Papa Johns UAE: Gamified Loyalty Program

The challenge
 In a QSR market driven by discount wars and aggregator-owned customer relationships, Papa Johns UAE needed a loyalty program that could compete on something other than price, especially with a Gen Z audience that expects gamified, mobile-first brand experiences.

What we built

• A tiered loyalty program (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum) with progress bars, achievement badges, and perks like VIP events and platinum pizza box stickers, replacing static discounts with game-style progression
• Skill-based mini-games tied to real product launches, including a game to promote Shawarma Pizza and menu-education games like The Game of Crusts and Cheddar Space Game
• AI-powered personalized campaigns to re-engage lapsed customers, plus a referral system with smart deep-linking so friends get an instant reward the moment they install the app
• Win a Million, a three-month app campaign where every purchase earned digital tickets toward a grand prize, with real-time counters and pop-ups building ongoing engagement

The result

• 12,951 unique players and 35,614 game sessions on the Shawarma Pizza mini-game alone, with 20.2% of players unlocking Pro Mode
• +7% share of paid crusts after The Game of Crusts, and +58% cheddar product orders after the Cheddar Space Game
• +150% app install growth during Win a Million versus the same period in 2024, with +32.5% AOV among engaged users and 31.82% first-week retention
• +57% increase in 3rd-month retention and +17% growth in first-month app LTV (112 to 131 AED) after the gamified loyalty program launched
• The program won a Platinum Award for Customer Loyalty Transformation and a Gold Award for Excellence in Gamification at the 2025 Loyalty360 Awards