Posted on 06/01/2010 8:24:25 AM PDT by re_tail20
In the test kitchen at the corporate headquarters for Domino's Pizza Inc., a chef dressed in a starched white coat was going through the familiar motions: Sauce on crust, cheese on sauce, pepperoni on cheese, then bake.
But this pizza's different, as it has been in Domino's stores across the U.S. since late December. The 9,000-unit chain took a big chance, not only reformulating its signature product for the American market but also disparaging its long-standing recipe in a straight-talk marketing campaign.
The old crust? "Cardboard," the company admitted in its ads. The old sauce? "Ketchup." The staff? Weary of customers trashing the food.
The risk paid off. Despite rumblings in the marketing world about another New Coke-style flop in the making, sales at domestic stores open more than a year soared 14.3 percent in the first full quarter after the new recipe debuted. Domino's marketing push helped lift the pizza market as a whole, and the halo effect appears to be continuing into the summer.
As of last week, the test-kitchen cooks in Ann Arbor were working on new recipes for Domino's stores in some of its 60-plus foreign markets.
Will other brands adopt the "We Stink" marketing theme? Probably not, but some companies facing widespread customer cynicism about their products or services should think about it, said Mac Brand, a consultant in Chicago for Bellwether Food Group Inc.
"The one that comes to my mind is the airlines," he said. "You can't do candor all the time, but once or twice, it works."
BP, are you listening?
Domino's owes at least some of its success to timing. Its campaign dovetailed with a national mood of discontent over Wall Street bailouts and layoff-prone employers. Americans were ready to hear a big company express a little humility.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
Taste is subjective, of course, but having tried the new pizza a time or two, I *do* think it’s significantly better than it was.
It’s not going to stand toe-to-toe with a local pizzeria with hand-crafted product, but it’s not even in the same ballpark as the old pizza.
For mass-produced chain pizza, I’d put my order of quality from best to worst as follows:
Papa John’s
Pizza Hut
Dominos (”New” Pizza, almost tied with Pizza Hut)
Papa Murphy’s
Little Caesar’s (Hard to beat $5 pizza mondays for the kids though!)
That's the key - advertising - even the truthful kind - will only get a person to order once... after than - the "new stuff's" got to be better. Hats off to Domino's...
I’ll have to try it. I used to get delivery from Dominos exclusively till they tried to charge me 21.95 for a 12.00 order. And they swore it wasn’t a mistake.
Anywhere within 50 miles of NYC. New Haven CT if you stretch it. Otherwise you're screwed.
And no - you can't get good pizza in Chicago. Or anywhere grits is served. Or on the West coast
You may think you are getting good pizza, but you're not, sorry.
LOL!
I should have expected an entirely worthless, condescending answer as soon as I read the question!
"The pizza I like is the best. Everything else sucks!"
FR is sooo 7th grade sometimes.
I actually live in NYC and order Dominos. I like the reformulated pie better than my local corner “Ray’s.”
Well, I’m not givin’ up my grits and BBQ for pizza.
Although I once heard about a place called “My Pi” (used the symbol for pi) that that made me want to make a trip to New York, just to try the pizza. Dunno if it still exists, though.
I tried an automatic bread-maker - it made round loaves that were burned on the outside and tough on the inside. I think we gave it away to the Church yard sale - and they gave it to the Goodwill store.
Ah, an NY snob. :)
Domino’s previous success was always a great mystery to me.
My thought exactly.
Their restaurants and delivery drivers are everywhere.
I did not mean to imply that there was anything wrong with grits - It's just that good grits and good pizza seem to be mutually exclusive.
” Domino’s previous success was always a great mystery to me. “
You can have it
a) good
b) fast
c) cheap
(Pick 2)
The trick is to use the bread maker to make your dough. Don’t use them to make baked loaves in the machine.
Well then, let’s up the pretentious-o-meter. Unless you’ve had Pizza in Italy (doesn’t matter where, I had great pizzas from the top of Italy and Venice to the boot and all the way through including Sicily).
I’ve had pizza in NYC more than once. Nothing to write home about.
You may think you are getting good pizza, but you’re not, sorry.
In NYC, you have to know where to look. Too many corner joints in New York are owned by Pakistanis/Ecuadorians/Yemeni who use cheap ass ingredients which might as well be Dominoes. However, the places that are good are, indeed, the best in the country.
I have a tiny Sunbeam which works perfect!!! I solely use it to make the pizza dough so that may be the secret. I never used it to bake!
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