NCAA Coaches to Reveal Papa John’s Promo Code

Papa John’s is running a unique code promotion to raise funds for charity, but it won’t be as easy as finding the codes on pizza boxes.

You have to be a NCAA March Madness fan, and watch for coaches and others related to game play to tweet up the promotion and reveal the promo codes. March Madness is that national phenomenon now underway that grips college basketball fans through the first week of April in a series of games that determines the national champion of college basketball.

The competitive nature of March Madness among colleges and their students plays into Papa John’s “Coaches Code Challenge” by rewarding the college that raises the most money for the V Foundation for Cancer Research and the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund.

Starting today, each basketball fan that enters a coach’s unique code (the coach’s last name) while placing an online order for an XL two-topping pizza for $12 at www.papajohns.com, will have $1 donated to the causes. The promotion is in partnership with the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association.

Fans can also find a complete list of coach’s codes on Papa John’s Facebook page through a tab devoted to the challenge. The list of codes has a feature that allows consumers to tweet about the challenge to friends, Papa John’s spokesperson Tish Muldoon said.

A running tally of the donations can also be viewed at the Facebook page. Updates on the standings and total money raised will be distributed regularly. The challenge ends at midnight on April 6.

Papa John’s is the Official Pizza of NCAA March Madness. At its Facebook page, which has about 1.1 million fans, it is also running a “Hoops Sweepstakes.” Five winners get $2,000 worth of pizza for a year and Coke Zero. Fifty winners get free pizza for a year and 100 winners will receive a 12-pack of Coke Zero.

“No matter how your team fares on the court, you can play an active role in helping your school win in the fight against cancer,” Andrew Varga, chief marketing officer for Papa John’s, said in a release.

Courtside marketing, tweets, e-blasts and traditional media support the challenge.

March is one of the busiest months for Papa John’s. The company expects to sell upwards of 10 million pizzas during the NCAA tournament, with sales ramping up as lower-seeded teams advance, the company said.

Papa John’s likes sports. In January, it locked down sponsorship rights as the Official sponsor of both the National Football League and Super Bowl XLIV. The deal extended a partnership the pizza maker has had with nine NFL franchises over the last few years.

Papa John’s founder himself, John Schnatter, has become more personally involved in selling his pizza. He ran a campaign last year were he himself delivered pizzas to the homes of surprised customers. On the firm’s Facebook page he can be seen sinking a half court shot last December at the University of Louisville vs Oral Roberts basketball game. Because he made the shot everyone in Freedom Hall got a free pizza. The crowd went wild.