"Our exotic range is popular in small towns and metros alike": S Murugan Narayanswamy, Domino's

Domino's Pizza India has launched a New Double Cheese Crunch Pizza in a bid to offer its consumers a differentiated experience. Accompanying the 'main-course' is a dessert called Custard Bliss. After being on the menu as the unrivalled champion for almost seven years, Domino's' most popular dessert, the Choco-Lava cake finally has some competition.

The double crust pizza, which the brand claims is an industry first, builds on the popular cheese recipes such as the Cheese Burst. In order to promote it, the brand has rolled out a 360-degree campaign (conceptualised by Creativeland Asia), and is led by a TVC #KararaPyaara. Interestingly, the launch of Custard Bliss has been kept a low-key affair at least for now, unlike the Choco-Lava cake, which had the privilege of an exclusive television campaign.

We spoke to S Murugan Narayanswamy, senior vice-president, marketing, Domino's Pizza India, to understand what went into the launch of this product.

Edited Excerpts...

Edited Excerpts

There is a structured process in which we develop products for customers. In the first stage, we evaluate feedback. There are things that people tell us frankly, for instance, I like or dislike this about Domino's, or this is what I want. However, most of the times, the feedback is vague. For instance, "I want more options in desserts". To find out what is that they exactly want, we move on to the next stage where we do a lot of research by spending time with consumers.

The combined results are then decoded to understand the trends and once the product is ready, we carry out test marketing for it. That is how we come up with our product calendar for the year.

That depends on the product and time. Sometimes, the product is ready, but we hold it back for a timely launch. For instance, winter is the time for indulgence and so we thought of introducing a dessert option and a crunchy pizza. The Choco-Lava cake has been our flagship product for seven years. While it was doing its job, we felt some customers wanted an alternative to a chocolate dessert.

If you look at the way the pizza category/pizza lovers have evolved, you will notice that today, more than ever, people are open to experimenting and improvisation. This can be attributed to exposure to the internet and the television and also travel, and this evolution is not limited to the metros.

We have a presence in 220 odd towns today. As far as behaviour is concerned, there's hardly any difference. Even our exotic range is popular in small towns and metros alike.

Television, radio and digital are all big for us. Television and radio are used to create awareness and amplify a message, and print is used for geo-local marketing -- to announce the launch of a new store or a specific offer.

Digital helps us engage with our audience. It is a big ecosystem and currently, we are working with two agencies on a retainer basis to handle our digital communication.

Smart devices, laptops and mobiles have become major touch-points to reach our consumers. We have a huge following on social media and to keep our fans engaged on the platform, we carry out frequent and exclusive digital/social campaigns.

Our digital advertising budgets have only been going up year-on-year. This is also logical since today, we get nearly 30 per cent of our orders online. A big chunk of it, both as a quantum and as a percentage, is through the mobile app.