The revised Papa Johns logo is part of the company’s diversified branding project. The new look coincides with investors’ increased confidence in the pizza chain’s turnaround strategy. Under the direction of CEO Rob Lynch, the food chain has demonstrated it can change direction, recover from a setback and grow its bottom line.
Papa Johns stock growth has stunned its competitors since Lynch replaced founder John Schnatter as CEO in 2019. As the former Arby’s Restaurant Group’s Chief Marketing Officer, new CEO Rob Lynch had ample support to execute a strategic brand reconstruction.
Lynch’s strategic and public relations makeover has so far proven successful in separating a modern and distinctive Papa Johns from its founder’s original restaurant. A new and multifaceted marketing approach has resonated with customers. The revised Papa Johns logo accompanies the restaurant chain’s revamped imaging and branding campaigns.
Papa Johns Is Making a Lot of Changes
Logos are often conceived as a graphical representation of the values that a company’s brand stands behind. When customers spot the carefully crafted new Papa Johns logo, they can expect an experience that goes beyond pizza and Italian flatbread sandwiches made from premium ingredients. With the company’s upgraded easy app-driven ordering system, the new logo was designed to instill trust across its website and mobile app options. Ordering a pizza or any of the new Papa Johns menu items is now easy, fun and available to a wide range of demanding appetites.
The 2019 Papa Johns Corporate Responsibility Report highlights a new and vigorous commitment to prioritizing team members, customers and global sustainability over profits. With an energized devotion to its core value, “Everyone Belongs,” the company’s employees include women, minorities and members of the LGBTQ community.
CEO Rob Lynch’s past experience as CMO of the world’s largest roast beef sandwich restaurant chain shows that marketing could be used as a turnaround tool. A look at the Papa Johns financials since Lynch came onboard in 2019 demonstrates his track record in growing revenue by bridging sales and customers through a brand’s particular message.
A New Familiar Logo for a New Direction
While the new Papa Johns logo does not deviate much from its previous version, subtle graphical revisions represent the improvements Lynch and his team have made. The company’s reputation is based on offering premium-grade ingredients. Customers can now remain assured they come from sustainable suppliers. The color red in the lettering represents the fresh tomatoes used in the restaurant’s trademark pizzas.
The logo’s off-white background emulates the fresh dough that’s baked into a thin or thick crust. The two-color simplicity of the new logo reflects the restaurant chain’s “no filler ingredients” claim. Because the dough is never frozen, the new typeface’s changing size corresponds to Papa Johns employees pulling and stretching the dough before placing it in the oven.
For those investors who look for companies led by a revenue CEO Papa Johns and its stock’s growth display the results of a well-executed marketing strategy. Once known for implementing the successful “We have the meats” slogan while at the marketing helm of Arby’s, Lynch’s redirect-and-grow approach to Papa Johns is expected to continue the company’s turnaround success.
