PizzaExpress launches its first advertising campaign

PizzaExpress is launching a £1m advertising campaign for the first time in its 36-year history in a bid to double its customer base.

Although the company has advertised the Café Pasta chain before, this will be the first time the Pizza Express restaurants have not relied on word-of-mouth.

The campaign, which is launched on 1 November, was planned several months ago but company chairman David Page said it "couldn't have come at a better time".

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Page dismissed reports that the launch of the advertising campaign meant the company was preparing to trim its profit forecasts. "We're going to make more profits than last year," said Page. "Restaurants are still busy." Page did admit that the events of 11 September and the current economic slowdown had had an affect on sales in London, but outside London restaurant sales remained high, he said. Page said the advertising campaign was being launched because Café Pasta's campaign 18 months ago had increased sales. PizzaExpress currently has a customer base of about 1.5 million, about 2.5% of the UK population, said Page. He hopes the new advertising campaign will double these figures. According to Page, PizzaExpress serves meals to 17 million people a year, a large majority of whom are repeat customers. By launching the advertising campaign Page hopes to reach out to the other 40 million people in the UK. The campaign will feature in the national press, London-based radio and the London Underground.