Don’t Fly Too Close to the Pizza Oven, Son

One of Fredericton’s beloved small businesses has tasted social media virality and is hungry for more - but at what cost?

The New England Pizza Company found fame through their creative and cheeky contest about when the next transport truck would hit the Bill Thorpe walking bridge. New owner, Chris Babineau, a former truck-driver himself, used his knowledge, the business’s proximity to the site, and its deep local connection to create an engaging marketing campaign which earned them some well-deserved recognition locally and nationally.

Has his eagerness for more attention led him down an unsavoury path?

In an interview with The Carr Brothers, Chris notes that the Pizza Company’s unhinged social media “strategy” (AKA, in his words, “flying by the seat of their pants”) is largely fabricated. The narratives, rooted in petty “us vs. them” battles with the media, NB power, and the City of Fredericton, are not real. Their social media team is using AI-generated images, often actively removing the telltale AI watermarks making it hard for people who aren’t looking that closely (and let’s be real, who’s auditing a pizza company’s Facebook posts) to determine what is true and what is fake.

To be clear, Global News did not show up at the New England Pizza Company with three trucks (I don’t think they have three trucks, let alone Mercedes, in all of New Brunswick). The City of Fredericton did not send workers to measure the business’ sign on a Sunday. Their building was not “tagged” by teenagers’ graffiti. 

In scrolling through the comment section, the majority of people do not understand that most of the posts are entirely fake. And, when this author asked about their use of AI-generated images in their comment section, they suppressed (hid) my comments. 

So, what should they do to not alienate people while keeping the momentum going?

They have established an effective (albeit unconventional) voice and scrappy style that is uniquely relevant to their local customers. They can use that brand voice to find a humorous and engaging way to be transparent about and own their new marketing strategy - for example, a contest asking people to identify the AI-generated images. Going forward, if they want to keep using AI, they should be clear when a post or story is a meme vs. reality by keeping the AI watermarks on their images and engaging with questioning comments honestly. Their marketing strategy shines brightest when they leverage their deep connection to community (we’re looking at you, Devon pothole), so they’d be wise to dig deeper into that well by lifting up local initiatives. For example, our team is looking forward to National Donair Day (Dec. 8) when they plan to donate a portion of their profits to the local Fredericton SPCA.

And, obviously, the foundation of their success is a great product. So, keep slinging delicious pizzas and donairs!