foot sign--pointing back up at California Pizza Kitchen billboard and saying, "If You Want A Tandoori Chicken Pizza For $9.99, You Can Go There--Or You Can Come In Here And Get A Plain Cheese Pizza For 99 Cents."

To say the least, Sparks and Sarah Goldsmith, vice president of advertising and public relations for California Pizza Kitchen, were somewhat surprised and captivated by the street-side retail warfare. So was the local TV and print media. Suddenly, the battle of the hearts and minds of thrifty eaters was getting major play in the California edition of The Wall Street Journal, Adweek, The Los Angeles Times and Los Angeles Daily News.

"We contacted each of the businesses about the signage before it was posted and sent copies of creative to the nearby retailer [including The 99 Cent Store]," recalls Sparks, who left Colby Effler in December 1998 to become a sales account executive at Publicitas/Globe Media. "We had basically discussed with them how the billboards would not only bring exposure to CPK, but also drive business into their location. Overall, almost all of the businesses were in favor of it, because they could not afford media placement of that size."

"Who knew that The 99 Cent Store was going to goof on us the same way," adds Goldsmith. "It was all done in fun, but I didn't even think it would generate that much publicity and awareness."

Certainly, that was the intention of Sparks and Goldsmith, both of whom were looking to build consumer traffic to the upscale and health-conscious California Pizza Kitchen franchise, which operates 10 locations in greater Los Angeles. Specifically, both worked with Colby Effier's creative team--partner and creative director, Rick Colby, and art director Michael Kadin--to remind customers of their favorite exotic dishes by cleverly doing a bit of creative association and playful puns based on adjoining retailers' store fronts.

Matching the creative message with the location not only became a challenge, it was a bit of an obsession for Colby, Sparks and company. To scout out locations, Colby Effier sent marching orders to roughly 20 staffers to fan out around Los Angeles to find offbeat locations (sometimes dragging CPK's Goldsmith along for their joy rides).

In matching the creative with the retail location, the results were often hilarious. Above an eclectic Hollywood office building housing a psychic/palm reader, a trademark yellow CPK sign read, "Find Out If You Were A Big Fan Of Oriental Chicken Salad In A Past Life."

Another offered up, "Just In Case You Get Barbecue Chicken Pizza On Your Shirt," pointing below to a dry cleaning establishment.

Even several florist shops were fodder for humor: "Because Sending Her A Dozen Fresh Tomato Pizzas Seems A Bit Excessive."

The California Dental Office Building in downtown Los Angeles was similarly mined for laughs as incoming, cavity-stricken patients were warned: "They Prefer You Lay Off The Garlic Chicken Pizza Before Your Appointment."

"Sometimes, the creatives would just come up with two to three lines to fit a location, then came the one about the dental visit, which Sarah just loved," Sparks said. "So, it often became a matter of finding a location to match the message, but it sometimes became problematic finding a billboard adjacent to the ideal location."

In working with a budget of $250,000 for the three-month campaign (June through August 1998), Sparks arm-wrestled, prodded and coddled outdoor companies like Eller Media, Outdoor Systems Inc. and TDI Systems to secure the tougher location-specific signage. "Generally, the outdoor companies were great about working on our placement requests, but there were some times we had to do trade outs to get the locations we needed," Sparks recalls. "For instance, the palm reader location had been taken and we were able to get the incumbent advertiser to move to another location for a short time. It really is up to the outdoor company to work with us and the incumbent."