Last updated: January 8, 2026
Key takeaways
- Boston Pizza generated $7 million in sales on Valentine's Day 2025 across 370+ locations
- Raised $600,000 for local charities through their "Looking After Local" program
- Empowered franchisees to choose their own charity partners while maintaining brand consistency
- Provided customizable marketing tools, peer-to-peer training, and layered incentives
- Created a framework balancing national guardrails with local flexibility
When Boston Pizza executed its 2025 Valentine's Day campaign across 370+ locations, they achieved something remarkable: $7 million in sales on February 14th, the highest single-day sales in the brand's history, while raising $600,000 for local charities across Canada.
We sat down with Jenna Bull, Marketing Director for Boston Pizza International, to unpack how a single national campaign turned into a record-breaking sales day and a powerful engine for local community impact.
Prefer to watch? See the full campaign breakdown in our 20-minute webinar
A campaign built on authenticity
For more than 40 years, Boston Pizza has served heart-shaped pizzas on Valentine’s Day. The tradition took on new meaning when franchisees David and Lisa McPherson’s son, Kyle, was born with a life-threatening heart condition. Their team began cutting out paper hearts by hand to raise money for heart research.
The idea quickly spread. Restaurants across Canada adopted the fundraiser, and the paper hearts became a permanent part of Boston Pizza’s Valentine’s tradition. Kyle beat the odds and is now an active franchisee alongside his family, proof of how a national brand moment can stay deeply personal and community-driven.
The game-changer: looking after local
Four months before Valentine’s Day 2025, Boston Pizza launched “Looking After Local,” a program where 100% of funds raised stay in the communities where they were collected, supporting charities chosen by each franchisee.
By shifting the focus to locally chosen causes within a national framework, Boston Pizza gave franchisees real ownership in the campaign, turning a brand tradition into a direct investment in their own neighborhoods.
How do you balance national consistency with local flexibility?
Here’s how Boston Pizza solved the franchise marketing challenge:
National consistency:
- Turnkey campaign kits with core materials shipped to every location
- Digital ads running across all in-restaurant menu boards
- National digital and social media campaigns reinforcing a single message
Local empowerment:
- Franchisees selected their own local charity partners
- Customizable templates for local advertising (road signs, flyers, radio scripts, press releases)
- Freedom for restaurants to activate in their communities through local outreach and partnerships
"We provide guardrails, but we also consider ways to engage our franchisee partners to help amplify what we're doing nationally," Jenna explained.
What tools drive franchisee adoption?
Boston Pizza knew templates alone wouldn't drive results. They invested in:
- Peer-to-peer training videos for staff and managers
- Incentives at both the corporate and local levels
- Active communication throughout the 6-7 week campaign
"It's really about getting more restaurants actively engaged in our national campaigns through empowering them with the right tools," Jenna said.
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How did storytelling amplify local impact?
Boston Pizza created a Looking After Local spotlight YouTube series to highlight how franchisees are turning the program into meaningful community impact. In one episode, the franchise group in Winnipeg raised more than $100,000 for Manitoba’s Children’s Hospital.
By sharing these kinds of stories, Boston Pizza motivates other franchisees to step up locally and shows guests exactly how their Valentine’s Day purchases support families and charities in their own communities.
What were the campaign results?
The numbers speak for themselves:
- $7+ million in sales on February 14 alone
- Highest single-day sales in Boston Pizza’s history
- $600,000+ raised for local charities across Canada
- 370+ locations executing on a single, consistent framework
Most importantly, franchisees felt genuine ownership, local communities saw direct support, and the brand deepened its relationship with guests across every market.
What can other franchise marketers learn from this?
"Engage your network and find ways to set them up for success," Jenna advised. "We spend time focusing on developing the tools that encourage franchisees to amplify what we're doing nationally."
The takeaway? Empowerment drives engagement. When franchisees feel trusted, equipped with the right tools, and connected to a cause that matters in their own community, they show up differently, and it shows in the results.
Learn from franchise marketing leaders
This is just the first episode of Slice of Success, our series where franchise marketing leaders share what's actually working. Sign up for upcoming webinars to get proven strategies, real results, and insights you can apply to your own campaigns.
Want to see how Marvia helps franchise brands execute campaigns like Boston Pizza's? Learn more about our franchise marketing platform and discover how we empower franchisees with the tools and flexibility to amplify national campaigns locally.
