Dominos’ Social Media Rebound

Last April, Domino’s Pizza learned the hard way about the power of social media. You may recall that several Domino’s employees filmed themselves adding some nasty ingredients to a pizza (I’ll spare you the details), then sending it out to the customer. These employees published the video on YouTube, where it went viral almost immediately. It took Dominos several days to respond to the incident, but by that time the damage was done. Millions of people worldwide had seen the video, resulting in major damage to the brand. When we counsel clients on how NOT to handle social media – especially in a crisis – this is one of the examples we use.

So it was surprising to me when I saw the following commercial:

As someone who specializes in social media, this ad struck a particularly personal chord with me. This spot demonstrates EXACTLY how companies should be using social media: embracing the medium, monitoring what the consumers are saying and responding to meet the market demands.

I checked out dominos.com and decided to order one of these “new and social media-improved” pizzas. I was impressed with the new ordering system. As your pizza order progresses from dough making to delivery, an animation on the screen updates you on its progress. Friendly messages such as “Jim has received your order and is making the dough,” to “Ana is adding your toppings,” and “Brad is on his way with your pizza.” The whole process was very informative and even fun.

It’s nice to see that Domino’s is rebounding from last year’s incident by embracing the very beast that slayed it - social media. In a matter of months, they’ve transformed themselves from an example of what NOT to be into a shining example of how social media marketing should be done.

Full disclosure – InView Communications has no relationship with Dominos pizza, professional or otherwise, and we received no compensation for this blog entry.