Pizza Hut debuts Book It! summer reading app
A leading pizza chain has launched a new digital tool to help parents track their children’s summer reading.
Pizza Hut has launched an app for its longstanding Book It! program, first launched in 1984, designed to motivate young readers to achieve literacy goals by rewarding their accomplishments with a free, one-topping Personal Pan Pizza from participating Pizza Hut locations.
The Book It! app is part of Pizza Hut's revitalized summer reading program named, "Book It! Summer of Stories," which officially launches June 1. The initiative encourages parents to stay engaged with their child's reading journey and sharpen their literacy skills throughout the summer months when learning tends to decline. Parents can set monthly reading goals specifically designed to support children from pre-K through 6th grade and cater toward their child's abilities while monitoring their progress.
Young readers can earn one free Personal Pan Pizza each month in June, July and August by reaching the reading goals parents set for each month.
"Book It! has inspired a love for reading in millions of children since 1984," said Lucila Cuello, chief people and culture officer at Pizza Hut U.S. "Now, with the launch of the Book It! app, we're making it even easier for parents to connect with their kids, set meaningful reading goals and inspire plenty of fun pizza-filled memories with their families. This new platform will help keep reading goals top of mind this summer — and turn progress into pizza!"
The launch of the Book It! app is not the first time Pizza Hut has dabbled in a seasonal tech-based promotion. As part of its sponsorship of the "March Madness" NCAA college basketball tournament, Pizza Hut launched "Hutty," an artificial intelligence-based chatbot available on its Instagram page. When activated, Hutty reacted to in-game events, offered college basketball insights and provided commentary.
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Founded in 1958, Pizza Hut, a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, operates nearly 20,000 restaurants in more than 110 markets and territories.
