Case Study:
Pizza Hut:
BOOK IT!
Case study content property of Kidzsmart Communications and their respective clients.
Purpose-Led Brand Outreach
The Pizza Hut BOOK IT! program, established in 1984, aims to improve early readers' skills through goal setting and rewards. It was inspired by the personal experience of former Pizza Hut president, Arthur Gunther, whose son struggled with reading. The program incentivizes children to read a specific number of books within a set timeframe, earning a free personal pan pizza as a reward. With millions of participants, the program has fostered a love for reading.
The Brief
To modernize the BOOK IT! program to provide support for teachers are limited on time and resources, and successfully integrate global brand partners. In this example it was Disney/Star Wars and the Origami Star Wars book series.
The design challenge was to deliver classroom assets, reading journals, and fully animated digital content, aiming to enhance the program's reach and effectiveness.
The Scope
Classroom assets for students, parent and teacher package, and fully animated reward videos and accompanying website.
My Role
Creative Director
The Method
The BOOK IT! program utilizes gamification and edutainment, partnering with brands like Disney/Star Wars or Diary of a Wimpy Kid to inspire classroom deliverables. The program draws on early childhood education and literacy/language arts principles to develop critical reading skills such as comprehension, vocabulary, and fluency. By providing free books and encouraging reading, the program fosters a lifelong love of learning. Digital solutions were integrated, allowing featured authors to interact with and read to students nationwide, enhancing the program's success.
Design Process
Addressing teacher requirements was crucial, resulting in segmented reading goals and tools for goal-setting and progress tracking. The design also considered incorporating content for learning centers and class reading time – all focusing on foundational educational content in early childhood literacy and numeracy.
Integration of the Star Wars brand was done through utilizing an edutainment model. This approach engaged students through games and activities centered around the books they were reading, providing enjoyable learning experiences in a relational context.
Solution
The solution delivered for this project included:
A comprehensive school package including teacher resources, lesson plans, and learning materials.
Classroom materials like reading trackers, posters, student journals, and engaging games.
Fun items for kids such as collectible stickers, apparel, and reading certificates.
Digital components including progress trackers and animated videos as rewards.
Promotional materials to encourage school participation.
Effective parental communication through take-home letters.
The program also included branded character design specific to the BOOK IT! literacy program. Images below feature a fully animated book character who led kids through unlockable online rewards and games.
Results
Pizza Hut's Book It program continues to succeed after nearly 40 years. At present, BOOK IT! connects with over 14 million student participants across the US annually. The program's key achievement is that nearly three-quarters of the students in the program have exceeded their reading level, demonstrating the program's success in promoting literacy and a love of reading among students.