Ep 45: Vincent Szwajkowski is the CMO of Blaze Pizza
Although hospitality, entertainment, and restaurants are different sectors, there are considerable overlaps, one of them being the fact that they are multi-location. After spending the beginning of his career in hospitality and entertainment, Vincent Szwajkowski moved to fast-casual dining and is now the CMO of Blaze Pizza. Vincent recently spoke on a panel at FSTEC about how CMOs today are using technology. In this episode, we hear more about Blaze, its footprint, and how it stands out in the saturated pizza market. We talk about the progression of Blaze's online ordering, which was expedited by the pandemic, and the challenges this presented them with. Blaze recently launched its own app, and Vincent stresses the importance of being ready for an undertaking of this size. It is not something that should be taken lightly because it will put considerable strain on everyone. Our conversation also touches on third-party apps and their role, what still has to happen at Blaze, and some advice from Vincent for aspiring CMO's. Tune in to hear it all!
Key Points From This Episode:
Blaze's footprint and how they differentiate themselves in the hyper-competitive pizza sector.
Vincent's unconventional journey as a CMO and how he fell in love with brands.
The interesting transition Vincent has faced moving sectors.
How Vincent approached his role and got a lay of the land at Blaze when he started.
Vincent's take on what the tech situation at Blaze was like when he arrived.
The progression of Blaze's email open rates.
Why Blaze moved from third-party apps to build their own.
All of the teams need to be ready for when you build your own app; it's all-consuming.
The importance of capturing first-party data and an example of how Blaze leveraged it.
How Blaze will be approaching their relationships with third-party apps coming out of the pandemic.
Acknowledging that customers who order through third-party apps are a specific segment.
Blaze's approach to marketing as a franchise; there are two components.
Some of the things that still have to happen at Blaze with marketing.
Vincent's advice for those who are looking to become CMO's.
The opportunities Vincent has been given that have helped propel him forward.
Tweetables:
“We want you to sort of have that freedom to express yourself through pizza.” — Vincent Szwajkowski [0:04:18]
“I never thought I'd be a CMO, let alone working now in fast-casual franchise restaurants. I just embrace it and I go with it and we'll see what happens.” — Vincent Szwajkowski [0:13:47]
“I think there's always, always a place to be in with the various third-party folks, regardless of the industry.” — Vincent Szwajkowski [0:37:19]
“I want our franchisees to feel like they have great options at their fingertips that are easy, and then have a high ROI that are driving their sales.” — Vincent Szwajkowski [0:42:27]