You know how they say, “necessity is the mother of invention”?

Peter Crampton, co-owner of Pizza Top Ads, knows it’s true.

Peter’s background in marketing landed him a job with a chain of fitness centers in Las Vegas that needed a boost in attendance. “You can have a great gym, be a Mr. Universe and offer a great program, but if nobody sees you, you’re not going to make it,” he points out. “My forté was thinking outside the box, finding new ways to grab people’s attention. I set up leads boxes, offering entrants a chance to win a gym membership. One of our centers had a grocery store across the street. I offered a prize of $100 worth of groceries and a six-month membership. Those entries sold a lot of memberships!”

After leaving Las Vegas, Peter moved to Iowa, where he opened three gyms of his own. He was a little discouraged with the results he got from traditional advertising there. “One day,” says Peter, “a guy came in selling ads on flyers that were delivered on the tops of pizza boxes. I gave it a try, and I was amazed: it was the best return on investment I ever made!”

When Peter sold his gyms and moved to Florida, he wanted to find a new business venture. He remembered how well pizza box top advertising had worked for him, and in 2018 he and his business partner, Bob Franklin, started Pizza Top Ads in Pasco County.

It worked so well for their advertisers that Pizza Top Ads soon expanded into Hernando County, with even more pizzerias. Most recently, Pizza Top Ads was introduced in Pinellas County and, says Peter, “We now partner with more than a dozen pizzerias in our three counties. They’ve agreed to put our flyers on top of their pizza boxes and take them right to homes in the communities our advertisers select. That’s 10,000 full color flyers delivered directly into homes over the course of several months.”

He adds that Pizza Top Ads is cost-effective, with three standard ad sizes: 1.7” x 1.7” for $125 for the full run of 10,000 flyers; 1.7” x 3.5” for $200; and 3.4” x 3.5” for $350. Custom sizes are available, too.

“Traditional direct mail or print advertising is usually seen once, for a much higher cost,” notes Peter. “Our ads are seen every time someone orders a pizza, which means people look forward to having our ads delivered right to their homes or businesses!”

One of the first things Peter did when the company opened its Pinellas County market was join the Treasure Island & Madeira Beach Chamber of Commerce. “A Chamber of Commerce is the fastest way to get known in the community,” Peter points out, “and this Chamber has a reputation for really working to promote its members. It was an easy decision!”