Check out our new online catalog!
We've had a lot going on in our offices the last couple of weeks. New flooring, new desks, new counters.
Showroom Before
Showroom After
Offices Before
Offices After
Papa’s Pizzeria has been a loyal client of ours for the better part of two decades. They’re located just
down the street from us, which has been great for the relationship, bad for our waistline. The Chicken
Bacon Ranch pizza is just hard to resist. Three of our team members have had part time jobs slinging pie
at Papa’s at one time or another and we just really love working with them.
A couple years ago, owner Shawn Comer approached us about doing a shirt or two that he could sell to
customers; something witty and trendy to add to his sales. Our art director knew exactly what to do and
whipped up a small order of these bad boys.
After that became an overwhelming success, we started adding more shirts to the lineup.
Stemming off of the shirts, Papa’s has begun to create a brand identity. Brand identity is not just about a
logo; it includes a multitude of things like color palettes, design strategy, and having a specific “voice”.
The Papa’s voice has a great sense of humor and doesn’t take itself too seriously. This is important to
the branding of Papa’s- who wants a pizza place that’s overly serious? For a small-town establishment
like Papa’s, we want a fun-loving atmosphere where you might run into your neighbor or grab a beer
before heading to the lake. As Papa’s developed their image into bringing on craft beer, we added that
voice to custom-made growlers and pint glasses that can be purchased and packaged to take home.
Then entered The Lake Monster. Shawn came to us with an idea to create a food challenge like you’d
see on Man Vs. Food. Something giant and full of carbs and calories and a goliath to beat. He knew he
wanted a shirt to give to winners, but we wanted to go bigger than that. We asked if we could run the
marketing on this sandwich and he gave us the reigns.
First we took over Papa’s social media and did a naming contest on Facebook. We loved the suggestion
Lake Monster because Polk City has two beautiful lakes. We then created a back story to build
excitement and play up that humor-filled Papa’s “voice”. We launched a campaign for the unveiling of
The Lake Monster, complete with an eating contest between three challengers. We created a design
platform that included shirts, banners and social media graphics for consistency and recognition. We
sent out press releases to the local media outlets and systematically built up excitement on Facebook.
The week of the event, Papa’s began getting national attention from competitive eaters around the
country wanting to try the challenge. The Des Moines Register ran a three-part piece both online and in
print about The Lake Monster and the competitors. On the night of the event, Papa’s had a packed
house as people eagerly watched the challengers battle against each other and time to finish the
gigantic sandwich.
No one beat it that night and no one has beat it since, though many have tried. It’s the exact attention
that has catapulted Papa’s into being just a neighborhood pizza shop to a destination; people are
coming from all around because they’ve heard of The Lake Monster and want to try their hand at
defeating it.
We could have stopped at a t-shirt, but instead have mustered more attention and profitability for our
dear friends at Papa’s because we have the capabilities to take a brand beyond the expectations. We
love what we do and have a passion and drive to go bigger and do more.
Email or call us today and let’s start going bigger and doing more for you.
