Papa John's Cuts Pie Proceeds

Upping the ante in the pizza promotion game, Papa John's is taking a unique approach in its current "Papa's Specialty Pizza Challenge," offering the contest winner "a slice of the sales."

The pizza delivery company is soliciting new pizza recipe ideas on its Facebook page with the promise of giving the winner a cut of the sales of "their" pie. Participants must describe in 250 words or less "what makes their pizza so special." They also will be judged on the pizza's overall appeal, taste of the final product, creativity of the name, and the story behind the pizza.

A Papa John's spokesperson tells MediaPost that the winner could get up to $10,000 for the 12-month period the winning pizza is offered following the contest. The winner will also get a lifetime's supply of free pizza (we'd love to see how much that adds up to).

The winner also gets a starring role in a "Papa's in the House" TV commercial. Finally - attention, marketers! - Papa John's is giving the top three finalists a marketing budget of $1,000 to spend on promoting their pizzas.

Papa John's is locked in a battle for pizza supremacy with a rejuvenated Domino's Pizza, which saw a boost in sales when it asked consumers for input and completely revised its pizza recipe. Papa John's also faces stiff competition from Pizza Hut's delivery service; in fact, right now, Pizza Hut, Domino's and Papa John's are all in the midst of a price war aimed at winning consumer preference.<

May the best pie win.