Pizza Hut hires CMO to lead transformation into ‘younger, more culturally relevant’ brand

Pizza Hut UK, Ireland & France has appointed Jana Ulaite as its chief marketing officer as the brand looks to ramp up its digital offering.

Ulaite, who has a wealth of digital experience from marketing roles at brands including TikTok, Apple, Electronic Arts and, most recently, as vice-president of marketing at tech company Tempest, has been tasked with accelerating growth across the region.

Describing Pizza Hut as an “iconic brand”, she has been tasked with reframing it to become a digital-led outfit. She says: “My role will focus on transforming Pizza Hut into a younger, more culturally relevant, and digital-first brand.” She will also be paying close attention to delivering “value and experience” for its customers.

How Pizza Hut overhauled its media strategy to be more efficientPizza Hut, which is owned by Yum! Brands, hopes that Ulaite will be able to identify “creative” ways to deliver brand activity and draw upon her tech expertise to enable a more “modern experience” for Pizza Hut customers.

Pizza Hut’s largest UK rival, Domino’s, has long since transitioned to being a digital-first brand and is planning to launch a loyalty scheme in 2023 to encourage more repeated use of its app.

Its CMO, Sarah Barron, spoke to Marketing Week last year about the importance of “consistency” in marketing messages when looking to drive emotional connections with consumers such as through its ‘Yodel’ campaign.

“You just maintain consistency. You don’t mess with brands. You try to get to something that drives salience and excitement and then you just keep going at it. That’s what builds emotional connections with consumers,” she told Marketing Week.