“The Pizza Turnaround”
October 19, 2012
By:Simone Jackson
Two years ago, Domino’s Pizza decided that it was time to re-evaluate its recipe and marketing strategies.
For years, customers complained about the lack of flavor and quality in Domino’s products, but the criticism heightened when two Domino’s employees made a YouTube video of them handling the food in a unsanitary manner. The video got more than million views and left Domino’s’ President , Patrick Doyle looking for solutions
Because of the popularity of the video, critics also began expressing their dissatisfaction with Dominoes. ” The crust tastes like cardboard,” “The pizza is mass produced, boring and bland”, along with other negative comments filled timelines and news feeds.
Domino’s launched “The Pizza Turnaround” campaign in 2010, but this campaign was notably different. Instead of trying to cover-up what customers were saying about their food products, Dominos faced the critics head on. This tactic was risky, but the campaign turned out to be a success.
Domino’s improved its recipe and took the advice that their critics gave. they redesigned their pizza boxes and included information on how their customers could give feedback.
As apart of “The Pizza Turnaround Campaign,” Domino’s also aired documentary styled documentaries which had actual Dominos chefs talking about the changes the company was making with their food products.The commercials were captivating and and showed the personal side of the company, which helped customers see that Domino’s was trying hard to improve.
There was a series of these types of commercials during “The Pizza Turnaround” campaign. One my favorites and what I believe was the best for Dominos’ marketing was when the company delivered its new recipe pizza to its critics. The commercial showed those who had made nasty remarks about Dominos’ recipe trying the new pizza and their thoughts on it.
This tactic showed follow-up on Domino’s part and also shows customers that Domino’s cares enough about the people who criticized their recipe enough to take their advice and make some changes.
The Pizza Turnaround campaign was quite the success, with a 14% increase in sales and an increase in online orders.
Check out “The Pizza Turnaround” website http://www.pizzaturnaround.com/
October 20th, 2012 at 4:24 pm
I applaud Domino’s Pizza’s decision to completely reinvent its product when faced with criticism and a negative viral video. It was the perfect time to implement a positive public relations campaign because, in a sense, the company was at its lowest point and had “nowhere to go but up.” Instead of just hiding the criticism or pretending it didn’t happen, like many companies who are afraid to divert from their old ways, Domino’s was willing to take a risk that ultimately paid off in the end, resulting in better-tasting pizza, more profits and satisfied customers.
October 22nd, 2012 at 10:17 am
This is a good success stories because I was a customer who never liked their pizza before. I agreed with all of the customers saying it lacked taste and tasted like cardboard. I also agree with you that this technique is risky but more companies should take notes from them. A company might be putting themselves at risk by confronting these problems head on but I feel like customers will appreciate them taking the necessary steps to improve their business. Plus it makes us customers feel like we are important to them and that our opinion matters. Especially after a nasty video like that was aired, Domino’s had no other choice but change something about them. I do believe Domino’s will have a better run this time and is a bigger competitor to other pizza businesses.
October 22nd, 2012 at 5:59 pm
This is a great example of a re-marketing campaign for a well known company. Dominos is one of several pizza chains that fades into the darkness of every other pizza chain companies. By doing this re-launching technique and curtailing to customer satisfaction, they really made themselves stand out. I can still remember each and every one of these commercials, which says to me that they really wanted to please their target audience. I would say that this “turnaround” was an overall success, and that customers really took notice to it (as seen by improved sales). Making the pleasing of customers a number one priority, really is the key ingredient in coming out of the mesh of “every other pizza chains”.
November 5th, 2012 at 9:44 am
Fantastic post! Do you mind if I share this on my Twitter page?
November 5th, 2012 at 2:04 pm
Sure you can. Please mention me @simonemj103