Star Power: How Celebrity Endorsements Can Drive Restaurant Sales and Boost Traffic

When Elise and Rick Wetzel tried to find a quality pizza place in their area, they only found sit-down options or low-quality take-out. After deciding to eat at Chipotle instead, they were inspired by the idea of bringing the popular down-the-line customization concept to the world of pizza. So, they took a risk and decided to venture into the $40 billion pizza industry with a do-it-yourself model featuring high-quality ingredients. This was in 2012, and it was the beginning of Blaze Pizza.

 

“There’s an opportunity for somebody to really be big,” said Wetzel, who previously founded Wetzel’s Pretzels, to Bloomberg. “Not just Chipotle, with 1,800 stores. Who’s going to be the Starbucks of fast casual? There’s going to be a shift soon for people to start thinking above Chipotle.”

 

By 2014, there were 50 Blaze locations open throughout the U.S., and in that year, those stores posted nearly $1.55 million average sales—better than Chipotle was doing in 2002, when it was a decade old and had 227 locations. Then, in 2015, Blaze experienced another surge in growth. In a single year, the brand exploded to 150 locations. Sales also grew 205 percent over the prior year—the largest gain of any restaurant chain measured in the 2016 Technomic Top 500 Chain Restaurants Report.

 

The reason for Blaze Pizza’s explosive growth? Having an in-demand concept doesn’t hurt, but the very public endorsement by world-renowned Cleveland Cavaliers basketball player LeBron James likely helped to propel the brand forward over the past year, too. James was an original investor in Blaze Pizza in 2012, with franchise rights for the chain in Miami and Chicago. But in 2015, James decided not to renew an ongoing deal he had with McDonald's and instead chose to endorse Blaze Pizza.

 

“I partner with companies that are innovating and challenging the status quo,” James said to Bloomberg. “Most importantly, it has to be something I like and would spend my own money to buy. Blaze checked every box and I’m excited about what they are doing.”

 

In an interview on "Mad Money," Blaze's Chief Operating Officer Jim Mizes chronicled the evolution of James's involvement with the company—from investor to spokesperson and now a franchisee partnered with Larry Levy of Levy Restaurant Groups. This made it clear that James was interested in much more than just having his name associated with the brand and participating in the occasional advertisement—he was completely invested in Blaze Pizza and its success.

 

"He saw what Blaze Pizza and what this category could be, so he started as an investor, and then became a franchisee. And then he was so into Blaze that he came all in," Mizes said.

 

James's worldwide fame and social media prowess could certainly be a major boon for the budding pizza chain. As ESPN points out, "James is the second-most-followed athlete on Twitter in the world," with more than 24 million followers.

 

"LeBron came on as a founding investor, and he had been silent and in the background," said Wetzel to ESPN. "Now we're using him to get our message out there and put the spotlight on our brand."

 

James isn't Blaze's only celebrity investor. Journalist Maria Shriver also has a stake in the company. In general, the rich and famous love to throw money at restaurants: Most recently, Drake opened a Toronto restaurant in conjunction with chef Susur Lee, and James's fellow pro athlete Tiger Woods dropped $8 million on a restaurant venture in Florida.

 

It’s not a new idea in marketing; celebrity endorsements sell products. And while not all brands subscribe to the celebrity endorsement theory, it’s based in pretty simple logic. People idolize celebrities, so when famous people are seen in advertisements promoting a new product, audiences are prompted to buy that product, either subliminally or directly.

 

In the case of Blaze Pizza, a fairly new player in the crowded pizza industry, having the backing of James helped to inspire consumer confidence. The brand value added by celebrities is immediate and palpable. When a celebrity signs an endorsement deal with a product, an element of legitimacy is suddenly present in the company, simply because of the power of the name backing it up.

 

In fact, according to Ad Age, a brand that inks an endorsement contract with a celebrity or an athlete can see their stock rise up to .25 as soon as the news is made public. This represents an increase in perceived legitimacy from the celebrity’s endorsement, even though the product has not changed at all.

 

It’s no wonder, then, that Blaze Pizza expects to be the fifth-largest pizza chain in the U.S., behind Domino’s, Pizza Hut, Little Caesar’s and Papa John’s by 2017. And by 2020, Blaze hopes to have 500 locations throughout the country.

 

"We got into the game early and have the wind at our backs," Mizes told Business Insider. "We're opening a new restaurant every five days and will just keep growing."