Boston Pizza has recreated the iconic Canadian “two-four” with drums and flats.
The new Wings Two-Four is the latest product development in a key sales category for the casual dining chain. According to executive vice-president of marketing Steve Silverstone, wings rank third in sales behind pizza and pasta, accounting for between 10-20% of Boston Pizza’s total sales.
Available on-premise as well as for takeout and delivery, the Wings Two-Four product comes in a beer case-inspired package with a price of $29.99 for 24 wings and a choice of two sauces. Boston Pizza has also introduced two new beer-inspired sauce flavours, Amber Ale and Spicy Samurai, to coincide with the launch.
Silverstone said the product launch is timed with a busy period for Boston Pizza, with the start of the Major League Baseball season and the NHL and NBA playoffs.
The Wings Two-Four product was conceived about a year ago, and is intended as a permanent addition to the Boston Pizza menu. “It’s designed to be around for a long time,” said Silverstone.
Boston Pizza is supporting the product launch with a 30-second spot called “Puck Hog,” the latest in a series of documentary-style “Fan Stories” featured in its “We’ll Make You a Fan” positioning introduced earlier this year.
Created by Taxi, the spot follows a men’s league hockey player who refuses to pass to his teammates during a game. The spot ends with the player treating his teammates to the Wings Two-Four product after the game as a way of making up “for all the passes I didn’t give ‘em.”
The chain will also use social media and what Silverstone described as a “significant amount” of in-restaurant activity to promote the Wings Two-Four. During the NHL playoffs, it is also featuring a 48-oz hockey glove-shaped pitcher of Molson Canadian in restaurants.
Digital ads aimed at hockey and basketball playoff fans will use the hashtag #BPWings24, while Boston Pizza will also support the launch with a PR campaign and what it describes as “experiential activations” throughout the spring.
Boston Pizza jokingly introduced the Wings Two-Four product on April Fool’s Day with a press release and YouTube video promoting a fictitious app called the “BP Wingman.”
Supported by PR from High Road Communications, the video touted the “Wingman” as being capable of everything from salvaging a bad first date to filling in for an absent hockey goalie. The release said that every BP location in the country would have a “BP Wingman” on standby.
Boston Pizza has traditionally been active on April Fool’s Day. Last year, it introduced the concept of reverse delivery, delivering patrons to its restaurants rather than delivering food to their home or workplace.
“It really comes down to whether or not we feel we have an idea that’s going to be consistent with our brand promise,” said Silverstone. “If the idea is interesting enough, we’ll go after it.”
While the wingman app is fictional, the casual dining chain did introduce an app called “My BP” that has been downloaded more than 200,000 times since it was introduced last fall.
In February, Boston Pizza parent the Boston Pizza Royalties Income Fund announced system-wide gross sales of $262 million in the fourth quarter and $1 billion for the year.
The chain posted same store sales growth of 5.3% for the quarter and 1.7% for the year, attributing the annual growth to an increase in take-out and delivery sales resulting from “continued promotion” of its online ordering system and menu re-pricing.
The company opened eight new restaurants in 2014, with three new locations under construction as of February and more planned for later this year.
