Pizza Hut's Takes Mobile Ordering to Tattoos

Yum! Brands‘ (NYSE: YUM) Pizza Hut and Domino’s(NYSE: DPZ) have engaged in a media-attention-seeking battle to come up with the most ridiculous way to make ordering pizza easier.

Of course, ordering pizza is already pretty easy, but that didn’t stop Domino’s from offering people the option of doing it with emojis. It’s not that the company expects many consumers to actually place their orders in that fashion — its app and even the phone will remain the principle method for setting up a delivery — but pioneering new ways to help people get food delivered to their door brings journalists running.

So, with that caveat in mind, it’s fair to call Pizza Hut’s latest effort a gimmick, but it’s one that will certainly get it some media attention. The company has created tattoos (albeit temporary ones) which let people order pizza.

How does a pizza-ordering tattoo work?

Consumers lucky enough to get one of the tattoos simply apply it to their body by moistening it and pressing it down. Once it’s in place, the tattoo has an embedded QSR code that can be used with a smartphone to place a pizza order.

Only 40 are being created and Yum! only intends to distribute them in the United Kingdom. And, of course, the company does not care if people actually use the tattoos, which require the person using them to have some information pre-loaded into the pizza company’s app.

This is not a serious play to change how people order pizza. It’s a one-off variant on the Dash buttons that Amazon customers can use to reorder laundry detergent or toilet paper with a single press of a button. That level of convenience simply makes no sense for pizza, but offering it (even in this very limited fashion) does get people talking about the company.

Will this work?

Yum! has increasingly been relying on marketing stunts, but so far, they’ve lately proven successful. KFC’s Extra Crispy Sunscreen was a social media hit, and Taco Bell’s various Doritos flavored tie-ins have sold well.

Pizza Hut big gimmicks have tended to involve stuffing various things into its crusts; mostly, it has left ordering-related stunts to Domino’s. This move changes that, and will get the company some attention, perhaps resulting in an uptick in orders as all the press reminds people that the chain better known for dine-in service delivers. This is a stunt, and a goofy one at that, but it should work.

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Daniel Kline has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool is short Domino’s Pizza. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Pizza Hut's Takes Mobile Ordering to Tattoos