Merge

As we talked about on Tuesday, sometimes organizations make leaps in order to achieve transformational change.  Most times this happens without much fanfare.  It happens internally, and sometimes your clients or constituents don't really know about or understand the change.  Clearly, Domino's took a different approach, they are not only letting the world know, they are taking advantage of the web and letting the world respond.  Good idea or bad, only about two weeks or so in, they can already gauge their customers reaction.  And so can we. 

With almost 220,000 youtube views of the 4 minute documercial, they have probably accomplished goal number 1.  It will be interesting to see their first quarter returns to see if the plan has really worked, but until then, you'll have to judge the social media response.  The response has been interesting, especially when you compare it across different sites.  Facebook and Twitter seem mainly positive (and really comical at times), while folks posting on youtube are taking it as more of a marketing ploy.  If nothing else, it can be used as a good case study or measuring stick for what platforms to use for a campaign and what type of response you may get.   

Cynically we could say this was just a marketing ploy.  I would tell you that this probably has a lot to do with it.  I would also say who cares.  Their goal is to sell pizzas.  For years their focus was on service, being able to get you a pie in 30 minutes or less.  They never promised the greatest pizza on Earth.  So now their focus and business model has changed.  If they can keep a high level of service, and deliver a better pizza while they are at it, then the gamble pays off. 

Overall, I think the strategy has been smart, generally good-natured (I think they actually took to heart their customers comments) and most of all, timely.  New Years Eve and New Years Day are two of their five busiest days of the year.  Domino's estimated selling 2.3 million pizzas during these two days, up from their 1.8 million forecast from last year during the same time.  I would look for the push to last through the Super Bowl, heavy on the weekends with the NFL playoffs beginning, and then I believe it will tail off. 

Bottom Line:  The true measure of whether this was just a marketing ploy or a real
shift in their fundamental business will come when the hype is dead, pricing normalizes and their normal marketing strategy picks back up.  We'll have to wait and see.