Take on the Octagon®: Boston Pizza introduces newest pizza creation for UFC® 149 in Calgary
TORONTO, July 18, 2012 /CNW/ - As the excitement builds for the upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship® Pay-Per-View event in Calgary, Boston Pizza, the Official Sports Bar of UFC® Canada, is introducing the first-ever octagon-shaped pizza to celebrate the occasion. The Octagon PizzaTM will make its debut just in time for UFC® 149: FABER vs. BARAO on Saturday, July 21, 2012 at 22 locations across the Greater Calgary Area.
"At Boston Pizza we share in UFC fans' passion and love for the sport and wanted to demonstrate that by providing fans with an ultimate eating experience that they can't get anywhere else," said Steve Silverstone, Executive Vice President of Marketing at Boston Pizza. "The Octagon Pizza from Boston Pizza is a great way for us to offer our guests an enhanced UFC® experience before they head to the fight or when watching Pay-Per-View events with friends and family at Boston Pizza."
Octagon Pizzas are available in large size on classic dough in any of Boston Pizza's gourmet and create-your-own pizza varieties. They can be ordered for dine-in at participating Boston Pizza locations in Calgary on July 21, 2012 and will be available in Calgary for future UFC® Pay-Per-View events. Boston Pizza will also roll out the Octagon Pizza at participating restaurant locations across Canada for future UFC Pay-Per-View events.
As an official partner of the UFC® in Canada, Boston Pizza can offer other unique experiences exclusively to Boston Pizza guests. In addition to the launch of The Octagon Pizza, Boston Pizza is sponsoring a national contest on the UFC® Canada Facebook page. The contest, called Tough Enough, launches on (Wednesday July 18th), and gives UFC® fans from across Canada the opportunity to win the ultimate UFC® 152 weekend in Toronto on September 22-23, 2012.
"The introduction of Octagon Pizza coupled with the launch of the Tough Enough contest shows just how enthusiastic Boston Pizza is about being the Official Sports Bar of UFC Canada," said UFC® Director of Canadian Operations Tom Wright. "Boston Pizza is giving fans the next best experience to being at the fight live and we're thrilled to have them as our partner in Canada."
To prove if they are "Tough Enough" for the UFC®, Canadian UFC® fans will be asked to choose from a list of embarrassing, predetermined Facebook status updates and post them to their profile such as, "There's nothing wrong with picking out baby names on a first date, right?" and "Just settling in for a 'Say Yes to the Dress Marathon'". The grand prize winner will receive: two seats near The Octagon® for the next Canadian UFC® fight, a backstage tour, flight and accommodations, $200 BP gift card, $500 in spending cash and UFC® merchandise.
Canadians will be encouraged to participate daily in updating their Facebook status, and each status update will act as an entry to the contest. The contest will be held at www.facebook.com/ufccanada. To raise awareness of the campaign, Boston Pizza will takeover UFC.ca and sponsor the UFC® Canada email newsletter.
About Boston Pizza
Boston Pizza International Inc. is Canada's No. 1 casual dining brand with more than 340 restaurants in Canada. Annually, Boston Pizza serves more than 40 million guests. The company has been recognized as one of Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies. Boston Pizza International Inc. is located in Richmond, B.C., and has regional offices in Mississauga, Ont., and Laval, Que. For more information, visit www.bostonpizza.com.
About Ultimate Fighting Championship®
Universally recognized for its action-packed, can't-miss events that have sold out some of the biggest arenas and stadiums across the globe, the UFC® is the world's premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization. Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, headquartered in Las Vegas and with offices in London, Toronto and Beijing, UFC produces more than 30 live events annually and is the largest Pay-Per-View event provider in the world. In 2011, the UFC burst into the mainstream with a landmark seven-year broadcast agreement with FOX Sports Media Group. The agreement includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network annually, with additional fight cards and thousands of hours of programming broadcast on FOX properties FX and FUEL TV. This also includes the longest-running sports reality show on television, The Ultimate Fighter®, which now airs on FX.
In addition to its reach on FOX, UFC programming is broadcast in over 149 countries and territories, to nearly one billion homes worldwide, in 20 different languages. UFC content is also distributed commercially in the United States to bars and restaurants through Joe Hand Promotions, in English throughout Canada via Premium Sports Broadcasting Inc. and in French throughout Quebec via Interbox. The UFC also connects with tens of millions of fans through its website, UFC.com, as well as social media sites Facebook and Twitter. UFC President Dana White is considered one of the most accessible and followed executives in sports, with over two million followers on Twitter. Ancillary UFC businesses include best- selling DVDs, an internationally distributed magazine, UFC.TV offering live event broadcasts and video on demand around the world, the best-selling UFC Undisputed® video game franchise distributed by THQ, UFC GYM®, UFC Fight Club affinity program, UFC Fan Expo® festivals, branded apparel and trading cards.
or to arrange an interview with a local Boston Pizza franchisee please contact:
Perry Schwartz
Director of Communications, Boston Pizza International
905-361-3616
[email protected]
Joseph Cariati
High Road Communications
416-644-1378
[email protected]
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