Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: campaign, cheese, crust, Domino's, dominos.com, Kuben, marketing, newpizza, pizza, sauce, taste, YouTube
New campaign, new commercial, new dedicated website to the change…yeah, I’ve been hearing about the new pizza at Domino’s and watched the video about how the changes came about. If you haven’t seen, check it out here:
Well, it made me want pizza. The campaign seems very transparent; they show actual focus groups and employees of Domino’s expressing their genuine reactions to the news that their pizza sucks. As soon as I saw the blog about the campaign, I decided that I had to order the new pizza and give it a thorough taste-test. So being that it’s New Year’s Day, and I have nothing to do but watch the Criminal Minds marathon, it was a good day to try a few slices…in the name of marketing research.
First, I went to their website, to look at the menu and see the closest location to where I live. In order to look at the menu, you have to enter your street address, so the menu for your area will come up. The same requirement comes up for the coupons page. This is smart because if the casual web viewer goes through the process, it is that much easier for them to take the next step and place an order for delivery. I utilized the site to place my order online, and it was very easy. The new pizza is the hand-tossed and the pizza builder allows you to adjust the amount of toppings and add side dishes, sauces and drinks. The only thing it wouldn’t let you do is add toppings to half a pizza. Once you play, you can register for easier delivery in the future and also track your pie. This was a pretty cool, and even updates you when your pizza goes in the oven, but the time it stated was in the future. For instance, the message “your pizza went into the oven at 8:32 pm” but the time on the computer, and on my cell phone, was only 8:30. Estimated delivery time was right on target, as the order system stated that the order would arrive in 31-41 minutes and it came in 32 minutes. We had to tip the driver in cash at the door, as the order system didn’t allow the ability to add it to the credit card. I can see the customer assurance in that procedure, as the tip is meant to be an action after good service and if the customer had an issue with the delivery then the tip would be harder to retrieve. But the convenience of not having to use cash at all in the order process is becoming more prevalent in delivery food service, at least in my area. I could however add a tip at the door onto the credit card, but enough about the process…
How was the taste? Both the video and the order site mention that the crust is ‘garlic-seasoned crust with a rich, buttery taste.’ I didn’t get that at all. Although the texture and consistency of the crust is chewy and a great base for the other toppings, it was not all garlicky or buttery. Perhaps the new garlic butter is to be brushed on after baking and it may have been forgotten. Too bad. The taste of the crust was rather bland after so much hype. Unfortunately, my pizza’s crust didn’t look like Adam Kuben’s did;
Adam Kuben's slice
Nor did I get any hint of the mild garlicky flavor that Adam found in his slices, which you can read more about here.
My pizza didn’t have that garlicky look to the crust:
My slice
Another view of my slice
The sauce was delicious though and actually caused me to say ‘mmmm’ after several bites; zesty and lightly sweet. The cheese was also good and I could tell it was real cheese and not just some imitation. The toppings were just as I ordered them, but one dipping sauce was forgotten. Not too bad but not a perfect experience. I would suggest some greater input from Domino’s HQ to ensure the new recipe is followed with 100% accuracy. But I can see where a new process might need the have the kinks worked out for a few weeks. While I am not going to start ordering exclusively from Domino’s in the future, as I really like non-chain restaurants, I will probably consider them in the future so that I can have more of that delicious sauce, truly the only real change toward delicious that I found in the new pizza.
So there’s the latest news from the S.I.N…over and out!
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: aka-aki, digital signage, facebook, Food Service, GPS, iPhone, marketing, Pittsburgh, Spinal tap, twitter, YouTube
Digital signage, the kind that I am used to seeing at the convenience store register, is being pushed as a great way for restaurants to increase patronage. This may work better for walk-ins in high foot-traffic areas (say Downtown Pittsburgh) as it would seem that a roadside billboard would have not only a high price tag (for just one business) but also may have some zoning issues. Starmount Systems is a digital signage firm that offers solutions that may help brand promotion, can be designed to run entertainment content so that wait times seem shorter at busy establishments or peak times of day, and can also highlight new menu items, promotions or daily specials, (Starmount, 2009).
This idea could be a great addition or replacement for the standard back-lit sign, and could be changed and updated onsite quickly with little trouble. Say the chef has too much soft-shell crab on hand due to getting an amazing deal if he orders so much. The manager could take a picture of the crab special, upload it to the signage software, and add “Today only-Fresh Soft-shell crab with fries and coleslaw for $5.99!” Not only would this help traffic on a slow day (like Tuesday) but it would help get rid of perishable inventory. Now imagine that this same picture was posted on the pub’s Facebook page and Twittered? Pop-up specials like this would help to increase business in the short term, and increase goodwill with patrons in the future. Running too many specials can harm the brand value if done over a too long a period of time, but a quickly planned promotion that runs may 1-2 times per month may create a following of eager repeat diners. These persons can also talk with the company, twitter from the eatery about how good the sandwich tastes and write comments. It would also be important for a manager to get involved with the persons who order the special, letting them know that their business is important. Then it’s a win-win for all involved!
On a side note, a larger billboard-sized sign may be a great idea for several businesses in a small strip mall where the merchants are not in direct competition with one another. There are many of these types of mini-malls in PA, and I can think of a few who would benefit from forming a cooperative to get one of these signs together and allow looped mini-ads to play for about 45 seconds each.
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Spinal Tap is Back! The new album “Back from the Dead” is being released June 16th and INgrooves is handling the distribution. INgrooves is a firm that handles “digital distribution, marketing and promotions for the independent music community,” (PR Newswire, 2009). The release is being accompanied by the following promotions:
• An iPhone application with exclusive video clips, pictures and a fan wall;
• A YouTube promotion starting June 22nd where fans compete for the best fan generated music video of the band’s hit songs;
• Spinal Tap video channels with promotional clips and never-before-seen footage;
• Custom voice tones from each band member, (PR Newswire, 2009).
And if you really love Spinal Tap, you’re in for a treat…the physical CD comes with a promo video, three action figures of the band and a replica of Stonehenge!
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So you’re out and about, running errands and a friend that lives in another town is in the coffee shop you just passed. How do you know? You have Aka-Aki, a new application that turns your phone into a GPS for people in your personal network. You would both need to have downloaded Aka-Aki to your phones, which is free, and it allows you not only to meet up then but to communicate with them later. I am not sure how this works but you can watch the video:
http://www.aka-aki.com/
References:
Starmount. (2009). “Industry Solutions.” Retrieved June 10, 2009 from http://www.starmountsystems.com/industry-solutions.html
PR Newswire. (2009). “INgrooves Powers Digital Marketing Campaign and Global Distribution for Spinal Tap.” Retrieved June 11, 2009 from http://sev.prnewswire.com/entertainment/20090609/LA3007909062009-1.html
Spinal Tap Video. (2009). “Spinal Tap On: Back from the Dead.” Retrieved June 11, 2009 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qql8o1EUUsI
