CiCi’s Pizza announces hiring of new Chief Marketing Officer

Posted on September 15, 2010 by Kel Sajid (CM)

CiCi’s Pizza announces hiring of new Chief Marketing Officer
Industry veteran to be key part of company growth strategy

(Coppell, Texas)– CiCi’s Pizza, home of the $4.99 endless pizza, pasta, salad and desert buffet, announces today the addition of Nancy Hampton as Chief Marketing Officer. As CMO of CiCi’s Pizza’s, Ms. Hampton will bring her experience growing same store sales for national brands to creatively communicate CiCi’s strong value positioning.

Ms. Hampton is a restaurant brand strategy, innovation and marketing veteran with more than 20 years of experience growing well-respected brands like Chili’s Grill & Bar and Corner Bakery Cafe. Through her consulting work, she has worked with large international organizations and domestically franchised brands.

\"Nancy understands how to deploy targeted media and digital communications marketing to grow sales,\" CiCi’s Pizza CEO Mike Shumksy said. \"As an advocate of research and consumer insight, Nancy will continue to innovate and improve the support to our franchises, while ensuring we \"own value\" going forward.\"

As Vice President of Brand Strategy for Romano’s Macaroni Grill, part of the $3.6B Brinker International enterprise, Ms. Hampton spearheaded the brand’s repositioning, measurably increased guest traffic and profitability and drove menu innovation. During her tenure with Romano's Macaroni Grill, she helped drive sales increases through creative marketing and achieved a positive ROI for all advertising. At Corner Bakery, she led the brand’s transition to today’s more successful neighborhood bakery approach. Her efforts there helped generate double-digit sales growth.

\"CiCi’s has offered me an incredible opportunity,\" Ms. Hampton said. \"The brand has die-hard fans, it’s already on a trajectory of growth, and its strong \"own value\" message is one that everyone wants to hear. I’m thrilled to be a part of the team so fully on course to go from better to best.\"

About CiCi’s Pizza

CiCi’s Pizza, started in Plano, Texas in 1985, is as a family-oriented restaurant with a fresh, hot pizza, pasta, salad and dessert buffet featuring up to 20 varieties of pizza made with fresh ingredients for $5 and change. CiCi’s has been recognized has a top franchise business, ranking No. 1 in the pizza category for the past three years by Nation’s Restaurant News. CiCi’s has also been recognized by USA Today, Restaurants & Institutions, Entrepreneur, the Wall Street Journal, Franchise Today and Parents. CiCi’s has more than 600 restaurants in 35 states and the recent One Brand Tour, led by CEO Mike Shumsky, ensures each and every franchise always upholds the highest standards. CiCi’s corporate support center is lead by a strong team of experts with more than 150 years of combined experience in franchising, business, operations, human resources, growth strategy, advertising, marketing and public relations.