Domino’s: A Brand with a new crust, new sauce and a ton of marketing guts

I, like many of you, am sure you’ve seen the recent ads for Domino’ Pizza, who have taken the remarkable step of admitting that their pizza wasn’t the stuff that dreams are made of. And the battle lines are being drawn on their decision from late night talk show hosts to marketing professors and consultants.

I feel that it’s a pretty bold move to step out front and confront your own brand weaknesses. For me, it’s a smart move that will serve them well…but only time will tell. Credit a lot of this to the time we live in, where social media allows the consumer to spread their feelings everywhere, on just about anything. We’re in a more transparent age where the old PR spin of the past simply won’t do. You have to be true to yourself and in this case, admit and act on your shortcomings.

Domino’s has done just that by reformulating their crust, which they seemingly admit was closer to the flavor profile of cardboard and their sauce—usually the secret to any great food, which was closer to Heinz ketchup than it was an authentic sauce.

The question is, how will the public react to this startling revelation? I don’t think we’ll see the backlash that a ubiquitous brand and brand franchise like Coca-Cola did when they did the unheard of—and reformulated their product to more closely imitate the #2 brand, Pepsi. The Coca-Cola essence was far more than the formula—a little sugar and bubbly water with some caramel color added. When Coke foolishly changed their product, they tampered with a brand that seemingly forgave what they thought was a flaw. So what if they lost in blind taste tests in the “Pepsi Challenge.” What Coke forgot is that they were established in the hearts and minds of their customers-loyalists—as “The Real Thing” or “Coke is IT.” Pepsi, also a strong brand was very clearly the “choice of a new generation”…the Pepsi generation. With the rebound via Coke Classic, they tapped back into the core loyalist and brought back all of the flavor—but more importantly, the nostalgia, the memories and the “gestalt” that people plunked down their cold hard cash for every day.

Domino’s doesn’t face quite the same barrier, which is why I believe they will succeed in delivering a better product. Another important question is, will their customer base really like the flavor? Flavor profiles are sensitive things to tamper with, but Domino’s clearly feels that it’s worth the risk to do it all now at once, vs. a slow, dial-turning adjustment over the next several years.

Stay tuned, it will be interesting to see the response from Pizza Hut, (who appear to be positioning themselves as more of an Italian Restaurant choice) and Papa John’s, (who have been banging the drum on their “best ingredients” for years.

Here’s a great article on this subject with comments from the president of Domino’s.

Enjoy. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34812047/ns/business-consumer_news