Domino’s Pizza recent campaign is generating a lot of buzz. The appeal of the campaign is Domino’s openness to admitting their pizza tastes like “cardboard”and then engaging people to create a new pizza —a pizza worth their delivery.
For two years Domino’s focus group tested 50 blends of seasoning,15 sauces,and dozens of cheeses to create their new masterpiece. The current campaign entices people to try the new pizza,and many people have. Personally, quite a few friends and coworkers have tried the new pizza,which is impressive considering they have not ordered Domino’s in years. However,the consensus reaction is no one was impressed enough to try the pizza again.
Like my friends,the public results are mixed,especially on Domino’s twitter feed and facebook pages. When I reviewed the reaction there seemed to be more negative than positive comments. Whether the results are positive or not,I believe Domino’s opened a social door with intriguing possibilies. Beyond the door is a an opportunity. An incredible opportunity to bake the first social pizza.
Pizza the Social Food
Pizza is a social food. It is a communal food which goes with many events. And like the many events,pizza can come in a multitude of configurations: deep dish,thin crust,flavored crust,double cheese,no sauce,meat lovers,veggie lovers,and the standard for most —pepperoni (which represents about two-thirds of all pizzas consumed). Everyone has a favorite combination,and therefore it is difficult for any one pizza establishment to customize pizzas for the masses. Some try. For example,Hungry Howie’s Pizza’s offers eight different flavor crusts,while California Pizza Kitchen offers a myriad of traditional and eclectic toppings.
Domino’s two year quest for the new pizza ended with one answer —one combination. The lack of choice is the primary gripe in many negative comments on twitter and facebook. Some people liked the cardboard,er,the original pizza,and the new pizza taste is a turn-off for many. But it does not have to be that way. Why limit it to one combination? Why not go from focus groups to social experimentation? Why not let pizza enthusiasts recommend and explore the different combinations? Let your brand advocates develop them —test them —and then promote them.
Domino’s Social Logistics
The first argument against a social pizza would be variability in product would increase the logistics —this is true. However,I believe Domino’s is up to the task. About five years ago I worked on the Domino’s account when I was at JWT. During this time,I took a tour of the facility in Ann Arbor,their approach,and their processes. It was clear Domino’s forte was their logistics.
No doubt creating a social platform would be a challenge. However,Domino’s already opened the door to social input on their core product. Why stop now. Take the next step and and develop a Pizza 2.0 process —a true social pizza.
Hi,Phil from Domino’s social media team here. Thanks for the post. We have gotten a lot of great feedback from people,and a lot of messages from people who didn’t like the old,tried the new,and put us back on speed dial.
As for the combo,as you can imagine we did a ton of research,and the results on the new formula were wonderful. Still,people can ask for the pizza without the garlic seasoning,and can request hearty marinara sauce instead of the new,it’s closer to what they were used to with our previous sauce.
Cheers
Phil,
Is there any thought on continuing you research through social exploration?
Domino’s has already taken a bold brand step with the current campaign. Seems like a second bold step would be to create a social platform to continue your pizza exploration.
All the best.
Mmmmmmm…crowdsourced pizza.
I like the campaign because it comes across as honest. It talks about change and competitive spirit within the company. It also shows they’re a company that listens and responds,the latter is often the exception.
The most significant part of the campaign though isn’t the honesty or demonstrating change. What’s most impressive is this campaign has moved the cheap pizza discussion to one about taste instead of who has the cheapest $5 pizza deal. The problem I had with Domino’s is that our family tried the new pizza to experience the change and everyone at the table felt it was like New Coke. A lot of marketing hoopla with a less tasty product. My guess is the experiment will fail because the pizza honestly tasted much,much worse. The crust was better but everything else was worse. I’ve heard this from a few other people too. But who knows,our family’s experience is anecdotal. Maybe the Domino’s guy is right that the response has been more positive than negative. I just hope they didn’t toss the old recipe in case they have to return to “Classic Domino’s Pizza”.
I find your take interesting given you tried their pizza. The latest installment of their campaign has them beating Papa John’s and Pizza Hut in a taste test. You have to wonder about the effectiveness of the campaign given many people,like yourself,tried the pizza. An ad declaring it is better will hardly sway the people who already tried the new pizza.
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