Best Food Industry Online Video Campaign, Best Retail Online Video Campaign

Official NFL sponsor, Pizza Hut, partnered with Verizon Media & RYOT Studio on “Hometown Heroes,” a special two-part video series on Yahoo Sports. The campaign sought to establish Pizza Hut as the official pizza for football fans & create an emotional connection through content.

“Hometown Heroes” gave fans a rare glimpse of top athletes giving back to their cities and advocating for the community’s next generation. In the first episode, Alvin Kamara surprises youth football players in New Orleans’ Ninth Ward with new gear & a Pizza Hut party. In episode two, Tyler Lockett stops by Destiny Middle School with pizza in hand to talk about the power of books, reading, & imagination.

The campaign catalyzed inspiring experiences between Hometown Heroes and their communities by connecting their passions for football, literacy, community, and pizza. The effort combined local football fandom with Pizza Hut’s BOOK IT! initiative -- encouraging reading among 14M students in 37,000 K-6 schools annually.

Both episodes, released in November 2018, were housed on Yahoo Sports and distributed across Verizon Media’s network of 30 publishers, reaching 228M uniques. Both videos drove 1M+ video views, an +86% lift in brand association with football and a +93% sponsorship recall.

Contributors:

Sr. Account Director:	Daniel Horowitz
Content Partnerships Director:	Michael Hollander
Head of RYOT Studio:	Marcia Lesser
Head of Video Production:	Blair Raynor
Creative, RYOT Studio:	Brad Mead
Director, Business Strategy and Monetization:	Karen Olgin
Head of Program Management, RYOT Studio:	Margaret Rule
Creative Director:	Brian Lightbody
Creative, RYOT Studio :	Nick Creegan
Marketing Director:	Jennifer Matteucci

VERIZON MEDIA

Location: USA