Will Domino’s “Sorry” Work?

I had another “why didn’t I write about that” moment when I read Patrick Lencioni’s BusinessWeek article about Domino’s Pizza’s latest ad campaign. In the article, Lencioni talks about the company’s willingness to own up to its shortcomings and admit to not living up to their brand. As a result, he believes they will sell a lot more pizzas in the months to come, not because of the new ingredients they promise, but rather because of their “willingness to cross a line that most companies won’t even approach. Domino’s chose to make itself vulnerable.”

Reading the article, I tried to think back to the last time I had a pizza from Domino’s. While there are only a few pizza eating experiences I can qualify as “memorable,” I assume it’s been since college – maybe even high school since I tried their pizza. In any case, my impression of Domino’s is everything they described in the ad – ketchup for sauce and cardboard crust. Nothing I want to waste the fat and calories on.

So will this ad strategy work? It’s interesting to note that this decision was not done out of crisis as was Toyota’s recent admission to “not living up to standards.” Domino’s market share has been strong even through the recession. So, what about those customers who have been buying their pizza for 50 years? How will they feel when told that the pizza they have been eating is “totally devoid of flavor.” And what if they don’t like the new and improved Domino’s (can you say New Coke)? And will this mea culpa really cause people to change their perception of the company and the food they serve? Short term, it appears to be working – their stock value is up $4 from December. Long term – Domino’s had better taste good enough to not only get people talking about the pizza – but also to get more of them buying it.

Photo credit: AngelsWings

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