Domino's Pizza to go bullish on digital

The pizza brand from the house of Jubilant Foodworks has allocated an annual marketing budget of Rs 34 crore, which it will spend on digital (including social media), television advertising, and door-to-door promotion.

With the introduction of an online ordering service in August 2011, Domino's Pizza, from the house of Jubilant Foodworks, is all set to boost the digital game this year. The quick service restaurant (QSR) brand has allocated a marketing budget of Rs 34 crore to be spent on digital (including social media), television advertising, and door-to-door promotion through distribution of menu cards.

Speaking about the strategy, Harneet Singh Rajpal, vice-president, marketing, Domino's Pizza India, says, "Food service is an impulse category, and therefore, it is important to continuously drive the 'need' factor amongst the consumers. And, for that we need to use marketing strategies that will drive the 'desire' factor."

While the company will continue to advertise on various channels on television, for digital, it plans to launch various activities and use other tools such as re-marketing, which follows website visitors around the web, giving them a chance to convert. It also plans to make extensive use of search engine marketing (SEM) and search engine optimisation (SEO). In the last two years, it has worked to develop its Facebook page by introducing various contests and activities. The company claims that it has 8.5 lakh fans following it on Facebook.

In addition to this, the company will invest in door-to-door promotion through distribution of menu cards that will include various offers and discounts. According to Rajpal, it is important for the consumer to have knowledge of the menu, as the customer will then find it convenient to place an order.

While in the past, Domino's had launched various print campaigns, it feels that the medium has failed to work for the brand, and therefore, now refrains from using newspapers and magazines. Rajpal explains, "In case of food service, it is important to create an experience. With television and digital, it is possible to do so. Print has its own restrictions, and hence we have stopped using print."

The brand plans to continue with its current positioning of 'Khushiyon ki Home Delivery', which was launched in 2008, in an effort to create an emotional connect. Before that, the brand had more of a functional positioning of 'Hungry Kya?', which stressed upon the USP of quick home delivery.

It will also continue the strategy to launch three-four products in a year, with about one product launch every quarter. Rajpal adds that the research and development team works to ensure that a menu is developed in view of the consumers' need for the next two years.

The company also plans to open 80 new stores in the next fiscal (2012-2013), across Tier II and Tier III cities, taking the number of stores to 491. Currently, Domino's has 411 stores spread across 98 cities. "We are mainly looking at stores that have a sitting area of 30-40 people. The idea is to promote a functional dining experience," adds Rajpal.

Domino's Pizza, which claims to have 54 per cent market share in the organised pizza category, will continue its focus on being a delivery-based QSR chain, with a focus to turn the brand into a household name even in small towns.