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 ...
I liked this commercial, and thought it was very memorable, because it showed some self-critical humility, with the promise to do better. These are virtues that appeal to Middle America, although it’s hard to know if there is any sincerity involved, or if it’s all just marketing fakery.
We tried it and the new stuff is awful. The old stuff was better BUT you have to have them give you more sauce otherwise it looked like they took one swipe across the crust. It would’ve just been easier if they had thought to use more sauce.
Agreed, that corporate restaurants doom themselves with that strategy. For a good long while, a decent pizza joing was becoming a lost art. Here in the W Washington area, we now have Farelli’s Pizza, a gourmet place. Otherwise, you have to find some nice mom and pop shop. I gladly support privately owned restaurants, and avoid all corporate eateries.
I’m glad Dominoes finally stopped sucking. But I’ve found plenty of other good sources for pizza and so don’t need to try it.
“Okay, so where do you go for pizza? I’m always lookin’ for a better pizza...”
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Papa John’s? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH....GASP....WHEEEZE.....HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA....I’ll just pop a DiGiorno’s in the oven, it’s a lot better and costs less. There is no real pizza within a hundred miles of here.
Dominoes always tasted best of any to me.
I knew someone forty years ago who said that her father had once had a very busy “fish camp” near Charlotte, NC. For those who don’t know a fish camp is a rustic sort of seafood place big on good food and not much for decor. She swore that he took in a partner who destroyed the business just by trying to save a little money by watering down the iced tea. Knowing how people in the Carolinas love iced tea with fish it’s probably a true story.
Although I’m the one New Yorker who actually does order from Dominos as I like their pizza better than the 10,000 Ray’s Pizza places here (so my pizza taste may be somewhat suspect) I spent last summer in Italy and I have to admit that I thought that a good NY pizza was generally better than a good Italian pizza. Except for one place in Venice, I wasn’t a big Italian Pizza fan (although I didn’t go to that place in Naples, which is rumored to have the best pizza in the world...my travelling companion did, and she said that it was, indeed, the best pizza in the world).
Had the best pizza.....Long gone though.
Papa John's ain't bad....and there's a small pizza place in NE Oklahoma...called "The Pizza Place"...that's pretty good.
When I was a kid there was a national Pizza Hut BOOK IT! Reading Incentive Program my school took part in.
I blame it for the high illiteracy rate in the Gen X demographic.
Gotta admit, it got me to try them after giving up on them years ago and it was much better.
Companies have been saying “new and improved” for decades. What has always gone unsaid is that the old stuff was, well, old and crappy.
If you live in the Midwest - Caseys. Great Pizza for relatively cheap.
Miss my Chicago pizza though.
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