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Free-Pizza Promo At Reds' Home Games Paying Dividends For Cincinnati-Based Chain

A free-pizza promotion based around strikeouts by Reds' pitchers at home games "has grown from a marketing scheme that seemed OK when it was introduced three seasons ago, to a full-blown phenomenon," according to Paul Daugherty of the CINCINNATI ENQUIRER. If a Reds pitcher strikes out 11 or more opposing hitters in a game, "anyone who attended and has a ticket stub is entitled to a free, small, one-topping" at Cincinnati-based LaRosa's Pizzeria. During Sunday's game against the Marlins, Reds P J.J. Hoover was one strikeout shy of 11 and "you'd have thought it was Game 7" of the World Series, as chants of "'Piz-za, piz-za!' thundered from the assembled 36,122." LaRosa's "has had to modify how it awards the free pies." Fans during the first two years of the promo could get their free pizza "on the same day of the game," but that "resulted in restaurants getting bombarded either during dinner preparation (day games) or near closing time (night games)." The restaurant now "requests that seekers of free pies wait to collect until the following day." LaRosa's Exec VP/Marketing Pete Buscani "read a line in a trade newsletter" about the Lakers "giving away tacos at home games if the Lakers scored more than 100 points and held the other guys to under 100." He said, "It was sort of my wildest wish. Thousands of people shouting, 'piz-za! piz-za.'" Store owner Mike LaRosa "loved the potential," but he "had no idea" how big it could become. Buscani said that last year the promotion earned fans $1.2M "in free pizza" after Reds pitchers surpassed the strikeout total 22 times. There have been 16 occurrences this season to date, totaling "114,000 pizzas" at a retail value of $605,000 (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 8/13).

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